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Board approves variances for dynamic-display signs at four Tulsa stations
Summary
The Tulsa Board of Adjustment granted variances for dynamic-display signage at four gas station properties, finding lot configuration and highway adjacency constituted the hardships needed to permit larger or multiple digital sign elements.
The Tulsa Board of Adjustment on a unanimous vote approved variances allowing dynamic-display signs that exceed the city's 48-square-foot limit and permitting more than one dynamic display on single lots at four separate gas-station properties. The board approved four related cases filed by Claude Neon / Federal Signs (applicant Pete Webb) for locations on South Yale, East 41st & Sheridan, South Sheridan, and North Harvard.
Board members said the applications presented similar factual patterns: the properties were configured so that drivers approaching from different directions needed separate sign faces and the proposed digital elements were limited to price digits and a short "nitro" identifier rather than full-motion video. "It all it is is just changing the word credit to nitro every 8 seconds with 1 digit on the price," applicant Pete Webb told the board, describing the element that triggers the dynamic-display classification.
The board's discussion focused narrowly on whether the requested increases were the minimum relief required and whether the applications established the legal hardship standard. Planning staff and board members noted that the current sign code did not anticipate gas-price displays and that a pending zoning-code amendment would not necessarily remove the need for relief. Planning staff member Nathan (last name not provided) explained the code distinction the board used: "If a neon sign were to be changing the message back and forth, we would classify it as a dynamic display. Just a constant lit neon sign wouldn't get that same treatment." Board members said the applicant's video of the proposed change in digits helped them understand the scope of the dynamic element and supported a finding of hardship tied to lot layout and highway adjacency.
Votes and relief granted varied by site: BOA 23819 (4728 S. Yale Ave.) was granted relief to increase dynamic-display area by 65 square feet (bringing combined dynamic display area on the lot to roughly 113 square feet); BOA 23824 (6364 E. 41st St.) and BOA 23825 (2109 S. Sheridan Rd.) were each approved to increase the maximum dynamic-display area to roughly 133 square feet for the lot; and BOA 23826 (2502 N. Harvard) was approved for a modest increase from 48 to 53 square feet for a single sign. Each motion concluded with the board finding the hardship to be the size/configuration of the lot and, in multiple cases, proximity to a highway.
The board recorded no public opposition at the hearings for these four cases. Several members noted that while the proposed displays were technically dynamic, they differed from video-oriented displays and that the relief sought was limited to specific, small digital elements. The planning staff noted the applications must still satisfy any conditions in building and permitting processes, including final permit revisions and any requirements from the fire marshal or building inspections that apply to sign construction and installation.
The board's approvals do not eliminate subsequent enforcement of permit or electrical code requirements and do not constitute a citywide reinterpretation of dynamic-display rules; each variance is recorded as case-specific relief.
