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Board approves digital conversion for freeway‑adjacent billboard, citing ADOT right‑of‑way constraints
Summary
On a 5-0 vote the board allowed conversion of an existing top‑lit static billboard to a digital face despite its ~421‑foot separation from freeway travel lanes, finding peculiar site constraints (on‑ramp and ADOT retention basin); approval is subject to county conditions including dimming and off‑hours.
The Maricopa County Board of Adjustment voted 5-0 to allow conversion of an existing top-lit static billboard to a digital face on a property adjacent to Loop 202 in the Laveen/Levine area, despite the billboard’s ~421-foot separation from the freeway travel lanes and a 300-foot separation standard in the Maricopa County Zoning Ordinance.
Andrew, county planning staff, told the board the code permits digital billboards only when they are within 300 feet of the main travel lanes; staff concluded the applicant had not demonstrated unnecessary hardship under a strict reading of the code. Board members asked whether the City of Phoenix had commented; staff said no city response had been received.
Andrew Yancey, representing the applicant, explained the property sits farther back from the travel lanes because an on‑ramp and a large Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) retention basin occupy ADOT right-of-way between the sign and the freeway. He said the configuration produces more than 420 feet of separation and argued that the parcel cannot practicably locate the billboard within the 300-foot radius required for digital conversion. Yancey told the board the change would not alter the billboard’s height or face area and that county and state rules would require digital faces to dim (300 nits at sunset) and to be turned off between 11 p.m. and sunrise.
Member Ward moved to approve BA250070 subject to the staff-recommended conditions (item 15 section b); Vice Chair Persson seconded and the board approved the variance by roll call, 5-0. The approval applies to the existing structure and preserves the current height and sign-face area while allowing digital faces under the county’s conditions for brightness and hours of operation.
The applicant and staff both noted potential benefits of digital conversion, including the ability to display emergency messages. The board recorded its decision and closed the item.
