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O'Fallon board denies Kwik Trip request for larger canopy signs
Summary
The O'Fallon Board of Adjustment denied a Kwik Trip request to install two 14‑square‑foot canopy "button" signs at 418 S. Main St., finding the applicant did not demonstrate a land‑based hardship required by the city sign code; staff had recommended denial.
The O'Fallon Board of Adjustment on Jan. 14 denied a variance request from Kwik Trip Corporation to install two larger canopy signs at 418 South Main Street.
Planning staff told the board the city's sign code (Section 4.10.070.A.3.a.5 and Section 4.10.160.A.1) limits individual accessory signs to 5 percent of the canopy wall or 30 square feet, and calculated that the short north and south canopy faces on this site permit 5.54 square feet per face. Staff said the applicant sought 14 square feet per button sign — about a 152.7 percent increase over the allowable size — and had not shown the land‑based hardship required for a variance, so staff recommended denial.
Kwik Trip representative Gwen Keen said the company believed a visibility hardship existed because the canopy orientation means a 6–7 square‑foot sign on the east–west faces would not be visible to north–south traffic. "We do believe that there's a hardship here," Keen said, arguing the site layout, drainage and access constrained alternative canopy placement and that visitors unfamiliar with the area need the additional identifier.
Staff answered board questions by noting some older Kwik Trip sites had larger canopy signs because they were constructed before a code change and were effectively grandfathered; staff also clarified that measurement methods differ and that the lettering itself measured around seven square feet in one estimate, while the code measurement yields 5.54 square feet for the shorter faces. A board member observing that "Kwik Trip is a brand that everybody recognizes" questioned whether larger signs were necessary; another board member said the legal standard requires showing a hardship arising from the property, not from business preference.
After discussion a motion to approve the variance was made and seconded but failed; the chair announced the motion "did not pass." Staff suggested the applicant could pursue a code amendment or discuss alternative signage with city staff or the city council. The denial leaves Kwik Trip with the option to resubmit a permit that complies with the existing sign measurements or to pursue code changes through the council process.
The board moved on to other agenda items and did not take further action on the Kwik Trip request during the meeting.
