Scenic Knoxville opposes Dutch Bros. sign variance; board denies larger attached-sign area

The Knoxville Board of Zoning Appeals denied a request from Dutch Bros. to increase the maximum allowed attached sign area at a Chapman Highway location.

Amy Shelby, who identified herself in the hearing packet as representing the applicant and gave an address of 3315 Riverside Drive, said Dutch Bros. sought an increase in sign area so its building would remain consistent with corporate brand elements used at other locations. "Dutch Bros is just simply wanting to keep its building looking the same as all their current locations," Shelby said.

Joyce Feld, who spoke and introduced herself as president of Scenic Knoxville, urged the board to deny the variance. Feld told the panel, "the city of Knoxville's legislative body, city council, is the sole authority empowered to set sign standards for our city," and said the applicant had not demonstrated a legal hardship required by the zoning ordinance.

Board members questioned whether the applicant showed the exceptional physical conditions that the ordinance requires to justify a variance and expressed concern that granting the request would undermine the city's sign standards. After public comment and deliberation the board voted to deny the increase in attached sign area.

The board's denial means the applicant may either revise the sign design to conform to the 121.33-square-foot limit set by staff's building-elevation calculation or seek an appeal to the Knoxville City Council within the appeal period.

The decision followed staff presentation of a technical calculation: using the building elevation submitted by the architect, staff computed a wall area that yielded a 121.33-square-foot maximum sign; the applicant had requested 177.08 square feet (a 45.9% increase).