Zoning board approves 75-foot, 400-sq.-ft. sign variance for Trident Real Estate at 3320 Buttermilk Road

The Tuscaloosa City Zoning Board of Adjustments on June 22 approved a variance allowing Trident Real Estate Development to install a 75-foot freestanding sign with a 400-square-foot display at 3320 Buttermilk Road. The motion passed by the board with a single dissenting vote.

Planning staff summarized the applicable zoning and sign standards and noted that, if a site were directly adjacent to the interstate, a different footnote in the code would allow up to a 65-foot, 450-square-foot sign. During the staff presentation the board reviewed site aerials, the lot’s relationship to the interstate and relevant variance decision standards.

Applicant David Rogers told the board the proposed racetrack-convenience site is “interstate-oriented” and argued that the site’s existing topography and its distance from the interstate reduce on-site visibility. He said his sign vendor’s visibility data supported a taller single sign as the safest way for drivers to read pricing and make lane changes to enter the site. "Given the elevation drop past the site, a 75-foot sign with a large display is the safest way to provide visibility and safe access," Rogers said.

Board members asked whether alternatives — such as two 200-square-foot signs, one per street frontage — would address the visibility concern and whether surrounding signs (some of which predate the current ordinance) are taller. The applicant said combining two signs would not solve the topographic visibility problem and that his proposal would blend with other tall signs near the interchange.

Board member Mary Katherine Holt said she understood the applicant’s hardship and supported the variance, citing the site’s orientation toward interstate travelers. Paul Rollins Jr. expressed skepticism, saying he did not see the required hardship and pointed to other nearby signage and non-city jurisdictional differences. After board discussion the chair read the petition and a roll call vote was taken; the petition was approved.

The decision permits the applicant to construct a 75-foot freestanding sign with a 400-square-foot face at 3320 Buttermilk Road (zoned HC, Council District 6). The board’s approval notes the applicant’s claim of a visibility and access hardship tied to site topography and interstate traffic; the written record contains no public speakers for or against the petition.

The board moved on to multiple short-term rental petitions after the vote.