Oak Island board grants variance for Dairy Queen sign at 5701 East Oak Island Drive

Oak Island — At its July meeting, the Board of Adjustment approved a variance allowing a Dairy Queen at 5701 East Oak Island Drive to install a pole sign within the town’s 10‑foot sign setback.

Courtney Tanner, a certified planner representing owner Andre Beacham, told the board the Dairy Queen site was developed under older rules and that the property’s small, nearly fully paved layout leaves no safe, setback‑compliant location for a ground sign. Tanner said the restaurant’s original ground sign was destroyed by Hurricane Florence in 2018 and that Dairy Queen corporate had warned the franchisee the lack of a ground sign could jeopardize the franchise agreement. "We are coming here asking to bring our other legal nonconforming sign into 100% compliance with the exception for the variance," Tanner said during the presentation.

The town planner, Ray Powell, summarized the staff report and referenced the Unified Development Ordinance sections cited by the application: 10.23.4 (sign setbacks), 10.26.2 (pole sign design criteria) and related sign provisions. Powell said the proposed pole sign would fall within the 10‑foot property line setback required by section 10.23.4 and therefore could not be administratively approved without a variance.

During questioning, board members pressed whether the proposed sign would meet other UDO requirements — including height, sign area and sight‑triangle rules — if the setback exception were granted. Tanner and staff said the applicant was requesting only the setback exemption; all other sign specifications (including a 15‑foot maximum height cited by staff) would have to comply once the sign specifications were submitted. Tanner added that the plan anticipated landscaping and proper footings to ensure the sign would not obstruct sight lines.

Owner Andre Beacham, sworn before the board, confirmed he owns the parcel and the Dairy Queen franchise for the Wilmington territory and said losing the ground sign created a real business risk. Eric Hooks, owner of the Delk Island sub shop that shares the multi‑tenant building, testified that he would remove his existing nonconforming sign and supported a combined, conforming multi‑tenant sign benefitting both businesses.

After closing the public hearing, the board considered the four statutory variance findings. A member moved and the board affirmed each finding — that strict application of the UDO would cause unnecessary hardship, that the hardship results from conditions peculiar to the property, that the hardship was not self‑created and that the request is consistent with the spirit and intent of the ordinance — and discussed enforceable conditions. The board attached conditions including removal of the old sign foundation (in the NCDOT right of way), removal or relocation of the existing sub shop sign as part of the consolidated sign plan, and a requirement that all other UDO sign specifications be met.

The board voted to grant the variance with those conditions. The vote was recorded as unanimous.

Staff said the formal order reflecting the board’s written findings and the vote will be prepared by the town attorney and presented for the chair’s signature at the next meeting. The board also discussed scheduling for a previously continued appeal and appointed a vice chair before adjourning.

Details from the transcript: the staff report and the application identify the subject property as 5701 East Oak Island Drive; the applicant described the parcel as approximately 1.32 acres with the Dairy Queen on the northwest corner. The proposal requests relief from UDO section 10.23.4 (10‑foot sign setbacks). The applicant stated the original Dairy Queen ground sign was present in 2017 and was destroyed by Hurricane Florence in 2018. No franchise representative spoke at the hearing to confirm corporate policy.