BZA permits single shared pole sign for Kroger development, increasing allowed signage on one parcel while reducing freestanding signs across the site

The Town of Smyrna Board of Zoning Appeals approved a sign‑variance request from SEK Smyrna LLC that will allow a single 20‑ft‑tall pole sign to serve multiple parcels within the Kroger/Lee Victory Parkway development and increase the total signage allowance on the sign parcel to 274.18 square feet (the town’s standard allowance is 200 square feet).

Planning staff explained the proposed pole sign (100 sq ft, including 13 sq ft of digital, changeable copy for a fuel center) would be placed on an adjoining parcel where an easement was recorded in the plat, and in exchange several lots (including two outparcels addressed on Bulldog Drive) would not be allowed separate pole/ground signs. Staff said McDonald’s on an adjacent parcel already has permitted pole signage included in its total and that the requested configuration would reduce the overall number of freestanding signs across the development while preserving building wall signage for individual tenants. Staff noted the sign itself complies with height, setback and size rules for a pole sign; the variance is for how the total signage is allocated and for permitting additional net square footage on the single parcel that will host the shared sign.

Board members asked whether placing the sign on that parcel would restrict McDonald’s permitted signage (staff said it would not) and discussed how the arrangement affects lots that would forgo pole signs. Several members said the proposal improves the visual character along Lee Victory Parkway and Bulldog Drive by consolidating freestanding signage. No public speakers opposed the request and the board approved the variance subject to staff recommendations.