Board approves Wawa’s request for two electronic fuel‑price signs and related variances

The Oldham County Board of Adjustments voted March 19 to grant a conditional‑use permit and two variances for the proposed Wawa at the corner of South Highway 393 and Commerce Parkway.

Assistant Director Anna Barge presented docket OC26‑010 and explained the applicant — Buckner Highway 393 LLC — seeks to install two monument signs with digital fuel pricing (no animation or video). Because electronic signs are prohibited in the county’s industrial park district by default, the company requested a conditional‑use permit for electronic pricing displays, a height variance to exceed the 6‑foot maximum (request: 22 inches over the limit), and a 3.3‑foot front‑setback variance for the sign that fronts South Highway 393.

John Baker, counsel for the applicant, said the digital pricing displays would be limited to fuel price digits and that monument design cues match the building. Samuel Smith, Wawa’s engineering manager, explained the sign foundation, landscaping and grade constraints that influence the monument’s elevation and the decision to present the standard Wawa monument rather than bury the digits behind plantings.

Board members asked technical questions about whether the requested height increase was effectively an elevation choice, and whether alternatives (a raised foundation or berm) could achieve the same visibility without a variance. The applicant said landscaping at the base could block digits if the sign were set lower, and that the presented design preserves digit visibility while improving the sign’s appearance.

Motions to approve the conditional‑use permit, the 22‑inch height variance, and the 3.3‑foot setback variance were each made, seconded and passed on voice votes. Each approval was conditioned on the action applying only to the March 19, 2026 application and on the applicant obtaining the required sign permits through Oldham County Planning and Development.

The approvals allow the applicant to proceed to sign‑permit review and building/installation steps required by county code. The transcript records voice votes but does not include roll‑call tallies.