The Board of Adjustment on an administrative hearing approved variances and special exceptions for a range of property requests, including screening for hospital generators, rebuilding setback relief after tornado damage, a school marquee conversion to digital, multiple home-sharing permits with noise and parking conditions, and a lot-size variance connected to a pending real-estate sale. The board continued several cases to March to allow applicants time to provide additional information.

The approvals include technical adjustments that require follow-up by planning staff and other review bodies. For a downtown hospital project, the board granted a variance to exceed the eight-foot fence limit so a screening enclosure can meet the Downtown Design Commission’s requirements; the approval was made contingent on the applicant obtaining the required Certificate of Appropriateness and completing administrative corrections. "We are willing to screen as high... but that requires a variance of above 8 feet," said Emily Tremblay, director of facilities for Valor Health, explaining the clinic’s request for taller screening around generators. Planning staff, represented by Sarah Welch of the planning department, told the board that staff and the downtown design review will set the final finished height after the variance is granted.

The board also approved variance requests from homeowners seeking to rebuild houses destroyed by a tornado and to restore preexisting setbacks on Maxine Drive. Leslie Drake, speaking for several neighbors, said the owners want to "rebuild similar to the homes that we had previously" because new AA Agricultural District standards and five-acre lot assumptions prevent reconstructing houses in their original footprints.

School district plans to replace an existing marquee with a digital sign were approved after board members said the sign will replace an existing sign in the same location, will not increase in size and will follow operational-hour limits. Melissa Holcomb, project administrator with Gardner Studio representing Oklahoma City Public Schools, told the board the sign is a bond-funded replacement intended to improve how the school posts information.

Multiple home-sharing (short-term rental) applications and renewals were approved, typically for one-year terms for first-time approvals and with standard conditions set by the board: quiet hours, no on-street parking during quiet hours, and limits on the number of cars allowed. For renewals the board sometimes approved multi-year terms where the operator showed a record of compliant management. Neighbors raised concerns about short-term rentals in family neighborhoods; Christine Phillips, a nearby homeowner, urged the board to consider the neighborhood’s child safety and property values. Planning staff noted a new city ordinance now allows the board to consider recorded restrictive covenants and limits the density of non-owner-occupied short-term rentals on a block to approximately 10% going forward, but the new ordinance does not apply retroactively to renewals that were lawfully issued before the ordinance’s effective date.

A home-childcare special exception request was continued to allow the applicant time to resolve outstanding building, licensing and parking questions with DHS and plan reviewers. Board members emphasized the need for an explicit maximum licensed capacity and a parking/queuing plan before final action. Sarah Welch, planning department, summarized the parking rule: "one space for every ten children... plus queuing spaces," and staff said at least two queuing spaces are required for childcare centers.

Votes at a glance

- Case 15857 (Valor Health / Leer Real Estate LLC) — Variance to screening regulations for generators in DTD-1 downtown district. Motion: approve subject to the applicant obtaining a Certificate of Appropriateness and completing administrative corrections. Outcome: approved.

- Case 15859 (Leslie Drake et al., Maxine Drive) — Variances to side setbacks and restoration of nonconforming buildings after tornado damage (multiple parcels). Motion: approve as meeting statutory variance requirements. Outcome: approved.

- Case 15842 (Gardner Studio for Oklahoma City Public Schools) — Variance to sign regulations to replace a marquee with a digital marquee within 300 feet of residences. Motion: approve as meeting statutory requirements; applicant to follow operational-hour limitations. Outcome: approved.

- Case 15845 (r r 4 OTCO LLP / 405 Argos Road) — Variance to minimum lot size (lot measured slightly under 6,000 sq ft). Motion: approve for statutory hardship to complete a real-estate transaction. Outcome: approved.

- Case 15840 (home-sharing renewal at 2048 NW 20th Street) — Special exception renewal for home sharing. Conditions: one-year term, quiet hours 9 p.m.–8 a.m., no on-street parking during quiet hours, three-car maximum. Motion: approve with modifications. Outcome: approved.

- Case 15844 (Block Active LLC / 3132 NW 63rd Street) — Special exception for home sharing. Conditions: one-year term, quiet hours 9 p.m.–8 a.m., no on-street parking, four-car maximum. Motion: approve with modifications. Outcome: approved.

- Case 15846 (Ryan and May Corsi / 9136 NW 119th Street) — Special exception for home sharing. Conditions: one-year term, quiet hours 9 p.m.–8 a.m., no on-street parking during quiet hours, four-car maximum. Motion: approve with modifications. Outcome: approved.

- Case 15848 (Libby Ross / 1638 NW 11th) — Special exception for home sharing. Conditions: one-year term, quiet hours 9 p.m.–8 a.m., no on-street parking during quiet hours, three-car maximum. Motion: approve with modifications. Outcome: approved.

- Case 15849 (Libby Ross / 1427 NW 24th Street) — Special exception for home sharing. Conditions: one-year term, quiet hours 9 p.m.–8 a.m., no on-street parking during quiet hours, three-car maximum. Motion: approve with modifications. Outcome: approved.

- Case 15854 (Wen Jin Chao / 3516 Grizzly Ridge Court) — Home-sharing renewal. Conditions: three-year term, two-car maximum, no on-street parking during quiet hours (9 p.m.–8 a.m.). Motion: approve with modifications. Outcome: approved.

- Case 15851 (LaDonna Hasley / 2100 NW 43rd Street) — Special exception application to operate a childcare center in R-1 district. Motion: continue to March 20, 2025 for applicant to provide DHS licensing capacity, parking/queuing documentation, building-permit/change-of-use documentation and a floor plan. Outcome: continued.

- Case 15852 and Case 15853 — Applicant absences and unresolved materials. Motions: continued to March 6, 2025. Outcome: continued.

What the board directed next

Planning staff will: confirm Certificate of Appropriateness processing and administrative corrections for the downtown generator screening case; verify parking and queuing requirements and ADA parking obligations for the childcare special exception before the continued hearing; and apply new city code provisions about short-term rental density and recorded covenants to applications filed after the ordinance’s effective date.

Why this matters

The board’s approvals change what property owners may construct or operate on the affected parcels: taller screening or revised setbacks, permitted digital school signage in proximity to residences subject to operational limits, and continued issuance of homeowner-operated short-term rentals under conditions intended to reduce neighborhood impacts. The childcare item’s continuance highlights the board’s expectation that applicants present licensing, building and parking plans before a final decision.

Ending note

Several residents voiced concerns during public testimony about short-term rentals’ effects on neighborhood safety and property values; board members and planning staff said changes to the city code provide additional tools for neighborhoods and will limit future density of non-owner-occupied short-term rentals on individual blocks. For items continued, applicants are scheduled to return in March with requested clarifications.