By Conrad Dudderar
Senior Staff Writer
The United States Flag will tower above Yukon’s bustling commercial corridor after action this week by a City of Yukon board.
A height variance has been granted to allow a 60-foot-tall flagpole displaying the Stars and Stripes on Garth Brooks Boulevard south of Interstate 40.
The Yukon Board of Adjustments, at an Oct. 5th meeting, voted 4-0 to approve the variance request from the Edmond company Vital Signs on behalf of Joe Cooper Ford.
“Mr. Cooper just wanted to state that he’s a proud American and would like to show it as high as he can to the City of Yukon,” said Marty Zimms, project coordinator for Vital Signs of Oklahoma.
The American Flag will be no larger than 15 feet tall and 25 feet long.
That is the maximum size that a 60-foot flagpole “can reasonably carry” and “accommodate a proper wind load,” Zimms told board members.
“It will withstand 117-mph winds,” Zimms advised. “Without a flag, it’s 187 mph.
“Usually, if it’s inclement weather, they shouldn’t be flying it anyway.”
The purpose of the tall flagpole at Joe Cooper Ford is to show the ample red, white and blue banner to people traveling I-40 and along Garth Brooks Boulevard, according to board member Rhonda Dennis.
The dealership is located at 1780 Garth Brooks Blvd. just north of 10th Street.
25-FEET HIGHER
The applicant’s proposed 60-foot flagpole exceeds the City of Yukon code by 25 feet.
City ordinance restricts the height of any building or structure in a commercial district to 35 feet – unless the board of adjustments approves a variance.
An existing 80-foot-tall digital sign – now not in service – will be removed from the Joe Cooper Ford property and replaced with the 60-foot flagpole, Yukon Development Services Director Mitch Hort said.
“I think the flag will be a lot better deal than that digital board that they had at one time there,” Hort told board members Monday night.
Hort noted it is “common” for car dealerships to fly larger flags.
The City of Yukon board previously approved a height variance to allow an even taller flagpole at a self-storage business on West Vandament.
Yukon’s Rick Opitz had installed the flagpole to fly a large American flag when he owned 5-Star Storage, Hort told board members.
While the pole still exists, Hort said that flag hasn’t flown in some time after a new owner bought the business.
