City Zoning Board of Appeals members are doing the right thing trying to schedule a special meeting to discuss the National Comedy Center’s request for an area variance and special use permit to install two 357-square-foot electronic messaging display signs on the outside of the future National Comedy Center.

At the same time, give credit to the Zoning Board of Appeals members for doing the job they were appointed to do. No organization or individual, no matter how large or small, should expect an automatic approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Assuming the board approves the National Comedy Center’s variance during a special meeting, it was important that ZBA not be seen as playing favorites or changing the rules for a project that has garnered national attention.

Certainly things come up at the last minute, so it isn’t a cardinal sin for a National Comedy Center official to suddenly become unavailable at the last minute. What is a cardinal sin is expecting the city’s development director to be an acceptable stand-in and, even worse, to have waited until time was so short to receive the necessary variances. Vince DeJoy can’t possibly have the type of knowledge of the project needed of someone who will be asked questions by the Zoning Board of Appeals members; allowing him to be a stand-in would have made the procedure a farce. Imagine being someone who did all the city asked, appeared before the Zoning Board of Appeals to answer questions and still was turned down for a zoning variance? How quickly would you consider suing the city?

And, there was certainly no secret that variances and a special use permit would be needed. To wait until the 11th hour to file the paperwork for the variance and special use permit was just begging for a scheduling conflict.

We’re glad to see Zoning Board of Appeals members working with the National Comedy Center. There is no doubt the situation will be resolved expeditiously and that this will be nothing but a temporary hiccup.