§ 69-1275. Standards for signs in business area.

After April 15, 1968, signs which are to be erected in a business area shall comply with the following standards:

1.  General.  Signs shall not be erected or maintained which:

a.imitate or resemble any official traffic sign, signal or device, or

b.are erected or maintained upon trees or painted or drawn upon rocks or other natural features;

2.  Size.

a.Signs shall not be erected which exceed one thousand two hundred (1,200) square feet in area, per facing, including border and trim, nor shall signs be erected which exceed twenty-five (25) feet in height nor sixty (60) feet in length, excluding apron, supports and other structural members.

b.The maximum size limitations shall apply to each sign facing.  Two signs not exceeding six hundred (600) square feet each may be erected in a facing, side by side or "doubledecked".  Back-to-back and/or V-type signs will be permitted, and shall be treated as one structure with one thousand two hundred (1,200) square feet permitted for each, if the sign structures or facings are physically contiguous, or connected by the same structure or cross bracing, or located not more than fifteen (15) feet apart at their nearest point nor more than thirty (30) feet apart at their widest point in the case of back-to-back or V-type signs.  However, nothing in this section shall be construed to allow tri-faced signs;

3.  Spacing.

a.Signs shall conform to all applicable building codes and ordinances of the municipality, county or state, whichever has jurisdiction as set forth in Section 1272 of this title, except as provided for in subparagraph d of this paragraph.

b.Signs shall not be erected or maintained in such a manner as to obscure or otherwise physically interfere with an official traffic sign, signal or device or to obstruct or physically interfere with the driver's view of approaching, merging or intersecting traffic.

c.Signs visible from a nonfreeway primary highway shall not be erected within the limits of an incorporated municipality less than one hundred (100) feet on the opposite side of the highway and three hundred (300) feet on the same side of the highway, and outside the limits of an incorporated municipality less than three hundred (300) feet, from another such sign, other than signs described in subsections (a), (b) and (c) of Section 1274 of this title, unless separated by a building or other obstruction in such a manner that only one display located within the minimum spacing distances set forth herein is visible from the highway at any one time; provided, however, that this shall not prevent the erection of double-faced, back-to-back, or V-type signs with a maximum of two signs per facing, as permitted by paragraph 2 of this section.  Signs visible and intended to be read from interstate and freeway primary facilities shall not be erected less than one thousand (1,000) feet from another such sign on the same side of such facilities, other than signs described in subsections (a), (b) and (c) of Section 1274 of this title.  Outside incorporated municipalities, signs visible and intended to be read from interstate and freeway primary facilities shall not be erected adjacent to or within five hundred (500) feet of an interchange, intersection at grade, or rest area, on the same side of such facilities such distance to be measured along the interstate highway or freeway from the sign to the nearest point of the beginning or ending of pavement widening at the exit from or entrance to the main-traveled way.  Signs may not be located within five hundred (500) feet of any of the following which are adjacent to any interstate or federal-aid primary highway: public parks; public forests; playgrounds; or cemeteries.  Provided, however, the Transportation Commission shall promulgate rules pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act governing the measurement methodology to be prospectively utilized by the Department when determining spacing between outdoor advertising signs, displays and devices and public parks, public forests, playgrounds and cemeteries.  Provided further, any measurement methodology heretofore utilized by the Department, including but not limited to the straight-line method, shall be accepted by the Department without prejudice.  Provided further, the Department shall be prohibited from altering a permit classification or revoking any outdoor advertising license, which was properly obtained at the time of issuance, based upon a change of internal agency policy, agency interpretation of law or promulgation of rules.  Provided further, a sign location that was permitted in compliance with the spacing requirements of this section in effect prior to the effective date of this act, but which does not comply with the spacing requirements of this section as amended after the effective date of this act, shall maintain its current legal status; provided it complies with all other permitting requirements as set forth by the Transportation Commission.

d.For the purpose of providing a method and opportunity to minimize the cost of acquiring legally erected outdoor advertising signs, the Director of the Department of Transportation shall have the option to approve the issuance of permits for outdoor advertising signs visible from a roadway subject to the regulatory control of the Department of Transportation which are to be erected less than one thousand (1,000) feet from another such sign.  Permits issued pursuant to this option shall be only for the purpose of providing a relocation site for a sign being taken by the state.  Provided, when the Department issues a permit pursuant to this subsection to accommodate the relocation of a structure:

(1)if the structure to be removed is visible from a roadway subject to the regulatory control of the Department inside an incorporated area, the relocation site shall be inside the same incorporated area and shall be visible from a roadway subject to the regulatory control of the Department, and

(2)if there are not suitable relocation sites meeting the provisions of division 1 of this subparagraph and the structure to be removed is visible from a roadway subject to the regulatory control of the Department, notwithstanding the provisions of division 1 of this subparagraph, the Department may issue a permit for a relocation site outside of the incorporated area, provided the relocation site is either in a contiguous county thereto or the same Transportation Commission District, which shall be visible from a roadway subject to the regulatory control of the Department.

Provided further, the square footage of display face on the relocated sign shall not exceed the square footage of display face of the taken sign.  The relocated sign shall maintain the same legal status as existed prior to relocation; provided it complies with all other permitting requirements set forth by the Transportation Commission and no other permits shall be required.  The Transportation Commission shall have the authority to promulgate rules necessary to implement the use of the permit option provided for in this subsection and to request the cooperation of municipalities where local permits are required.

e.Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Department of Transportation shall, after determining the need to acquire property upon which outdoor advertising structures are located, have the authority to negotiate directly with the owner of the outdoor advertising structure the terms for maintaining such structures in their current position or for the relocation of such structures.  Such negotiations may begin prior to the Department's initiation of formal condemnation proceedings and shall be completed prior to a jury award in a condemnation proceeding.  The Department of Transportation retains its right to require the removal of the sign structure improvement effective as of the payment by the Department in the amount awarded by the court-appointed commissioners pursuant to applicable law.  Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the owner of the land from pursuing a claim of interest in any lease existing between the landowner and the outdoor advertising structure owner, or to prevent the outdoor advertising structure owner from pursuing a claim for fair market value of the owner's interest if negotiations with the Department for a lease or structure relocation arrangement are not successful;

4.  Lighting.

a.Signs shall not be erected which contain, include, or are illuminated by any flashing, intermittent, revolving or moving light, except on-premise signs and those giving public service information such as, but not limited to, time, date, temperature, weather or news.  Steadily burning lights in configuration of letters or pictures are not prohibited.

b.Signs shall not be erected or maintained which are not effectively shielded to prevent beams or rays of light from being directed at any portion of the traveled way of any interstate or primary highway and are of such intensity or brilliance as to cause glare or to impair the vision of the driver of any motor vehicle.

c.Signs shall not be erected or maintained which shall be so illuminated that they obscure any official traffic sign, device, or signal, or imitate or may be confused with any such official traffic sign, device or signal.

d.Provided, however, nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the erection or maintenance of signs which include the steady illumination of sign faces, panels or slats that rotate to different messages in a fixed position, commonly known as tri-vision faces or multiple message signs; provided, the rotation of one sign face to another is no more frequent than every eight (8) seconds and the actual rotation process is accomplished in four (4) seconds or less; and

5.  Vegetation Management.

a.For the purpose of minimizing costs to the Department for the removal, cutting, or trimming of trees or vegetation on a public right-of-way to make visible or ensure future visibility of the facing of a permitted outdoor advertising sign, the Department is authorized to establish a process for an outdoor advertising permit holder to conduct vegetation management activities within a specific area surrounding the permit holders' outdoor advertising device.

b.The Department shall promulgate rules prescribing the scope of such vegetation management activities and any requirements it deems necessary to monitor such activities.

Added by Laws 1968, c. 191, § 5, emerg. eff. April 15, 1968.  Amended by Laws 1972, c. 240, § 3, emerg. eff. March 28, 1972; Laws 1990, c. 96, § 1, emerg. eff. April 18, 1990; Laws 1995, c. 178, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1995; Laws 1996, c. 230, § 1, emerg. eff. May 23, 1996; Laws 1999, c. 150, § 1, emerg. eff. May 3, 1999; Laws 2001, c. 179, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2001; Laws 2003, c. 335, § 1, eff. July 1, 2003; Laws 2010, c. 107, § 3, emerg. eff. April 16, 2010; Laws 2010, c. 405, § 2, eff. July 1, 2010; Laws 2011, c. 346, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2011; Laws 2013, c. 372, § 13, eff. Nov. 1, 2013.