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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 2791 By: Stinson
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to transportation; amending 69 O.S.
2021, Section 1273, which relates to outdoor
advertising definitions; defining term; and providing
an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE P EOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 69 O.S. 2021, Section 1273, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1273. As used in Section 1271 et seq. of this title:
(a) "Sign", "outdoor advertising" or "outdoor advertising
device" means any outdoor sign, display, devi ce, notice, figure,
painting, drawing, message, placard, poster, billboard or ot her
thing which is designed, intended or used to advertise o r inform,
but shall not include surface ma rkers showing the location or route
of underground utility facilities or p ipelines or public telephone
coin stations installed for emergency use.
(b) "Main traveled way" means the traveled way of a highway on
which through traffic is carried. In the case of a divided highway,
the traveled way of each of the separated roadways for traffic in
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opposite directions is a main traveled way. It does not include
such facilities as frontage roads, turning roadways or parki ng
areas.
(c) "To erect" and its variants means to construct, build,
raise, assemble, place, affix, attach, create, paint, draw or in any
other way bring into being or establish. But these shall not
include any of the foregoing activities when performed as incident
to the change of advertising m essage or customary maintenanc e of the
sign structure.
(d) "Unzoned commercial or industrial areas " means those areas
which are not zoned by state or loc al law, regulation or ordinance,
and on which there is locat ed one or more permanent structures
devoted to a commercial or industria l activity or on which a
commercial or industrial activity is actually conducted, whether or
not a permanent structure is lo cated thereon, and the area along the
highway extending outw ard six hundred (600) feet from and beyond the
edge of such activity on both sides of the highway. Provided ,
however, the unzoned area shall not include land on the opposite
side of an interstate or dual-laned limited access primary highway
from the commercial or industrial activity establishing t he unzoned
commercial or industrial area or land on the opposite side of other
federal-aid primary highways, which land is deemed scenic by an
appropriate agency of the state.
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All measurements shall be from the ou ter edges of the regularly
used buildings, parking lots, storage or proc essing areas of the
commercial or industrial activities, not from the property lines of
the activities, and shall be along or parallel to the edge of
pavement of the highway. Such an area shall not include any area
which is beyond six hundred sixty (660) feet from the nearest edge
of the right-of-way. In unzoned commercial or industrial areas ,
signs shall not be located:
(1) Within three hundred (300) feet of any building used
primarily as a residence, unless the owner of the
building consents in writing to allow the sign to
exist; or
(2) Within five hundred (500) feet of any of the
following: public park, garden, recreation are a or
forest preserve, church, school and officially
designated historical battlefield .
All spacing considerations are determined by whether or not they
exist within the adjac ent or control area.
(e) "Commercial and industrial activities" means those
activities, clearly visible from the main traveled way, general ly
recognized as commercial or industrial by zoning authorities in this
state, except that none of the following sha ll be considered
commercial or industrial:
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(1) Agricultural, forestry, ranching, g razing, farming and
related activities, including, but not limited to,
wayside fresh produce stands;
(2) Outdoor advertising structures;
(3) Transient or temporary activities ;
(4) Activities more than six hundred sixty ( 660) feet from
the nearest edge of t he right-of-way;
(5) Activities conducted in a building pr incipally used as
a residence; and
(6) Railroad tracks and minor sidings.
(f) "Official signs" means signs and noti ces erected and
maintained by public officers or public agencies within their
territorial jurisdiction and pursuant to and in accordance wit h
direction or authorization contained in federal or state law for the
purposes of carrying out an official duty or responsibility.
(g) "Informational signs" means signs containing directions or
information about public places owned or operated by federal , state
or local governments or their agencies, publicly or privately owned
natural phenomena, historic, cultural, e ducational and religious
sites, and areas of n atural scenic beauty or naturally su ited for
outdoor recreation, deemed to be in the interest of the traveling
public.
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(h) "On-premise activities signs " means signs advertising
activities conducted upon the pr operty on which the signs are
located.
(i) "On-premise sale or lease signs " means signs advertising
the sale or lease of property on which they are located.
(j) "Interstate highway" means any highway at any time
officially designated a part of the Nation al System of Interstate
and Defense Highways b y the Department and approved by the
appropriate authority of the federal government.
(k) "Primary highway" means the Federal-aid Primary System in
existence on June 1, 1991, and any highway which is not on th at
system but is on the National Highway Syste m.
(l) "Centerline of the highway " means a line equidistant from
the edges of the median sepa rating the main traveled ways of a
divided highway, or the centerline of the main traveled way of a
nondivided highway.
(m) "Adjacent area" or "control area" means the area which is
adjacent to and within six hundred sixty (660) feet of the nearest
edge of the right-of-way on any interstate or primary highway within
urban areas, which six -hundred-sixty-foot distance shall be measured
horizontally along a line perp endicular to, or ninety (90) degrees
to, the centerline of the highway. Outside of urban area s, adjacent
area or control area means the area which is visible from the main
traveled way on any interstate or pri mary highway.
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(n) "Business area" means any part of a control area which is:
(1) Within six hundred sixty (660) feet of the nearest
edge of the right-of-way and zoned for business,
industrial or commercial activities under the
authority of any state zonin g law, or city or county
zoning ordinance of t his state; or
(2) Not so zoned, but which constitutes an unzoned
commercial or industrial area as herein defined.
(o) "Department" means the Department of Transportation of the
State of Oklahoma.
(p) "Maintain" means to hold or keep in a state of efficie ncy
or validity, to support or susta in, by cleaning or repairing the
sign or changing the mess age on its face.
(q) "Visible" means capable of being seen without visual aid by
a person of normal visual acuity.
(r) "License" means the privilege to do busin ess in the State
of Oklahoma having been granted by an official agency.
(s) "Permit" means the privilege to erect a sign or signs in an
individual location within the State of Oklahoma having been granted
by an official agency.
(t) "License fee" means the monetary consideration paid for th e
privilege of doing business in the State of Oklahoma.
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(u) "Permit fee" means the monetary consideration paid for the
privilege of erecting a sign or signs in a specific lo cation within
the State of Oklahoma.
(v) "Urban area" means an urbanized area or, in the case of an
urbanized area encompassing more than o ne state, that part of the
urbanized area in each such state, or an urban place as designated
by the Bureau of the C ensus having a population of five thousand
(5,000) or more and not within any urba nized area, within boundaries
to be fixed by responsible s tate and local officials in cooperation
with each other, subject to approval by the Secretary of
Transportation. Such boundaries shall, as a minimum, encompass t he
entire urban place designated by the Bureau of the Census.
(w) "Relocation permit" means a permit issued pursuant to the
provisions of subparagraph (d) of paragraph (3) of Section 1275 of
this title. A relocation permit shall have precedence over any
municipal or county restriction that interferes with the intended
purpose of providing a metho d and opportunity to minimize the cost
of acquiring legally erected outdoor advertising signs by the
Department; provided, however, for those municipalities with a
population in excess of five hundr ed thousand (500,000) based on the
most recent census data , neither a relocation permit nor any outdoor
advertising sign permit shall be issued in those areas in which a
municipality or county has lawfully enacted a proh ibition on the
erection of an outdoo r advertising sign. This section shall not
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prohibit a registered sign owner from seeking just compensation
through a legal proceeding.
(x) "Playground" means an outdoor space that contains
permanently affixed playgroun d equipment where the primary use is
for children to play, excluding those spaces where the eq uipment and
accessory uses are secondary to a commercial for -profit entity.
Playground equipment located on private ly owned residential
properties, where the pri mary use is to serve the personal
residence, shall not be considered.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
59-1-6259 JBH 01/10/23