This section lets certain commercial signs near listed highways be rebuilt or relocated only under specified conditions, and requires the department to identify alternate relocation sites and permit relocation when the stated conditions are met.
Sec. 391.253. REERECTION, RECONSTRUCTION, REPAIR, OR REBUILDING OF COMMERCIAL SIGNS. (a) A commercial sign that is adjacent to and visible from a highway listed in Section 391.252 that is blown down, destroyed, taken down, or removed for a purpose other than maintenance or to change a letter, symbol, or other matter on the sign may be reerected, reconstructed, repaired, or rebuilt only if the cost of reerecting, reconstructing, repairing, or rebuilding the sign is not more than 60 percent of the cost of erecting a new commercial sign of the same size, type, and construction at the same location. (b) The department shall permit the relocation of a commercial sign adjacent to and visible from a highway listed in Section 391.252 to another location that is adjacent to and visible from the same highway if: (1) the construction, reconstruction, or expansion of a highway requires the removal of the sign; (2) the sign is not modified to increase the above-grade height, the area of each sign face, the dimensions of the sign face, the number of sign faces, or the illumination of the sign; and (3) the department identifies an alternate site for the relocation of the sign adjacent to and visible from the highway listed in Section 391.252. (c) For purposes of this section, the department shall specify, within 30 days of receipt of a request for a relocation site, a minimum of three alternate sites that meet permitting requirements for a commercial sign to be reerected, reconstructed, repaired, or rebuilt adjacent to and visible from a highway listed in Section 391.252. (d) The owner of a commercial sign that is reerected, reconstructed, repaired, or rebuilt according to Subsection (a) or relocated according to Subsection (b) may alter the materials and design of the sign to reduce the number of upright supports, subject to other restrictions in this section, in a manner that meets or exceeds the pre-existing structural specifications of the sign. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1264, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2001. Amended by: Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 964 (S.B. 2006), Sec. 28, eff. June 15, 2017.