SECTIONS 5200-5231 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 5200-5231

5200. This chapter of the Business and Professions Code constitutes
the chapter on advertisers. It may be cited as the Outdoor
Advertising Act.

5201. Unless the context otherwise requires, the general provisions
set forth in this article govern the construction of this chapter.

5202. "Advertising display" refers to advertising structures and to
signs.

5203. "Advertising structure" means a structure of any kind or
character erected, used, or maintained for outdoor advertising
purposes, upon which any poster, bill, printing, painting or other
advertisement of any kind whatsoever may be placed, including
statuary, for advertising purposes.
"Advertising structure" does not include:
(a) Official notices issued by any court or public body or
officer;
(b) Notices posted by any public officer in performance of a
public duty or by any person in giving legal notice;
(c) Directional, warning or information structures required by or
authorized by law or by federal, state or county authority.
(d) A structure erected near a city or county boundary, which
contains the name of such city or county and the names of, or any
other information regarding, civic, fraternal or religious
organizations located therein.

5204. "Bonus segment" means any segment of an interstate highway
which was covered by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1958 and the
Collier-Z'berg Act, namely, any such segment which is constructed
upon right-of-way, the entire width of which was acquired subsequent
to July 1, 1956.

5205. "Business area" means an area within 1,000 feet, measured in
each direction, from the nearest edge of a commercial or industrial
building or activity and which is zoned under authority of state law
primarily to permit industrial or commercial activities or an unzoned
commercial or industrial area.

5206. "Centerline of the highway" means a line equidistant from the
edges of the median separating the main traveled way of a divided
highway, or the centerline of the main traveled way of a nondivided
highway.

5208. "Collier-Z'berg Act" refers to Chapter 128, Statutes of 1964
(First Extraordinary Session).

5208.6. "Department" means the Department of Transportation.

5209. "Director" refers to the Director of Transportation of the
State of California.

5210. "Federal Aid Highway Act of 1958" refers to Section 131 of
Title 23 of the United States Code, as in effect before October 22,
1965.

5211. "Flashing" is a light or message that changes more than once
every four seconds.

5212. "Freeway," for the purposes of this chapter only, means a
divided arterial highway for through traffic with full control of
access and with grade separations at intersections.

5213. "Highway" includes roads, streets, boulevards, lanes, courts,
places, commons, trails, ways or other rights-of-way or easements
used for or laid out and intended for the public passage of vehicles
or of vehicles and persons.

5214. "Highway Beautification Act of 1965" refers to Section 131 of
Title 23 of the United States Code, as in effect October 22, 1965.

5215. "Interstate highway" means any highway at any time officially
designated as a part of the national system of interstate and
defense highways by the director and approved by appropriate
authority of the federal government.

5216. (a) "Landscaped freeway" means a section or sections of a
freeway that is now, or hereafter may be, improved by the planting at
least on one side or on the median of the freeway right-of-way of
lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers, or other ornamental vegetation
requiring reasonable maintenance.
(b) Planting for the purpose of soil erosion control, traffic
safety requirements, including light screening, reduction of fire
hazards, or traffic noise abatement, shall not change the character
of a freeway to a landscaped freeway.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if an agreement to relocate
advertising displays from within one area of a city or county to an
area adjacent to a freeway right-of-way has been entered into between
a city or county and the owner of an advertising display, then a
"landscaped freeway" shall not include the median of a freeway
right-of-way.

5216.1. "Lawfully erected" means, in reference to advertising
displays, advertising displays which were erected in compliance with
state laws and local ordinances in effect at the time of their
erection or which were subsequently brought into full compliance with
state laws and local ordinances, except that the term does not apply
to any advertising display whose use is modified after erection in a
manner which causes it to become illegal. There shall be a
rebuttable presumption pursuant to Section 606 of the Evidence Code
that an advertising display is lawfully erected if it has been in
existence for a period of five years or longer without the owner
having received written notice during that period from a governmental
entity stating that the display was not lawfully erected.

5216.3. "Main-traveled way" is 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 separate roadways for traffic in
opposite directions is a main-traveled way. Main-traveled way does
not include facilities such as frontage roads, ramps, auxiliary
lanes, parking areas, or shoulders.

5216.4. "Message center" is an advertising display where the
message is changed more than once every two minutes, but no more than
once every four seconds.

5216.5. "Nonconforming advertising display" is an advertising
display that was lawfully placed, but that does not conform to the
provisions of this chapter, or the administrative regulations adopted
pursuant to this chapter, that were enacted subsequent to the date
of placing.

5216.6. (a) "Officially designated scenic highway or scenic byway"
is any state highway that has been officially designated and
maintained as a state scenic highway pursuant to Sections 260, 261,
262, and 262.5 of the Streets and Highways Code or that has been
officially designated a scenic byway as referred to in Section 131(s)
of Title 23 of the United States Code.
(b) "Officially designated scenic highway or scenic byway" does
not include routes listed as part of the State Scenic Highway system,
Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 260) of Chapter 2 of Division 1
of the Streets and Highways Code, unless those routes, or segments
of those routes, have been designated as officially designated state
scenic highways.

5218. "Penalty segment" means any segment of a highway located in
this state which was not covered by the Federal Aid Highway Act of
1958 and the Collier-Z'berg Act but which is covered by the Highway
Beautification Act of 1965, namely, any segment of an interstate
highway which is constructed upon right-of-way, any part of the width
of which was acquired prior to July 1, 1956, and any segment of a
primary highway.

5219. "Person" includes natural person, firm, cooperative,
partnership, association, limited liability company, and corporation.

5220. "Primary highway" means any highway, other than an interstate
highway, designated as a part of the federal-aid primary system in
existence on June 1, 1991, and any highway that is not in that system
but which is in the National Highway System.

5221. "Sign" refers to any card, cloth, paper, metal, painted or
wooden sign of any character placed for outdoor advertising purposes
on or to the ground or any tree, wall, bush, rock, fence, building,
structure or thing, either privately or publicly owned, other than an
advertising structure.
"Sign" does not include any of the following:
(a) Official notices issued by any court or public body or
officer.
(b) Notices posted by any public officer in performance of a
public duty or by any person in giving any legal notice.
(c) Directional warning or information signs or structures
required by or authorized by law or by federal, state or county
authority.
(d) A sign erected near a city or county boundary that contains
the name of that city or county and the names of, or any other
information regarding, civic, fraternal, or religious organizations
located within that city or county.

5222. "660 feet from the edge of the right-of-way" means 660 feet
measured from the edge of the right-of-way horizontally along a line
normal or perpendicular to the centerline of the highway.

5222.1. "State highway system" means the state highway system as
described in Section 300 of the Streets and Highways Code.

5223. "Unzoned commercial or industrial area" means an area not
zoned under authority of state law in which the land use is
characteristic of that generally permitted only in areas which are
actually zoned commercial or industrial under authority of state law,
embracing all of the land on which one or more commercial or
industrial activities are conducted, including all land within 1,000
feet, measured in each direction, from the nearest edge of the
commercial or industrial building or activity on such land. As used
in this section, "commercial or industrial activities" does not
include the outdoor advertising business or the business of wayside
fresh product vending.

5224. "Visible" means capable of being seen (whether or not
legible) without visual aid by a person of normal visual acuity.

5225. The verb, "to place" and any of its variants, as applied to
advertising displays, includes the maintaining and the erecting,
constructing, posting, painting, printing, tacking, nailing, gluing,
sticking, carving or otherwise fastening, affixing or making visible
any advertising display on or to the ground or any tree, bush, rock,
fence, post, wall, building, structure or thing. It does not include
any of the foregoing activities when performed incident to the change
of an advertising message or customary maintenance of the
advertising display.

5226. The regulation of advertising displays adjacent to any
interstate highway or primary highway as provided in Section 5405 is
hereby declared to be necessary to promote the public safety, health,
welfare, convenience and enjoyment of public travel, to protect the
public investment in such highways, to preserve the scenic beauty of
lands bordering on such highways, and to insure that information in
the specific interest of the traveling public is presented safely and
effectively, recognizing that a reasonable freedom to advertise is
necessary to attain such objectives. The Legislature finds:
(a) Outdoor advertising is a legitimate commercial use of property
adjacent to roads and highways.
(b) Outdoor advertising is an integral part of the business and
marketing function, and an established segment of the national
economy, and should be allowed to exist in business areas, subject to
reasonable controls in the public interest.

5227. It is the intention of the Legislature to occupy the whole
field of regulation by the provisions of this chapter except that
nothing in this chapter prohibits enforcement of any or all of its
provisions by persons designated so to act by appropriate ordinances
duly adopted by any county of this state nor does anything prohibit
the passage by any county of reasonable land use or zoning
regulations affecting the placing of advertising displays in
accordance with the provisions of the Planning Law, Chapter 1
(commencing with Section 65000) of Title 7 of the Government Code,
relating to zoning, or, with reference to signs or structures
pertaining to the business conducted or services rendered or goods
produced or sold upon the property upon which such advertising signs
or structures are placed, ordinances subjecting such signs or
structures to building requirements.

5228. It is declared to be the intent of the Legislature in
enacting the provisions of this chapter regulating advertising
displays adjacent to highways included in the national system of
interstate and defense highways or the federal-aid primary highway
system to establish minimum standards with respect thereto.

5229. The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to
permit a person to place or maintain in existence on or adjacent to
any street, road or highway, including any interstate or state
highway, any outdoor advertising prohibited by law or by any
ordinance of any city, county or city and county.

5230. The governing body of any city, county, or city and county
may enact ordinances, including, but not limited to, land use or
zoning ordinances, imposing restrictions on advertising displays
adjacent to any street, road, or highway equal to or greater than
those imposed by this chapter, if Section 5412 is complied with. No
city, county, or city and county may allow an advertising display to
be placed or maintained in violation of this chapter.

5231. The governing body of any city or city and county may enact
ordinances requiring licenses or permits, or both, in addition to
those imposed by this chapter, for the placing of advertising
displays in view of any highway, including a highway included in the
national system of interstate and defense highways or the federal-aid
primary highway system, within its boundaries.