§ 136-127. Declaration of policy. - North Carolina Statutes

§136‑127.  Declaration of policy.

The General Assembly herebyfinds and declares that outdoor advertising is a legitimate commercial use ofprivate property adjacent to roads and highways but that the erection andmaintenance of outdoor advertising signs and devices in areas in the vicinityof the right‑of‑way of the interstate and primary highway systemswithin the State should be controlled and regulated in order to promote thesafety, health, welfare and convenience and enjoyment of travel on and protectionof the public investment in highways within the State, to prevent unreasonabledistraction of operators of motor vehicles and to prevent interference with theeffectiveness of traffic regulations and to promote safety on the highways, toattract tourists and promote the prosperity, economic well‑being andgeneral welfare of the State, and to preserve and enhance the natural scenicbeauty of the highways and areas in the vicinity of the State highways and topromote the reasonable, orderly and effective display of such signs, displaysand devices. It is the intention of the General Assembly to provide and declareherein a public policy and statutory basis for the regulation and control ofoutdoor advertising. (1967, c. 1248, s. 2; 1999‑404, s. 6.)