CHAPTER 216. REGULATION OF SIGNS BY MUNICIPALITIES - Texas Statutes

LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE

TITLE 7. REGULATION OF LAND USE, STRUCTURES, BUSINESSES, AND

RELATED ACTIVITIES

SUBTITLE A. MUNICIPAL REGULATORY AUTHORITY

CHAPTER 216. REGULATION OF SIGNS BY MUNICIPALITIES

SUBCHAPTER A. RELOCATION, RECONSTRUCTION, OR REMOVAL OF SIGN

Sec. 216.001. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. (a) This subchapter is not

intended to require a municipality to provide for the relocation,

reconstruction, or removal of any sign in the municipality, nor

is it intended to prohibit a municipality from requiring the

relocation, reconstruction, or removal of any sign. This

subchapter is intended only to authorize a municipality to take

that action and to establish the procedure by which the

municipality may do so.

(b) This subchapter is not intended to require a municipality to

make a cash payment to compensate the owner of a sign that the

municipality requires to be relocated, reconstructed, or removed.

Cash payment is established as only one of several methods from

which a municipality may choose in compensating the owner of a

sign.

(c) This subchapter is not intended to affect any eminent domain

proceeding in which the taking of a sign is only an incidental

part of the exercise of the eminent domain power.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 216.002. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:

(1) "Sign" means an outdoor structure, sign, display, light

device, figure, painting, drawing, message, plaque, poster,

billboard, or other thing that is designed, intended, or used to

advertise or inform.

(2) "On-premise sign" means a freestanding sign identifying or

advertising a business, person, or activity, and installed and

maintained on the same premises as the business, person, or

activity.

(3) "Off-premise sign" means a sign displaying advertising copy

that pertains to a business, person, organization, activity,

event, place, service, or product not principally located or

primarily manufactured or sold on the premises on which the sign

is located.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 216.003. MUNICIPAL REGULATION. (a) Subject to the

requirements of this subchapter, a municipality may require the

relocation, reconstruction, or removal of any sign within its

corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the owner of a sign

that is required to be relocated, reconstructed, or removed is

entitled to be compensated by the municipality for costs

associated with the relocation, reconstruction, or removal.

(c) If application of a municipal regulation would require

reconstruction of a sign in a manner that would make the sign

ineffective for its intended purpose, such as by substantially

impairing the sign's visibility, application of the regulation is

treated as the required removal of the sign for purposes of this

subchapter.

(d) In lieu of paying compensation, a municipality may exempt

from required relocation, reconstruction, or removal those signs

lawfully in place on the effective date of the requirement.

(e) A municipality that exercises authority under this

subchapter may, without paying compensation as provided by this

subchapter, require the removal of an on-premise sign or sign

structure not sooner than the first anniversary of the date the

business, person, or activity that the sign or sign structure

identifies or advertises ceases to operate on the premises on

which the sign or sign structure is located. If the premises

containing the sign or sign structure is leased, a municipality

may not require removal under this subsection sooner than the

second anniversary after the date the most recent tenant ceases

to operate on the premises. The removal of a sign or sign

structure as described by this subsection does not require the

appointment of a board under Section 216.004.

(f) A municipality acting under Subsection (e) may agree with

the owner of the sign or sign structure to remove only a portion

of the sign or sign structure.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1, Sec. 87(m), eff. Aug. 28,

1989; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 865, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Sec. 216.0035. REGULATORY AUTHORITY NOT APPLICABLE TO

ON-PREMISES SIGNS UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. The authority

granted to a municipality by this subchapter to require the

relocation, reconstruction, or removal of signs does not apply

to:

(1) on-premises signs in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of

municipalities in a county described by Section 394.063,

Transportation Code, if the circumstances described by that

section occur; and

(2) on-premises signs in a municipality's extraterritorial

jurisdiction in a county that borders a county described by that

law.

Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1, Sec. 54(e), eff. Aug. 28,

1989. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 482, Sec. 1, eff. Aug.

30, 1993; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 30.218, eff. Sept.

1, 1997.

Sec. 216.004. MUNICIPAL BOARD. (a) If a municipality requires

the relocation, reconstruction, or removal of a sign within its

corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction, the presiding

officer of the governing body of the municipality shall appoint a

municipal board on sign control. The board must be composed of:

(1) two real estate appraisers, each of whom must be a member in

good standing of a nationally recognized professional appraiser

society or trade organization that has an established code of

ethics, educational program, and professional certification

program;

(2) one person engaged in the sign business in the municipality;

(3) one employee of the Texas Department of Transportation who

is familiar with real estate valuations in eminent domain

proceedings; and

(4) one architect or landscape architect licensed by this state.

(b) A member of the board is appointed for a term of two years.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 951, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,

1989; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 22(47), eff. Sept. 1,

1995.

Sec. 216.005. DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF COMPENSATION. (a) The

municipal board on sign control shall determine the amount of the

compensation to which the owner of a sign that is required to be

relocated, reconstructed, or removed is entitled. The

determination shall be made after the owner of the sign is given

the opportunity for a hearing before the board about the issues

involved in the matter.

(b) In any court proceeding in which the reasonableness of

compensation is at issue and the compensation is to be provided

over a period longer than one year, the court shall consider

whether the duration of the period is reasonable under the

circumstances.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 216.006. COMPENSATION FOR RELOCATED SIGN. The compensable

costs for a sign that is required to be relocated include the

expenses of dismantling the sign, transporting it to another

site, and reerecting it. The board shall determine the

compensable costs according to the standards applicable in a

proceeding under Chapter 21, Property Code. In addition, the

municipality shall issue to the owner of the sign an appropriate

permit or other authority to operate a substitute sign of the

same type at an alternative site of substantially equivalent

value. Whether an alternative site is of substantially equivalent

value is determined by standards generally accepted in the

outdoor advertising industry, including visibility, traffic

count, and demographic factors. The municipality shall compensate

the owner for any increased operating costs, including increased

rent, at the new location. The owner is responsible for

designating an alternative site where the erection of the sign

would be in compliance with the sign ordinance.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 216.007. COMPENSATION FOR RECONSTRUCTED SIGN. The

compensable costs for a sign that is required to be reconstructed

include expenses of labor and materials and any loss in the value

of the sign due to the reconstruction in excess of 15 percent of

that value. The board shall determine the compensable costs

according to standards applicable in a proceeding under Chapter

21, Property Code.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 216.008. COMPENSATION FOR REMOVAL OF OFF-PREMISE SIGN. (a)

For an off-premise sign that is required to be removed, the

compensable cost is an amount computed by determining the average

annual gross revenue received by the owner from the sign during

the two years preceding September 1, 1985, or the two years

preceding the month in which the removal date of the sign occurs,

whichever is less, and by multiplying that amount by three. If

the sign has not been in existence for all of either two-year

period, the average annual gross revenue for that period, for the

purpose of this computation, is an amount computed by dividing 12

by the number of months that the sign has been in existence, and

multiplying that result by the total amount of the gross revenue

received for the period that the sign has been in existence.

However, if the sign did not generate revenue for at least one

month preceding September 1, 1985, this computation of

compensable costs is to be made using only the average annual

gross revenue received during the two years preceding the month

in which the removal date of the sign occurs, and by multiplying

that amount by three. In determining the amounts under this

paragraph, a sign is treated as if it were in existence for the

entire month if it was in existence for more than 15 days of the

month and is treated as if it were not in existence for any part

of the month if it was in existence for 15 or fewer days of the

month.

(b) The owner of the real property on which the sign was located

is entitled to be compensated for any decrease in the value of

the real property. The compensable cost is to be determined by

the board according to standards applicable in a proceeding under

Chapter 21, Property Code.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 216.009. COMPENSATION FOR REMOVAL OF ON-PREMISE SIGN. For

an on-premise sign that is required to be removed, the

compensable cost is an amount computed by determining a

reasonable balance between the original cost of the sign, less

depreciation, and the current replacement cost of the sign, less

an adjustment for the present age and condition of the sign.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 216.010. METHOD OF COMPENSATION. (a) To pay the

compensable costs required under this subchapter, the governing

body of a municipality may use only a method, or a combination of

the methods, prescribed by this section.

(b) If any sign is required to be relocated or reconstructed, or

an on-premise sign is required to be removed, the municipality,

acting pursuant to the Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement

Act (Chapter 312, Tax Code), may abate municipal property taxes

that otherwise would be owed by the owner of the sign. The abated

taxes may be on any real or personal property owned by the owner

of the sign except residential property. The right to the

abatement of taxes is assignable by the holder, and the assignee

may use the right to abatement with respect to taxes on any

nonresidential property in the same taxing jurisdiction. In a

municipality where tax abatement is used to pay compensable

costs, the costs include reasonable interest and the abatement

period may not exceed five years.

(c) The municipality may allocate to a special fund in the

municipal treasury, to be known as the sign abatement and

community beautification fund, all or any part of the municipal

property taxes paid on signs, on the real property on which the

signs are located, or on other real or personal property owned by

the owner of the sign. The municipality may make payments from

that fund to reimburse compensable costs to owners of signs

required to be relocated, reconstructed, or removed.

(d) The municipality may provide for the issuance of sign

abatement revenue bonds and use the proceeds to make payments to

reimburse costs to the owners of signs within the corporate

limits of such municipality that are required to be relocated,

reconstructed, or removed.

(e) The municipality may pay compensable costs in cash.

(f) Except as prohibited by federal law, a municipality with a

population of more than 1.9 million may pay the compensable costs

to the owner of an on-premise sign by allowing the sign to remain

in place for a period sufficient to recover the compensable cost

of the sign as determined under Section 216.009, based on a

determination by the municipal board of the average annual gross

revenue as determined under Section 216.008 that would be

generated by the sign in its specific location if the sign were

used as an off-premise sign rather than an on-premise sign.

During the period in which a sign remains in place under this

subsection, the owner of the sign shall maintain the sign in

compliance with all other regulations applicable to the sign,

including structural regulations.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1, Sec. 51(a), eff. Aug. 28,

1989; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 865, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.

742, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007.

Sec. 216.011. TAX APPRAISAL OF PROPERTY WITH NONCONFORMING SIGN.

For each nonconforming sign, the board shall file with the

appropriate property tax appraisal office the board's compensable

costs value appraisal of the sign. The appraisal office shall

consider the board's appraisal when the office, for property tax

purposes, determines the appraised value of the real property to

which the sign is attached.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 216.012. SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR SIGNS UNDER SIGN ORDINANCE

IN EFFECT ON JUNE 1, 1985. (a) This section applies to

compensation for the required relocation, reconstruction, or

removal of a sign under a municipal ordinance in effect on June

1, 1985, that provided for compensation to the sign owner under

an amortization plan.

(b) For a nonconforming sign erected after September 1, 1985, or

for a sign in place on that date that later is made nonconforming

by an extension of or strengthening of an ordinance that was in

effect on June 1, 1985, and that provided an amortization plan,

the amortization period is the entire useful life of the sign. If

it has not already done so, the board shall determine the entire

useful life of signs by type or category, such as mono-pole

signs, metal signs, and wood signs. The useful life may not be

solely determined by the natural life expectancy of a sign.

(c) Compensation for the relocation, reconstruction, or removal

of a sign that, on September 1, 1985, was not in compliance with

the sign ordinance shall be made in accordance with the

applicable procedures of Section 6, Chapter 221, Acts of the 69th

Legislature, Regular Session, 1985 (Article 1015o, Vernon's Texas

Civil Statutes), and that law is continued in effect for this

purpose.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 216.013. EXCEPTIONS. (a) The requirements of this

subchapter do not apply to a sign that was erected in violation

of local ordinances, laws, or regulations applicable at the time

of its erection.

(b) The requirements of this subchapter do not apply to a sign

that, having been permitted to remain in place as a nonconforming

use, is required to be removed by a municipality because the

sign, or a substantial part of it, is blown down or otherwise

destroyed or dismantled for any purpose other than maintenance

operations or for changing the letters, symbols, or other matter

on the sign.

(c) For purposes of Subsection (b), a sign or substantial part

of it is considered to have been destroyed only if the cost of

repairing the sign is more than 60 percent of the cost of

erecting a new sign of the same type at the same location.

(d) This subchapter does not limit or restrict the compensation

provisions of the highway beautification provisions contained in

Chapter 391, Transportation Code.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 284(82), eff. Sept.

1, 1991; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 30.219, eff. Sept.

1, 1997.

Sec. 216.014. APPEAL. (a) Any person aggrieved by a decision

of the board may file in district court a verified petition

setting forth that the decision is illegal, in whole or in part,

and specifying the grounds of the illegality. The petition must

be filed within 20 days after the date the decision is rendered

by the board.

(b) On the filing of the petition, the court may issue a writ of

certiorari directed to the board to review the decision of the

board and shall prescribe in the writ the time within which a

return must be made, which must be longer than 10 days and may be

extended by the court.

(c) The board is not required to return the original papers

acted on by it, but it shall be sufficient to return certified or

sworn copies of the papers. The return must concisely set forth

all other facts as may be pertinent and material to show the

grounds of the decision appealed from and must be verified.

(d) The court may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or modify

the decision brought up for review.

(e) Costs may not be allowed against the board unless it appears

to the court that the board acted with gross negligence, in bad

faith, or with malice in making the decision appealed from.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 216.015. EFFECT OF PARTIAL INVALIDITY. (a) The

legislature declares that it would not have enacted the following

without the inclusion of Section 216.010(a), to the extent that

provision excludes methods of compensation not specifically

authorized by that provision:

(1) this subchapter;

(2) Section 216.902;

(3) Article 2, Chapter 221, Acts of the 69th Legislature,

Regular Session, 1985 (codified as Chapter 394, Transportation

Code); and

(4) the amendments made to Section 3, Property Redevelopment and

Tax Abatement Act (codified as Chapter 312, Tax Code) by Article

4, Chapter 221, Acts of the 69th Legislature, Regular Session,

1985.

(b) If that exclusion of alternative methods of compensation is

held invalid for any reason by a final judgment of a court of

competent jurisdiction, the enactments described by Subsection

(a) are void.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 30.220, eff. Sept.

1, 1997.

SUBCHAPTER Z. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 216.901. REGULATION OF SIGNS BY HOME-RULE MUNICIPALITY.

(a) A home-rule municipality may license, regulate, control, or

prohibit the erection of signs or billboards by charter or

ordinance.

(b) Subsection (a) does not authorize a municipality to regulate

the relocation, reconstruction, or removal of a sign in violation

of Subchapter A.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Sec. 216.902. REGULATION OF OUTDOOR SIGNS IN MUNICIPALITY'S

EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION. (a) A municipality may extend

the provisions of its outdoor sign regulatory ordinance and

enforce the ordinance within its area of extraterritorial

jurisdiction as defined by Chapter 42. However, any municipality,

in lieu of the regulatory ordinances, may allow the Texas

Transportation Commission to regulate outdoor signs in the

municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction by filing a written

notice with the commission.

(b) If a municipality extends its outdoor sign ordinance within

its area of extraterritorial jurisdiction, the municipal

ordinance supersedes the regulations imposed by or adopted under

Chapter 394, Transportation Code.

(c) The authority granted to a municipality by this section to

extend its outdoor sign ordinance does not apply to:

(1) on-premises signs in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of

municipalities in a county described by Section 394.063,

Transportation Code, if the circumstances described by that

section occur;

(2) on-premises signs in a municipality's extraterritorial

jurisdiction in a county that borders a county described by that

law; and

(3) on-premises signs in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a

municipality with a population of 1.5 million or more that are

located in a county that is adjacent to the county in which the

majority of the land of the municipality is located.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1, Sec. 54(f), eff. Aug. 28,

1989; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 482, Sec. 2, eff. Aug. 30, 1993;

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 22(48), eff. Sept. 1, 1995;

Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 30.221, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 216.903. REGULATION OF POLITICAL SIGNS BY MUNICIPALITY.

(a) In this section, "private real property" does not include

real property subject to an easement or other encumbrance that

allows a municipality to use the property for a public purpose.

(b) A municipal charter provision or ordinance that regulates

signs may not, for a sign that contains primarily a political

message and that is located on private real property with the

consent of the property owner:

(1) prohibit the sign from being placed;

(2) require a permit or approval of the municipality or impose a

fee for the sign to be placed;

(3) restrict the size of the sign; or

(4) provide for a charge for the removal of a political sign

that is greater than the charge for removal of other signs

regulated by ordinance.

(c) Subsection (b) does not apply to a sign, including a

billboard, that contains primarily a political message on a

temporary basis and that is generally available for rent or

purchase to carry commercial advertising or other messages that

are not primarily political.

(d) Subsection (b) does not apply to a sign that:

(1) has an effective area greater than 36 feet;

(2) is more than eight feet high;

(3) is illuminated; or

(4) has any moving elements.

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1004, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

2003.