72-7-502 - Definitions.
72-7-502. Definitions.
As used in this part:
(1) "Clearly visible" means capable of being read without obstruction by an occupant of avehicle traveling on the main traveled way of a street or highway within the visibility area.
(2) "Commercial or industrial activities" means those activities generally recognized ascommercial or industrial by zoning authorities in this state, except that none of the following arecommercial or industrial activities:
(a) agricultural, forestry, grazing, farming, and related activities, including wayside freshproduce stands;
(b) transient or temporary activities;
(c) activities not visible from the main-traveled way;
(d) activities conducted in a building principally used as a residence; and
(e) railroad tracks and minor sidings.
(3) "Commercial or industrial zone" means only:
(a) those areas within the boundaries of cities or towns that are used or reserved forbusiness, commerce, or trade, or zoned as a highway service zone, under enabling statelegislation or comprehensive local zoning ordinances or regulations;
(b) those areas within the boundaries of urbanized counties that are used or reserved forbusiness, commerce, or trade, or zoned as a highway service zone, under enabling statelegislation or comprehensive local zoning ordinances or regulations;
(c) those areas outside the boundaries of urbanized counties and outside the boundariesof cities and towns that:
(i) are used or reserved for business, commerce, or trade, or zoned as a highway servicezone, under comprehensive local zoning ordinances or regulations or enabling state legislation;and
(ii) are within 8420 feet of an interstate highway exit, off-ramp, or turnoff as measuredfrom the nearest point of the beginning or ending of the pavement widening at the exit from orentrance to the main-traveled way; or
(d) those areas outside the boundaries of urbanized counties and outside the boundariesof cities and towns and not within 8420 feet of an interstate highway exit, off-ramp, or turnoff asmeasured from the nearest point of the beginning or ending of the pavement widening at the exitfrom or entrance to the main-traveled way that are reserved for business, commerce, or tradeunder enabling state legislation or comprehensive local zoning ordinances or regulations, and areactually used for commercial or industrial purposes.
(4) "Commercial or industrial zone" does not mean areas zoned for the sole purpose ofallowing outdoor advertising.
(5) "Comprehensive local zoning ordinances or regulations" means a municipality'scomprehensive plan required by Section 10-9a-401, the municipal zoning plan authorized bySection 10-9a-501, and the county master plan authorized by Sections 17-27a-401 and17-27a-501. Property that is rezoned by comprehensive local zoning ordinances or regulations isrebuttably presumed to have not been zoned for the sole purpose of allowing outdoor advertising.
(6) "Directional signs" means signs containing information about public places owned oroperated by federal, state, or local governments or their agencies, publicly or privately ownednatural phenomena, historic, cultural, scientific, educational, or religious sites, and areas ofnatural scenic beauty or naturally suited for outdoor recreation, that the department considers to
be in the interest of the traveling public.
(7) (a) "Erect" means to construct, build, raise, assemble, place, affix, attach, create,paint, draw, or in any other way bring into being.
(b) "Erect" does not include any activities defined in Subsection (7)(a) if they areperformed incident to the change of an advertising message or customary maintenance of a sign.
(8) "Highway service zone" means a highway service area where the primary use of theland is used or reserved for commercial and roadside services other than outdoor advertising toserve the traveling public.
(9) "Information center" means an area or site established and maintained at rest areas forthe purpose of informing the public of:
(a) places of interest within the state; or
(b) any other information that the department considers desirable.
(10) "Interchange or intersection" means those areas and their approaches where traffic ischanneled off or onto an interstate route, excluding the deceleration lanes, acceleration lanes, orfeeder systems, from or to another federal, state, county, city, or other route.
(11) "Maintain" means to allow to exist, subject to the provisions of this chapter.
(12) "Maintenance" means to repair, refurbish, repaint, or otherwise keep an existing signstructure safe and in a state suitable for use, including signs destroyed by vandalism or an act ofGod.
(13) "Main-traveled way" means the through traffic lanes, including auxiliary lanes,acceleration lanes, deceleration lanes, and feeder systems, exclusive of frontage roads and ramps. For a divided highway, there is a separate main-traveled way for the traffic in each direction.
(14) "Official signs and notices" means signs and notices erected and maintained bypublic agencies within their territorial or zoning jurisdictions for the purpose of carrying outofficial duties or responsibilities in accordance with direction or authorization contained infederal, state, or local law.
(15) "Off-premise signs" means signs located in areas zoned industrial, commercial, orH-1 and in areas determined by the department to be unzoned industrial or commercial.
(16) "On-premise signs" means signs used to advertise the major activities conducted onthe property where the sign is located.
(17) "Outdoor advertising" means any outdoor advertising structure or outdoor structureused in combination with an outdoor advertising sign or outdoor sign.
(18) "Outdoor advertising corridor" means a strip of land 350 feet wide, measuredperpendicular from the edge of a controlled highway right-of-way.
(19) "Outdoor advertising structure" or "outdoor structure" means any sign structure,including any necessary devices, supports, appurtenances, and lighting that is part of or supportsan outdoor sign.
(20) "Point of widening" means the point of the gore or the point where the intersectinglane begins to parallel the other lanes of traffic, but the point of widening may never be greaterthan 2,640 feet from the center line of the intersecting highway of the interchange or intersectionat grade.
(21) "Public assembly facility" means a convention facility as defined under Section59-12-602 and that:
(a) is wholly or partially funded by public money; and
(b) requires a person attending an event at the public assembly facility to purchase a
ticket or that otherwise charges for the use of the public assembly facility as part of its regularoperation.
(22) "Relocation" includes the removal of a sign from one situs together with the erectionof a new sign upon another situs in a commercial or industrial zoned area as a substitute.
(23) "Relocation and replacement" means allowing all outdoor advertising signs orpermits the right to maintain outdoor advertising along the interstate, federal aid primaryhighway existing as of June 1, 1991, and national highway system highways to be maintained ina commercial or industrial zoned area to accommodate the displacement, remodeling, orwidening of the highway systems.
(24) "Remodel" means the upgrading, changing, alteration, refurbishment, modification,or complete substitution of a new outdoor advertising structure for one permitted pursuant to thispart and that is located in a commercial or industrial area.
(25) "Rest area" means an area or site established and maintained within or adjacent tothe right-of-way by or under public supervision or control for the convenience of the travelingpublic.
(26) "Scenic or natural area" means an area determined by the department to haveaesthetic value.
(27) "Traveled way" means that portion of the roadway used for the movement ofvehicles, exclusive of shoulders and auxiliary lanes.
(28) (a) "Unzoned commercial or industrial area" means:
(i) those areas not zoned by state law or local law, regulation, or ordinance that areoccupied by one or more industrial or commercial activities other than outdoor advertising signs;
(ii) the lands along the highway for a distance of 600 feet immediately adjacent to thoseactivities; and
(iii) lands covering the same dimensions that are directly opposite those activities on theother side of the highway, if the department determines that those lands on the opposite side ofthe highway do not have scenic or aesthetic value.
(b) In measuring the scope of the unzoned commercial or industrial area, allmeasurements shall be made from the outer edge of the regularly used buildings, parking lots,storage, or processing areas of the activities and shall be along or parallel to the edge ofpavement of the highway.
(c) All signs located within an unzoned commercial or industrial area becomenonconforming if the commercial or industrial activity used in defining the area ceases for acontinuous period of 12 months.
(29) "Urbanized county" means a county with a population of at least 125,000 persons.
(30) "Visibility area" means the area on a street or highway that is:
(a) defined at one end by a line extending from the base of the billboard across all lanesof traffic of the street or highway in a plane that is perpendicular to the street or highway; and
(b) defined on the other end by a line extending across all lanes of traffic of the street orhighway in a plane that is:
(i) perpendicular to the street or highway; and
(ii) 500 feet from the base of the billboard.
Amended by Chapter 170, 2009 General Session