33.1-355 - Excepted signs, advertisements and advertising structures.
§ 33.1-355. Excepted signs, advertisements and advertising structures.
The following signs and advertisements, if securely attached to real propertyor advertising structures, and the advertising structures, or parts thereof,upon which they are posted or displayed are excepted from all the provisionsof this article save those enumerated in §§ 33.1-353, 33.1-356, 33.1-360,subdivisions (2) through (13) of § 33.1-369 and §§ 33.1-370 and 33.1-375:
(1) Advertisements securely attached to a place of business or residence, andnot to exceed 10 advertising structures with combined total area, exclusiveof the area occupied by the name of the business, owner or lessee, ofadvertisements and advertising structures not to exceed 500 square feet,erected or maintained, or caused to be erected or maintained, by the owner orlessee of such place of business or residence, within 250 feet of such placeof business or residence or located on the real property of such place ofbusiness or residence and relating solely to merchandise, services orentertainment sold, produced, manufactured or furnished at such place ofbusiness or residence;
(2) Signs erected or maintained, or caused to be erected or maintained, onany farm by the owner or lessee of such farm and relating solely to farmproduce, merchandise, services or entertainment sold, produced, manufacturedor furnished on such farm;
(3) Signs upon real property posted or displayed by the owner, or by theauthority of the owner, stating that the property, upon which the sign islocated, or a part of such property, is for sale or rent or stating any datapertaining to such property and its appurtenances, and the name and addressof the owner and the agent of such owner;
(4) Official notices or advertisements posted or displayed by or under thedirection of any public or court officer in the performance of his officialor directed duties, or by trustees under deeds of trust, deeds of assignmentor other similar instruments;
(5) Danger or precautionary signs relating to the premises or signs warningof the condition of or dangers of travel on a highway, erected or authorizedby the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner; or forest fire warning signserected under authority of the State Forester and signs, notices or symbolserected by the United States government under the direction of the UnitedStates Forestry Service;
(6) Notices of any telephone company, telegraph company, railroad, bridges,ferries or other transportation company necessary in the discretion of theCommonwealth Transportation Commissioner for the safety of the public or forthe direction of the public to such utility or to any place to be reached byit;
(7) Signs, notices or symbols for the information of aviators as to location,direction and landings and conditions affecting safety in aviation erected orauthorized by the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner;
(8) Signs containing 16 square feet or less and bearing an announcement ofany county, town, village or city, or historic place or shrine, situated inthis Commonwealth, advertising itself or local industries, meetings,buildings or attractions, provided the same is maintained wholly at publicexpense, or at the expense of such historic place or shrine;
(9) Signs or notices containing two square feet or less, placed at a junctionof two or more roads in the State Highway System denoting only the distanceor direction of a church, residence or place of business, provided such signsor notices do not exceed a reasonable number in the discretion of theCommonwealth Transportation Commissioner;
(10) Signs or notices erected or maintained upon property giving the name ofthe owner, lessee or occupant of the premises;
(11) Advertisements and advertising structures within the corporate limits ofcities and towns, except as specified in § 33.1-353;
(12) Historical markers erected by duly constituted and authorized publicauthorities;
(13) Highway markers and signs erected, or caused to be erected, by theCommissioner or the Commonwealth Transportation Board or other authorities inaccordance with law;
(14) Signs erected upon property warning the public against hunting, fishingor trespassing thereon;
(15) Signs erected by Red Cross authorities relating to Red Cross EmergencyStations. And authority is hereby expressly given for the erection andmaintenance of such signs upon the right-of-way of all highways in thisCommonwealth at such locations as may be approved by the CommonwealthTransportation Commissioner;
(16) Signs advertising agricultural products and horticultural products, oreither, when such products are produced by the person who erects andmaintains the signs; provided, however, that the location and number of suchsigns shall be in the sole discretion of the Commonwealth TransportationCommissioner;
(17) Signs advertising only the name, time and place of bona fideagricultural, county, district or state fairs, together with announcements ofspecial events in connection therewith which do not consume more than 50percent of the display area of such signs, provided the person who posts thesigns or causes them to be posted will post a cash bond as may be prescribedby the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner, adequate to reimburse theCommonwealth for the actual cost of removing such signs as are not removedwithin 30 days after the last day of the fair so advertised;
(18) Signs of eight square feet or less, or one sign structure containingmore than one sign of eight square feet or less, which denote only the nameof a civic service club or church, location and directions for reaching same,and time of meeting of such organization, provided such signs or notices donot exceed a reasonable number as determined by the CommonwealthTransportation Commissioner;
(19) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 33.1-373, signs containingadvertisements or notices that have been authorized by a county and that aresecurely affixed to a public transit passenger shelter that is owned by thatcounty, provided, however, that no advertisement shall be placed within theright-of-way of the federal interstate system, National Highway System, orthe federal-aid primary system of highways in violation of federal law. Theprohibition in subdivision 8 of § 33.1-369 against placing signs within 15feet of the nearest edge of the pavement of any highway shall not apply tosuch signs. The Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner may require theremoval of any particular sign located on such a shelter as provided in thissubdivision if, in his judgement, such sign constitutes a safety hazard.
(Code 1950, § 33-302; 1954, c. 588; 1960, c. 406; 1970, c. 322; 1971, Ex.Sess., c. 8; 1972, c. 158; 1990, c. 196; 1993, c. 538; 1996, c. 125; 2003, c.321.)