CHAPTER 216. REGULATION OF SIGNS BY MUNICIPALITIES
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.