R933-2-2. Definitions

  All references in this rule to Title 72, Chapter 7, Part 5, are to those sections of the Utah Code known as the Utah Outdoor Advertising Act. In addition to the definitions in that part, the following definitions are supplied:

  (1) "Abandoned sign" means any controlled sign of which the sign face has been partially obliterated, dilapidated, has unsafe conditions or has remained blank or been removed for a continuous period of 12 months or more, and the sign owner does not have a pending and active application with the department or a local governmental authority to repair or rectify the condition.

  (2) "Acceleration and deceleration lanes" means speed change lanes created for the purpose of enabling a vehicle to increase or decrease its speed to merge into, or out of, traffic on the main-traveled way. As used in the Act, an acceleration or deceleration lane begins and ends at a point no closer than 500 feet from the nearest point of the beginning or ending of pavement widening at the exit from or entrance to the main-traveled way. On-ramps and off-ramps are part of the interchange and shall not be considered an acceleration or deceleration lane under the Act or this rule.

  (3) "Act" means the Utah Outdoor Advertising Act.

  (4) "Advertising" means any message, whether in words, symbols, pictures or any combination thereof, painted or otherwise applied to the face of an outdoor advertising structure, and the message is designed, intended, or used to advertise or inform, and the message is visible from any place on the main traveled-way of a controlled route.

  (5) "Areas zoned for the primary purpose of outdoor advertising" as used in the Act is defined to include areas in which the primary activity is outdoor advertising.

  (6) "Changeable Electronic Variable Message Signs" or "CEVMS" means a self-luminous advertising sign which emits or projects any kind of light, color, or message. Such a sign has the capability of being changed or altered by electronic means on a fixed display screen composed of a series of lights including light emitting diodes (LEDs), fiber optics, plasma displays, light bulbs, or other illumination devices within the display area.

  (7) "Conforming sign" means an off-premises sign maintained in a location that conforms to the size, lighting, spacing, zoning, and other requirements as provided by law and this rule.

  (8) "Contiguous" means a property that shares a common property line with another property.

  (9) "Controlled route" means any route where outdoor advertising control is mandated by the Act, the Utah-Federal Agreement R933-5, or other state or federal law.

  (10) "Controlled sign" means any off-premises sign that is designed, intended, or used to advertise or inform and which is located and the advertising thereon is visible within a controlled outdoor advertising corridor as specified by state or federal law.

  (11) "Customary Maintenance" means any change, replacement, manipulation, or other repair to the sign structure that does not:

  (a) alter or change the overall height, location, material, sign face orientation or sign face size (except for temporary embellishments);

  (b) add lighting relative to what is currently listed on the valid permit or change the sign face to a CEVMS, or

  (c) require structural engineering review.

  (12) "Feeder systems" are secondary city or county roads that bring traffic to the state highway.

  (13) "Freeway" means a divided highway for through traffic with full control access.

  (14) "Good standing" means the controlled sign is properly maintained, all program and permit-related fees are paid as specified in this rule, and current sign owner contact information is up to date with the department.

  (15) "Grandfather status" refers to any off-premises controlled sign erected in zoned or unzoned commercial or industrial areas, prior to May 9, 1967, even if the sign does not comply with the size, lighting, or spacing of the Act and this rule. Signs only, and not sign sites, may qualify for Grandfather Status.

  (16) "H-1" means highway service zone as defined in the Act.

  (17) "Lease or consent" means any written agreement by which possession of land, or permission to use land for the purpose of erecting or maintaining a sign, or both, is granted by the owner to another person for a specified period of time.

  (18) "Nonconforming sign" means a sign that was lawfully erected, but that does not conform to state law or rules enacted at a later date or that later fails to comply with state legislation or rules because of changed conditions. The term "illegally erected" or "illegally maintained" is not synonymous with the term, "nonconforming sign", nor is a sign with "grandfather" status synonymous with the term, "nonconforming sign."

  (19) "Off-Premises Sign" means an outdoor advertising sign that advertises an activity, service or product and that is located on premises other than the premises at which activity or service occurs or product is sold or manufactured.

  (20) "On-Premises Sign" does not include a sign that advertises a product or service that is only incidental to the principal activity or that brings rental income to the property owner or occupant.

  (21) "Point of the gore" means the point of the area delineated by two solid white lines that is between a permanently constructed continuing lane of a through-roadway and a permanently constructed lane used to enter or exit the continuing lane, including similar areas between merging or splitting highways.

  (22) "Property" as used in the definition of "On-Premises Sign" includes those areas from which the general public is serviced and which are directly connected with and are involved in assembling, manufacturing, servicing, or repairing of products used in the business activity. This property does not include the site of any auxiliary facilities that are not essential to and customarily used in the conduct of business, nor does it include property not contiguous to the property on which the sign is situated.

  (23) "Public park" means any publicly owned land that is designed or used as a recreation area, wildlife or waterfowl refuge, or historical site.

  (24) "Sale or lease sign" means any sign situated on the subject property that advertises that the property is for "sale" or "lease". This sign may not advertise any product or service unrelated to the business of selling or leasing the land upon which it is located, nor may it advertise a projected use of the land or a financing service available or being utilized in its development.

  (25) "Scenic area" as used in the Act includes a scenic byway.

  (26) "Transient or temporary activity" means any industrial or commercial activity, not otherwise herein excluded, that does not have a prior continuous history for a period of six months.

  (27) "Visible" means capable of being seen whether or not readable, without visual aid, by a person of normal visual acuity.

  (28) "Written notification" as described under Subsection 72-7-506(2)(a) is further defined to include email notification. An outdoor advertising permit holder may request in writing to receive notice via United States Postal Service.