Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 001 - ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › Rule 001.00.13-001 - Restore Sign Visibility Policy of the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
1.0.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to establish procedures whereby
			 sign owners may obtain permits from the Arkansas State Highway and
			 Transportation Department (AHTD) to restore the visibility to their signs from
			 adjacent State Highways controlled pursuant to the Regulations for the Control
			 of Outdoor Advertising.
2.0.
DEFINITIONS
2.1.
Conforming
		  Sign
is a lawfully erected sign that complies with all
		  current local and State laws and regulations pertaining to the erection and
		  maintenance of signs, regardless of whether the sign has a Class A or Class B
		  permit. A conforming sign normally has a Class A permit.
2.2.
Legal Nonconforming
		  Sign
is a lawfully erected sign that no longer complies
		  with all current local or State laws and regulations pertaining to the erection
		  and maintenance of signs, regardless of whether the sign has a Class A or Class
		  B permit. A legal nonconforming sign normally has a Class B permit.
2.3.
Class A
		  Permit
is a permit for a sign that met all applicable laws
		  and regulations at the time of issuance.
2.4.
Class B
		  Permit
is a permit for a sign that met all applicable laws
		  and regulations at the time of construction, but no longer complies with all
		  applicable laws and regulations, or a sign that existed prior to the adoption
		  of the Regulations for Control of Outdoor Advertising. These signs were
		  "grandfathered" in.
2.4.
Illegal Sign
is a sign that was erected,
		  or is being maintained, in violation of local or State law or regulations
		  pertaining to the erection and maintenance of signs, and which does not qualify
		  as a legal nonconforming sign.
2.5.
On-premise Sign
is a sign advertising
		  those products or services available at the sign site, including "for sale or
		  lease" signs located at the property they advertise.
2.6.
Off-premise
		  Sign
is a sign advertising those products or services not
		  available at the sign site.
2.7.
Vegetation Control
is the mowing, "bush
		  hogging", cutting, trimming, pruning, and/or selective removal of vegetation on
		  State Highway rights of way.
3.0.
POLICY
It is the policy of the AHTD to allow, by Restore Sign Visibility
			 Policy (RSVP) permits, the mowing, "bush hogging", cutting, trimming, pruning,
			 and/or selective removal of vegetation on State Highway rights of way to
			 restore the visibility of signs from State Highways where such visibility has
			 been diminished from the original erection of the signs. This policy applies to
			 the visibility of legal, off-premise signs, both conforming and nonconforming,
			 and not to illegal signs. RSVP permits will not be issued in relation to
			 illegal signs, for signs erected with limited visibility, or to sign owners
			 with other illegal or abandoned signs.
3.1. RSVP permits authorize vegetation
		  control only on that portion of State Highway right of way that abuts the tract
		  of land on which the Permittee's sign is located and/or abuts tracts where
		  owners agree to such control.
3.2.
		  RSVP permits shall only be considered for legal, currently permitted signs that
		  have had a valid permit for the last five (5) consecutive years.
3.3. RSVP permits authorize vegetation
		  control in compliance with any relevant regulations or ordinances pertaining to
		  vegetation clearance enacted by a city or county with jurisdiction over the
		  sign. Permittees shall be responsible for determining compliance.
3.4. RSVP permits must be obtained for each
		  sign location at which vegetation control will occur and the RSVP permit will
		  be tied to the relevant sign permit, and must be renewed in a two-year cycle in
		  July of even numbered years.
3.5.
		  The vegetation control area shall not exceed more than 500 feet as measured
		  from the viewable face(s) of the advertising device. Permits will be issued
		  based on 100 foot increments. The distance will be measured along the nearest
		  edge of the pavement between the sign and the specified distance. Signs with
		  back to back messages may be issued a permit for vegetation control for a total
		  of 1000 feet (500 feet in each direction), but under no circumstances will the
		  designated area exceed 500 feet in one direction.
3.6. RSVP permits authorize vegetation
		  control only in accordance with accepted landscaping and horticultural
		  principles. All work will be performed in a professional manner, and cuttings
		  and other debris are to be removed at the time the work is performed. Trees
		  that cannot be mowed or "bush hogged" may be trimmed or pruned provided the
		  work will not permanently damage or destroy the trees, or weaken the condition
		  of the trees so that they are susceptible to disease or insect infestation. In
		  these cases, mitigating landscaping may be required to compensate for the tree
		  removal. In no case will historic trees, landmark trees, or trees of
		  significant landscaping or aesthetic value be removed, including trees that
		  were planted as a part of a public or private highway beautification or
		  transportation enhancement project. RSVP permits may authorize the removal of
		  dead or diseased trees.
3.7. If a
		  sign owner desires to restore visibility to a sign in front of an adjacent land
		  owner not associated with the sign, written approval from the adjacent
		  landowner must be obtained before an RSVP permit will be issued.
3.8. Access to sites adjacent to Interstate
		  and other controlled access highways must be gained without using the main
		  travelway of the highway. If access to the site is restricted by a fence, then
		  a gate may be requested to provide access for right of way mowing only. Gates
		  will only be permitted after the AHTD notifies the Federal Highway
		  Administration and receives concurrence. Cutting fences and leaving openings is
		  not allowed, nor is the destruction of Department fences. Any gate installed
		  shall remain locked when the vegetation control activity is not underway. The
		  gate shall not be used for routine billboard maintenance such as changing sign
		  messages. Using gates for sign maintenance or roadway access, leaving the gate
		  unlocked or unattended, or the destruction of AHTD fencing will result in RSVP
		  permit revocation.
3.9. Vegetation
		  control at legal, permitted signs will be allowed only at locations where the
		  advertising sign installation preceded the obscuring growth. Vegetation control
		  shall not be used to provide visibility where none existed at the time the sign
		  was erected or where no visibility exists at a proposed sign location. Only
		  minimum vegetation control necessary to retain visibility will be allowed.
3.10. Vegetation control will not
		  be allowed at any legal signs that are within 500 feet of: National Parks;
		  State Parks; County Parks or City Parks; Wildlife Management Areas; or
		  cemeteries.
3.11. The AHTD will
		  grant an RSVP permit for a legal, nonconforming sign located within the city
		  limits of a municipality when the sign meets all State requirements but has
		  become nonconforming only because of city or county zoning or sign code changes
		  since the erection of the sign.
3.12. The AHTD will only grant an RSVP permit
		  for a legal, nonconforming sign when the sign owner has designated a legal,
		  nonconforming sign of at least 200 square feet, and surrendered its State
		  Billboard Permit to the AHTD for cancellation. AHTD personnel will inspect the
		  designated sign prior to its removal and, if accepted, the sign owner will be
		  required to remove the designated sign at the sign owner's expense before
		  vegetation control activities may begin at the sign for which the RSVP permit
		  is being granted. If a sign owner only has one legal, nonconforming sign, an
		  RSVP permit will be considered on a case by case basis.
3.13. At locations which have no
		  State-erected barrier between the State Highway right of way and the adjacent
		  property and where mowing has previously been allowed by business owners or
		  sign owners without an RSVP permit, mowing will be allowed to continue without
		  an RSVP permit.
3.14. No vegetation
		  control will be allowed within median areas of divided highways.
3.15. Trees having an outside bark diameter
		  of more than six (6) inches, measured one foot above ground level, shall not be
		  removed, nor shall any limbs with an outside bark diameter of more than six (6)
		  inches be removed. Dead or diseased trees, as noted in Paragraph 3.6, may be
		  removed if specified in the RSVP permit.
3.16. Vegetation control should not leave
		  large, open spaces in the general outline of the tree. The general outline of
		  the tree should not be changed if trimmed in accordance with this
		  policy.
3.17. No topping of trees
		  will be allowed.
3.18. RSVP permits
		  granted for vegetation removal may require mitigation in the form of
		  replacement plantings. The initial cost and maintenance of these plantings
		  shall be the responsibility of the Permittee. Mitigation will mandate the
		  Permittee to plant three (3) trees for each tree removed. These must have a
		  diameter of at least two (2) inches at ground level and planted in an area
		  approved by the AHTD.
3.19. Stumps
		  shall be cut or ground flush with the ground and treated with an EPA-approved
		  herbicide immediately after the stump is cut. Only the stumps are to be
		  treated. The use of herbicides or chemicals on the grass or ground cover is not
		  allowed.
3.20. The permitted
		  vegetation control shall result in a height of the remaining vegetation that is
		  relatively consistent with that of adjacent areas along the highway right of
		  way. All mowing or cutting must be accomplished with hand tools, wheeled
		  machinery, or rubber tracked machines not exceeding three (3) tons. No steel
		  track equipped machines are allowed. Grass and weeds may be mowed, but surface
		  growth of at least four (4) inches must be left for erosion control. Digging,
		  scraping, bulldozing, clear cutting, or 'scalping" the ground is not
		  allowed.
3.21. The Permittee shall
		  be required to carry liability insurance with a limit of at least $1 million
		  per occurrence.
3.22. A performance
		  bond of at least $1000 per site shall be required to ensure the restoration of
		  highway right of way. In lieu of an individual performance bond for each site,
		  sign owners may choose to post a standing performance bond in an amount of at
		  least $1000 per site up to a maximum of $50,000.
3.23. The Permittee fully agrees to hold
		  harmless the Arkansas State Highway Commission and the AHTD, and their
		  officers, agents, and employees from any and all damages of any nature to any
		  person or property due to any performance or nonperformance of any work
		  authorized by the permit.
3.24. The
		  AHTD may, with good cause, deny, revoke, or amend any RSVP permit. If a permit
		  is revoked, the Permittee has a right to request an Administrative
		  Hearing.
3.25. All RSVP permits
		  must be renewed in two-year cycles beginning in July 2014 (see paragraph 3.4).
		  All RSVP permits must be renewed at the same time regardless of the original
		  date of issue. The permits will allow cutting twice per year, with a maximum of
		  four times in a two-year period. The renewal fee is $80.00 for a two-year
		  renewal. The Permittee must notify the AHTD's Beautification Section a minimum
		  of three (3) working days before beginning work. The AHTD, at its option, may
		  arrange to have an inspector on site while work is being performed.
4.0.
VIOLATION OF
		  PERMIT
4.1. If
		  RSVP permit provisions are violated, the first offense shall be a fine of up to
		  a maximum of $10,000 and/or the surrendering of the State Billboard permit for
		  that sign, subject to the right to an Administrative Hearing. A second
		  violation from the same sign owner shall result in the State Billboard permit
		  for that sign being revoked, subject to the right to an Administrative Hearing,
		  and the denial of any future requests for RSVP permits from that sign
		  owner.
4.2. The sign owner must
		  also provide a statement, signed and dated, agreeing to abide by the terms of
		  the RSVP permit. The sign owner must also agree to remove the sign at no cost
		  to the AHTD if the terms of the RSVP permit are violated by either the sign
		  owner, land owner, or third parties contracted to carry out vegetation control
		  activities.
5.0.
PROCEDURES
5.1. RSVP permits are issued by the AHTD's
		  Environmental Division in coordination with the District Engineer for the
		  highway district in which the sign site is located.
5.2. Individual RSVP permits must be
		  requested for each sign site and include:
a.
		  An application fee (non-refundable) made payable to the Arkansas State Highway
		  and Transportation Department in the amount of $80 per sign designated for
		  vegetation control.
b. A
		  performance bond in the amount of at least $1000 per site issued or
		  counter-signed by a resident Arkansas agent, or in the form of cash or
		  cashier's check. In lieu of a performance bond for each site, a standing
		  performance bond in the amount equal to at least $1000 per site up to a maximum
		  of $50,000 may be posted.
c. Proof
		  of liability insurance with a limit of at least $1 million.
d. State Highway number
e. A specific written proposal of the
		  vegetation control work to be performed on the right of way to restore the
		  visibility of the sign, including the name, address, telephone number, and
		  signature of the sign owner, and the location of the sign and State Billboard
		  Permit number.
f. Type of
		  vegetation control to be performed.
g. 8" x 10" photograph(s) of the State
		  Highway right of way vegetation interfering with the view of the sign and which
		  is the subject of the RSVP permit request.
h. A drawing of the right of way area where
		  the work is to be performed indicating the vegetation to be mowed, "bush
		  hogged", cut, trimmed, pruned, and/or removed on the right of way. The drawing
		  shall also show the length of frontage along the right of way boundary of the
		  tract of land on which the sign is located.
i. A signed statement(s) by the landowner(s)
		  of record of the land at the sign site or the landowners(s) of record of an
		  abutting tract(s) of land where the vegetation cutting will occur, indicating
		  concurrence with the proposed work on that portion of the right of way abutting
		  the landowner's tract(s).
j. A
		  signed and dated statement, from the billboard sign owner or agent, agreeing to
		  abide by the terms of the RSVP permit. The sign owner will also agree to remove
		  the sign at no cost to the AHTD if the terms of the RSVP permit are violated by
		  the sign owner, land owner, or third parties contracted to carry out vegetation
		  control activities.