Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 700 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › Title 700 CMR 3.00 - Control And Restriction Of Billboards, Signs, And Other Outdoor Advertising Devices › Section 3.01 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
The following terms as used in
				700 CMR 3.00 shall, unless
				otherwise expressly stated or unless the context clearly requires a different
				interpretation, have the following meaning:
Abandon
: when a sign has not displayed
				advertising copy for a period of at least three months or to neglect or fail to
				perform maintenance upon a sign or to fail to obtain all necessary licenses and
				permits to erect and maintain a sign.
Business, Industrial or Commercial
				Activities
: for purposes of outdoor advertising, one or more of
				the following criteria must be met:
(a) The activity shall maintain all the necessary business
				licenses as required by applicable state or local law or ordinances;
(b) The activity shall have direct vehicular access from a
				public road that is normal and customary for ingress and egress by the public
				to the activity as well as adequate parking to accommodate public
				access;
(c) If there is a permanent structure, the activity shall
				include customary facilities such as indoor restrooms, running water,
				functioning electrical connections and adequate heating and shall be equipped
				with permanent flooring from material other than dirt, gravel or sand;
(d) The activity, if open to the public, shall be open during
				hours that are normal and customary for that type of activity in the same or
				similar communities; and
(e) If there is a permanent structure or building, it shall
				have a permanent foundation, built or modified for its current commercial or
				industrial use, and the building must be located within 660 feet from the
				nearest edge of the right of way of the public way. Where a mobile home or
				recreational vehicle is used as a business or office, the following conditions
				and requirements shall also apply:
1. A self-propelled vehicle shall not qualify for the use of a
				business or office for the purposes of
				700 CMR 3.00.
2. All wheels, axles and springs shall be removed.
3. The vehicle shall be permanently secured on piers, pads or a
				foundation.
Cut-out
: any protrusion from the
				original footprint of the sign as noted on the permit application, which shall
				not exceed five feet in height and two feet in width.
Department or MassDOT
: shall mean the
				Massachusetts Department of Transportation, a body politic and corporate
				established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6C.
Directional Signs
: signs as referenced
				in 23 CFR
				750.153.
Director
: director of the Office of
				Outdoor Advertising within the Massachusetts Department of
				Transportation.
Electronic Sign
: a sign that changes
				its message or copyat intervals by programmable electronic, digital, or
				mechanical processes or by remote control.
Erect
: to construct, reconstruct,
				alter, build, raise, assemble, place, fix, affix, attach, create, paint, draw,
				post, display or in any way bring in to being or establish. The term shall not
				include ordinary/customary maintenance.
Federal-state Agreement
: any agreement
				entered into by and between the United States of America represented by the
				Secretary of Transportation acting by and through the Federal Highway
				Administration and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, acting by and through the
				Massachusetts Department Transportation or its predecessors.
FHWA
: shall mean the Federal Highway
				Administration.
Illegally Erected or Maintained Sign
:
				a sign that is erected and/or maintained in violation of Massachusetts State
				law or Federal law.
Landmark Sign
: a sign that was
				lawfully in existence on October 22, 1965 and determined by MassDOT and
				approved by FHWA to be considered a landmark sign as per applicable federal
				regulations.
Modify
: to alter or change a sign in
				any manner that prolongs the useful life of the sign including, but not limited
				to the following:
(a) Raising or lowering a sign.
(b) Changing the location of a sign.
(c) Changing the materials of a sign.
(d) Changing the dimensions of a sign (length, width, height,
				depth, number of faces, or clearance between the bottom of the sign and ground
				or roof on which it is standing).
(e) Adding lighting to a sign.
(f) Replacing a dismantled sign.
(g) Adding bracing, guy wires or other reinforcing devices
				which would prolong the useful life of the sign.
(h) Moving an existing sign.
Non-conforming and/or Grandfathered
				Sign
: a sign that was lawfully erected, but which does not comply
				with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 93D, M.G.L. c. 6C,
				700 CMR 3.00, 23 U.S.C.,
				23 CFR
				750.101, or which later fails to comply with
				the above referenced statutes and regulations due to changed conditions.
				Illegally erected or maintained signs are not Non-nonforming and/or
				Grandfathered signs. Only off-premise signs which have been continuously
				permitted by the Department and utilized since their erection may be eligible
				for Non-nonforming and/or Grandfathered status. These signs may not be altered
				in any way other than ordinary/customary maintenance. If any Non-conforming
				and/or Grandfathered sign is modified in any way or removed, it shall lose its
				Non-conforming and/or Grandfathered status. In no event shall on-premise signs
				be eligible for the protection of Non-conforming and/or Grandfathered
				status.
Office of Outdoor Advertising
: the
				Office of Outdoor Advertising within the Massachusetts Department of
				Transportation.
On-premise or On-property Sign
:
(a) A sign which consists solely of the name of the
				establishment or which identifies the establishment's primary or principal
				products or services offered on the property is an on-property sign.
(b) When a sign consists of a logo, brand name or trade name
				advertising and the product or service advertised is only incidental to the
				primary or principal activity, or if it brings rental income to the property
				owner, it shall be considered the business of outdoor advertising and not an
				on-property sign.
(c) A sale or lease sign which also advertises any product or
				service not conducted upon and unrelated to the business or selling or leasing
				the land on which the sign is located is not an on-property sign.
Ordinary/Customary Maintenance
: any
				maintenance which does not prolong the useful life of the sign.
				Ordinary/Customary maintenance includes, but is not limited to, changing the
				message on the sign, painting fixtures and routine electrical repairs.
				Safetyimprovements maybe allowed with the prior approval of the
				Director.
Outdoor Advertising
: any outdoor sign,
				display, light, device, figure, painting, drawing, message, plaque, poster,
				billboard, or other thing which is designed, intended or used to advertise or
				inform; any part of the advertising or information contents of which is visible
				from any public way, public park or reservation.
Person
: any individual, partnership,
				corporation, firm, trustee, group, association, city, town, authority, county,
				agency or other governmental unit, excluding the Massachusetts Department of
				Transportation.
Pillar Displays
: signs located on
				public property that are free standing and installed or maintained by or under
				contract with a public agency, municipality, authority or political subdivision
				of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. At least one face of pillar displays must
				contain a message that serves a public purpose to include but not limited to
				maps, tourist information and other general municipal content.
Public Park or Reservation
: any park,
				conservation, reservation, cemetery, playground parcel or other land,
				regardless of ownership, which is available for public use and is in excess of
				30,000 square feet in aggregate.
Public Way
: as defined by the laws of
				the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Secretary
: Secretary of the
				Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
Sign
: any billboard, display, light,
				figure, painting, drawing, poster, object or device, whether fixed or movable,
				which advertises, promotes or calls attention to any business, article,
				substance, idea or any other thing or concept, including both the supporting
				structure, fixtures and informative contents thereof. Each sign face or message
				shall be considered a separate sign for purposes of permit and renewal
				applications, fees and permit numbers.
Street Furniture Signs
: includes, but
				is not limited to signs located on or within bus shelters, phone booths,
				restrooms, bicycle terminals, newspaper kiosks, trash receptacles or computer
				stations that are installed or maintained by or under contract with a public
				agency, municipality, authority or political subdivision of the Commonwealth of
				Massachusetts to provide a public service on public property. Signs affixed to
				bus shelters shall not exceed 25 square feet, unless otherwise approved by the
				Department.
Unlicensed Permit
: a permit which
				authorizes an applicant who is not otherwise licensed to engage in outdoor
				advertising, to display an off-premise sign which exclusively advertises the
				applicant's off-site business.