Texas Administrative Code › Title 43 - TRANSPORTATION › Part 1 - TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › Chapter 21 - RIGHT OF WAY › Subchapter I - REGULATION OF SIGNS ALONG INTERSTATE AND PRIMARY HIGHWAYS › Division 1 - SIGNS › Section 21.197 - Discontinuance of Nonconforming Commercial Sign Due to Destruction

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Except as allowed by Transportation Code,
					 §
											391.038, if a sign is
					 partially destroyed by a natural force outside the control of the permit
					 holder, including wind, tornado, lightening, flood, fire, or hurricane, the
					 department will determine whether the sign can be repaired without an amended
					 permit.
(b) The department may
					 require the sign owner to submit an estimate of the proposed work, including an
					 itemized list of the materials to be used and the manner in which the work will
					 be done. The department will allow the sign to be repaired without an amended
					 permit if the department determines that the damage is not substantial. If the
					 damage is determined to be substantial the sign owner must obtain an amended
					 permit under §
											21.174
					 of this subchapter (relating to Amended Permit).
(c) The department will cancel the existing
					 permit if it determines the damage to the sign is substantial under subsection
					 (g) of this section and an amended permit is not obtained by the sign owner
					 within one year after the date that the department first became aware of the
					 damage.
(d) If a permit is canceled
					 under this section or §
											21.176 of
					 this subchapter (relating to Cancellation of Permit), the remaining sign
					 structure must be dismantled and removed without cost to the state.
(e) A sign that is totally or partially
					 destroyed by vandalism or a motor vehicle accident may be rebuilt as described
					 on the most recently approved permit application.
(f) If a decision to cancel a permit is
					 appealed, the sign may not be repaired during the appeal process.
(g) Damage is considered to be substantial if
					 the cost to repair the sign would exceed 60 percent of the cost to replace it
					 with a sign of the same basic construction using new materials and at the same
					 location.
(h) If a sign is
					 partially destroyed by a natural force outside the control of the sign owner in
					 an area that receives a state or federal disaster declaration and the sign
					 owner has documentation to show that the sign damage is not considered
					 substantial the sign may be repaired without a prior determination by the
					 department under subsection (b) of this section if the sign is repaired within
					 180 days after the date of the event and if within 60 days after the date of
					 completion of the repairs, the owner submits to the department:
(1) photos of the partially destroyed sign
					 and the repaired sign; and
(2) a
					 notarized affidavit executed by the sign owner containing:
(A) the permit number of the sign;
(B) a statement that the sign was damaged by
					 the natural force;
(C) a statement
					 that the cost to repair the sign was less than 60 percent of the cost of a new
					 sign with the same basic construction; and
(D) a statement that the sign was repaired in
					 the same configuration and with like materials according to the most recent
					 approved permit.