Section 290-RICR-30-00-1.4 - DefinitionsA. For the purposes of these Rules and Regulations, the following terms shall have the following meaning: 1. "Billboard" means a panel designed to carry outdoor advertising. Billboards are considered to be personal property by the Department and all municipal governments in the State of Rhode Island.2. "Commercial" or "industrial activities" for the purposes of the unzoned area definition, mean those activities generally recognized as commercial or industrial by zoning authorities in this State, except that none of the following shall be considered commercial or industrial:a. Agricultural, forestry, ranching, grazing, farming, and related activities, including, but not limited to wayside fresh produce stands.b. Transient or temporary activities.c. Activities not visible from the state-way.d. Activities more than three hundred (300) feet from the nearest edge of the state-way.e. Railroad tracks and minor sidings.f. Activities normally and regularly in operation less than 5 months per year.g. Activities conducted in a building principally used as a residence.3. "Commercial or industrial zone" means those districts established by the zoning authorities as being most appropriate for commerce, industry, or trade, regardless of how labeled. They are commonly categorized as commercial, industrial, business, manufacturing, highway service or highway business (when these latter are intended for highway orientated business), retail, trade, warehouse, and similar classifications pursuant to the provisions of 23 C.F.R. § 750.703(a).4. "Controlled area" means: a. In an urban area, those areas adjacent to, and within six hundred and sixty (660) feet of, the edge of the right-of-way of the state-way.b. Outside an urban area, those areas adjacent to the edge of the right-of-way of the Interstate and Federal-Aid primary and secondary highway systems and visible from the state-way.5. "Controlled routes" means: The Federal-aid primary system in existence on June 1, 1991, and any highway which is not on such a system, but which is on the National Highway System.6. "Department" means the Department of Transportation of the State of Rhode Island.7. "Designated scenic roadways" mean any State Roadways that have been designated a "Rhode Island Scenic Roadway" by the Rhode Island Scenic Roadway Board, under the current Rhode Island legislation for Scenic Roadways.8. "Directional and official signs and notices" means official signs and notices, public utility signs, service clubs and religious notices, public service signs and directional signs.9. "Directional signs" means signs containing directional information about public places owned or operated by Federal, State, or Local governments or their agencies; publicly or privately owned natural phenomena, historic, agricultural, cultural, scientific, educational, and religious sites: and areas of natural scenic beauty or naturally suited for outdoor recreation, including bicycle paths, and state-owned railroad corridors deemed to be in the interest of the public.10. "Double panel" means two [2] signs side by side facing the same direction no more than five [5] feet apart.11. "Erect" means to construct, build, raise, assemble, place, affix, attach, create, paint, draw, or in any other way bring into being or establish pursuant to the provisions of 23 C.F.R. § 750.153(e).12. "Existing conforming sign" means signs that are lawfully erected and maintained and comply entirely with all provisions of the law. Conforming signs may remain or be erected adjacent to controlled highway systems after the effective date, May 6, 1966.13. "Freeway" means a divided arterial highway for through traffic with full control of access, pursuant to the provisions of 23 C.F.R. § 750.153(k).14. "Illegal sign" means a sign erected or maintained in violation of State Law, pursuant to the provisions of 23 C.F.R. § 750. 303(d).15. "Immediate vicinity" means the area within fifty (50) feet of where the sign is located, including buildings, driveways and parking areas.16. "Information center" means an area or site established and maintained as safety rest areas for the purpose of informing the public of places of interest within the state and providing such other information as the Director of Transportation may consider desirable, pursuant to the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws § 24-10.1-2(1).17. "Interchange" means a system of interconnecting roadways in conjunction with one or more grade separations that provides for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways on different levels. Interchanges may be of various types or a combination of types.18. "Interstate system" means that a portion of the national system of interstate and defense highways located within this State, or highways built to interstate or defense highway standards as officially designated, or as may hereafter be so designated, by the Director of Transportation, and approved pursuant to the provisions of 23 U.S.C. § 131.19. "Landmark signs" means signs lawfully in existence on October 22, 1965, including signs on farm structures or natural surfaces, of historic or artistic significance, the preservation of which is consistent with the purpose of 23 U.S.C. § 131. There exist no landmark signs outside urban areas in the State of Rhode Island.20. "Maintain" means to allow to exist, or keep in repair.21. "Major official guide sign" means a sign with a total area of at least twelve (12) square feet, erected and authorized by the State or Federal Government to designate route numbers or route names, distances and directions to certain localities or municipalities.22. "Municipality" means a city or town in the State of Rhode Island.23. "Non-conforming signs" means those signs which were lawfully erected, but which do not comply with the provisions of amended State regulations or which later fail to comply with State law or rules and regulations due to changed conditions. Illegally erected or maintained signs are not non-conforming signs pursuant to the provisions of 23 C.F.R. § 750.303(e).24. "Official signs" means signs and notices erected and maintained by public officers or public agencies within their territorial or zoning jurisdiction and pursuant to and in accordance with direction or authorizations contained in Federal, State, or local law for the purposes of carrying out an official duty or responsibility. Historical markers authorized by State law and erected by State or local government or nonprofit historical societies may be considered official signs pursuant to the provisions of 23 C.F.R. § 750.154(n).25. "On-premise advertising sign" means a sign at a business location advertising a business or businesses that are conducted on the property [the principal activity], or signs advertising the sale or lease of the real property upon which they are located, subject to the requirements of § 1.11 of this Part.26. "Outdoor advertising sign" means advertising signs, displays, and devises in adjacent areas consistent with the terms of these Rules and Regulations, the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1958 [ P.L. 85-381], and the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, as amended [ P.L. 85-381], and any and all subsequent amendments and laws. Any outdoor sign, device, figure, painting, drawing, message, notices, placard, poster, billboard, billboard structure, monopole structure, letter board, or other thing which is designed, including lighting, intended or used to advertise or inform, any part of the advertising or informative contents of which is visible from any place on the state-way or the Interstate, Primary or Secondary Systems.27. "Panel" means a flat piece of material, usually rectangular, made to form part of a sunken or raised surface set in a frame for the sole purpose of advertising, or any other shaped surface and/or structure including but not limited to; Digital Display, Trivision, other type of Commercial Electronic Changeable Message Sign (CEVMS), etc. approved by the Department.28. "Permit" means a revocable certificate issuing permission by the Department authorizing the erection and maintenance of a sign at the location described thereon for a twelve [12] month period beginning from the date of issuance. The issuance of an outdoor advertising permit does not supersede municipal or other agency sign requirements or restrictions. Permits are not chattel.29. "Permit holder" means any person holding a valid and unrevoked outdoor advertising permit. Permit Holders must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Department that they have legal control of the real property [i.e., footprint] where the sign is located and legal control of the sign.30. "Person" means any individual, group, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, any public entity, as the context may require, or combination thereof.31. "Primary system" means that portion of connected main highways, as officially designated, or as may hereafter be so designated, by the Director of Transportation, and approved by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, pursuant to the provisions of 23 U.S.C. § 103(b).32. "Public service signs" means signs located on bus stop shelters, which sign:a. Identify the donor, sponsor, or contributor of said shelters;b. Contain safety slogans or messages, which shall occupy not less than fifty percent [50%] of the area of the sign;c. Contain no other message;d. Are located on bus shelters which are authorized or approved by city, county, or Statelaw, regulation, or ordinance, and at places approved by the city, county or State agency controlling the state-way involved; and must be located on a designated, active transit system.e. May not exceed 32 square feet in area. Not more than one sign on each shelter shall face in any one direction.33. "Public utility signs" means warning signs, informational signs, notices, or markers, which are customarily erected and maintained by publicly or privately owned public utilities, as essential to their operations.34. "Replacement costs" are based on a mixture of signs in each category with different components such as backbracing, aprons, scaffolds, and differing heights above ground level. The basic structure cost figure will thus apply whether or not the sign being valued has any (or all) of the above-mentioned features. Additives for such items as incandescent lighting, mercury vapor lights, quartz floodlights, unusual features, or differing heights above ground level over eleven (11) feet, should be made when appropriate and the costs are verified by the Department's Appraisal Unit.35. "Right-of-way" means the easement in or property acquired by the public through the Department of Transportation, for the purposes of highway construction, safety rest areas, landscaping or any other purpose incidental to highway travel or highway use.36. "Rules and regulations" means the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Rhode Island Department of Transportation, Control and Restriction of Billboards, Signs and Other Advertising Devices.37. "Safety rest areas" means an area or site established and maintained within or adjacent to the right-of-way by or under public supervision or control, for the convenience of the traveling public. No advertising of any form will be allowed and is strictly prohibited within Safety Rest Areas unless previously reviewed and approved by the Director of the Department of Transportation, pursuant to the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws § 24-10.1-2(6).38. "Secondary systems" means that portion of state maintained roads that are neither interstate nor primary roads, pursuant to the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws § 24-10.1-2(7).39. "Service club and religious notices" means signs and notices, whose erection is authorized by law, relating to meetings of nonprofit service clubs or charitable associations, or religious services, which signs do not exceed 8 square feet in area, pursuant to the provisions of 23 C.F.R. § 750.153(p).40. "Sign" means the following: a display as a lettered board, a posted command, warning, or direction, including messages utilizing new technologies such as Trivision or equivalent technologies such as CMS, Digital LED, Video LED, Price Pack [changed by satellite or other], Lottery [changed by satellite or other], Electronic Water Art, Holographic, Projectorized, Gas Plasma, or other changeable messages as approved by the Department of Transportation, and if and when necessary the Federal Highway Administration, any outdoor advertising sign, device, figure, painting, drawing, message, notices, placard, poster, billboard, billboard structure, monopole structure, letter board, or other thing which is designed, including lighting, intended or used to advertise or inform, any part of the advertising or informative contents of which is visible from any place on the state-way of the Interstate or primary system, or secondary system.41. "State-way" means the following: an interstate, a road, highway, route, traveled way, interway, primary, Federal-aid primary or secondary system, designated scenic roadway and arterials pursuant to the Rhode Island Division of Planning, Statewide Highway Functional Classification Map (2003).42. "Structure" means any device, engineered or not which provides support for panels that provide an advertising message, including but not limited to monopoles, multipoles, or any other thing used to provide support.43. "Unzoned commercial or industrial area" means those areas not zoned by State or local law, regulation or ordinance, which are occupied by one or more industrial or commercial activities, other than outdoor advertising signs, and the lands along the state-way for a distance of five hundred (500) consecutive feet immediately adjacent to the activities. All measurements shall be from the outer edges of the regularly used buildings, parking lots, storage or processing areas of the activities, not from the property lines of the activities, and shall be along or parallel to the edge of pavement of the state-way. Measurements shall not be from the property lines of the activities unless said property lines coincide with the limits of the activities. Unzoned industrial or commercial areas shall not include land predominately used for residential purposes, or land adjacent to Interstate or primary highway constructed on right-of-way, the entire width of which was acquired subsequent to July 1, 1956. In addition, "spot or strip zoning," will not be considered as a commercial or an industrial area.44. "Urban area" means an urbanized area or an urban place as designated by the Bureau of the Census having a population of five thousand or more and not within any urbanized area, which boundaries to be fixed by the Office of Statewide Planning, subject to approval by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Such boundaries shall be as a minimum, encompass the entire urban place designated by the Bureau of the Census.45. "Urbanized area" means an area so designated by the Bureau of the Census, within boundaries to be fixed by the Office of Statewide Planning, subject to approval by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Such boundaries shall, as a minimum, encompass the entire urbanized area within the State as designated by the Bureau of the Census, pursuant to the provisions of 23 U.S.C. § 101(a).46. "Visible" means capable of being seen, [whether or not legible] without visual aid by a person of normal visual acuity, pursuant to the provisions of 23 C.F.R § 750.153(j).290 R.I. Code R. 290-RICR-30-00-1.4
Amended effective 11/28/2018