P.R. Laws tit. 9, § 51l
(a) Only a sign or advertisement with a permit shall be considered to be under the previous regulations when installed complying with the regulation in force at the time of installation, for which a permit has been requested or issued, and it does not comply with the provisions of this chapter.
(b) Any sign or advertisement not covered by subsection (a) of this section, but in existence at the effective date of this act, and against which there isn’t a proceeding in progress by ARPE, and does not meet the requirements established in it, shall be erased, suppressed, eliminated or conformed to the act by means of an installation permit. It is Provided, That a period of fifteen (15) months is granted, after the effective date of this act, to obtain an installation permit pursuant to this chapter, or to eliminate said signs or advertisements, except to those that are structurally unsafe or constitute a hazard to public safety due to its structural deficiencies, which shall be removed in a term not greater than twenty (20) days after notification issued by ARPE under the provisions of this chapter. The signs and advertisements with permits under the previous regulations shall be registered in the Puerto Rico Registry of Signs and Advertisements created pursuant to the provisions of § 51a of this title. Once the sign or advertisement is registered under the provisions stated hereinbefore, ARPE shall issue a permit and a provisional registration sticker with a maximum valid period of fifteen (15) months after the effective date of this act, or until the date ARPE issues the corresponding permanent permit, whichever happens first.
(c) No nonconforming sign or advertisement, nor any with a permit under the previous regulations, may be enlarged, unless it is done with the purpose of conforming it to this chapter. The preceding does not exempt from giving maintenance to the sign or advertisement as provided herein.
(d) Any nonconforming sign or advertisement, or with a permit under the previous regulations, that is partially or totally destroyed, due to fire, explosion, earthquake, hurricane or any other act of God, or due to any other circumstances, may be repaired, provided that it does not exceed its original size and complies with the Puerto Rico Building Code in effect.
(e) The absence of an installation permit and a registration sticker, or the absence of the permit and the initial registration sticker for a sign or advertisement, shall be prima facie evidence that the installation of said sign or advertisement has no legal authorization.
(f) Under the provisions of this chapter, only those signs and advertisements with permits under the previous regulations, shall be permitted subject to the provisions of this section.
History —Dec. 22, 1999, No. 355, § 16, eff. 60 days after Dec. 22, 1999.