SENATE BILL 234

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2005

INTRODUCED BY

Phil A. Griego

AN ACT

RELATING TO OUTDOOR ADVERTISING; ESTABLISHING A MINIMUM DISTANCE BETWEEN OUTDOOR ADVERTISING LOCATIONS AND FROM A RIGHT OF WAY; REQUIRING THE ACQUISITION OR CONDEMNATION OF AN EXISTING OUTDOOR ADVERTISING PRIOR TO ISSUANCE OF A NEW PERMIT. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     Section 1. Section 67-12-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1966, Chapter 65, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:

     "67-12-4. OUTDOOR ADVERTISING PROHIBITED--EXCEPTIONS.--

          A. Subject to the provisions of Subsection D of this section, outdoor advertising shall not be erected or maintained except:

                (1) directional and other official signs and notices authorized or required by law, including [but not limited to] signs and notices pertaining to [houses] places of worship, natural wonders and scenic and historic attractions;

                (2) signs, displays and devices advertising the sale or lease of property upon which they are located;

                (3) signs, displays and devices advertising activities conducted on the property upon which they are located, provided that the bisection of a parcel of land by a highway right-of-way acquisition shall not in itself be construed as converting the property into more than one parcel;

                (4) signs, displays and devices located in areas [which] that are zoned as industrial or commercial under authority of law;

                (5) signs, displays and devices located [within] at least seven hundred fifty feet from the next closest sign, display or device and at least six hundred sixty feet [of] from the nearest edge of the right of way, in unzoned industrial or commercial areas [as defined by regulations promulgated by the commission], provided that no area shall be considered to be an unzoned commercial or industrial area unless and until a [regulation] rule defining the area as unzoned commercial or industrial is [promulgated] adopted by the commission; and

                (6) signs lawfully in existence on October 22, 1965, [determined by the commission] subject to any necessary federal approval, to be landmark signs of historic or artistic significance worthy of preservation, including signs on farm structures or natural surfaces.

          B. All outdoor advertising shall conform with standards and specifications and shall bear permits [and have paid therefor permit fees, as] required by the Highway Beautification Act [and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto or authorized thereby], except that permits shall not be required or fees paid for outdoor advertising included in Paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of Subsection A of this section.

          C. [Notwithstanding this section] Any outdoor advertising [that was lawfully] in existence on the effective date of the Highway Beautification Act [and has continued to so exist] may remain in place until the outdoor advertising is acquired by the commission or condemnation [in relation thereto] is commenced by the commission, whichever first occurs, but only if [and so long as] all provisions of Subsection B of this section are complied with.

          D. On and after July 1, 2005, no new permit shall be issued by the commission unless the permit applicant conveys to the commission an existing outdoor advertising permit or the commission acquires or condemns an existing outdoor advertising structure under a permit to the applicant."

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