Chap. 234.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Sections 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 13 and 14 of an
act entitled ‘‘An Act to regulate outdoor advertising outside of the corporate
limits of cities and incorporated towns in sight of public highways; to provide
for licensing persons engaged in the business of outdoor advertising and for the
issuance of permits for advertisements and advertising structures; to prohibit
certain advertisements and advertising structures and to provide for the removal
of advertisements and advertising structures illegally posted, displayed, erected,
used or maintained; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain officers relating
thereto; and to prescribe penalties for violations of this act.”’, approved March
31, 1938, so as, among other purposes, to increase certain fees provided for by
the act, and to clarify certain provisions of the act, and to further amend the
said act by adding thereto two new sections numbered 6-a and 7-a, providing
for the transfer of licenses and permits and prohibiting the posting and gluing of
certain advertisements. [H B 39]

Approved March 27, 1940

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That
sections one, three, four, six, nine, thirteen and fourteen of an act
entitled ‘‘An Act to regulate outdoor advertising outside of the
corporate limits of cities and incorporated towns in sight of public
highways; to provide for licensing persons engaged in the business of
outdoor advertising and for the issuance of permits for advertisements
and advertising structures; to prohibit certain advertisements and
advertising structures and to provide for the removal of advertise-
ments and advertising structures illegally posted, displayed, erected,
used or maintained; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain
officers relating thereto; and to prescribe penalties for violations of
this act.’’, approved March thirty-first, nineteen hundred and thirty-
eight, be amended and re-enacted and that the said act be further
amended by adding thereto two new sections numbered six-a and
seven-a, so that the said amended sections and the said new sections
shall read as follows:

Section 1. Definitions.—The following terms, wherever used or
referred to in this act, shall have the following meanings unless a
different meaning clearly appears from the context:

(a) ‘‘Advertisement’’ means any writing, printing, picture, paint-
ing, display, emblem, drawing, sign or similar device which is posted
or displayed outdoors on real property and is intended to invite or to
draw the attention, or to solicit the patronage or support, of the
public to any goods, merchandise, property, real or personal, business,
services, entertainment or amusement manufactured, produced,
bought, sold, conducted, furnished or dealt in by any person, or for
any political party or for the candidacy of any individual for any
nomination or office; the term shall also include any part of an adver-
tisement recognizable as such;

(b) ‘Advertising structure’ means any rigid or semi-rigid ma-
terial, with or without any advertisement displayed thereon, situated
upon or attached to real property outdoors, primarily or principally
for the purpose of furnishing a background or base or support upon
which an advertisement may be posted or displayed;

(c) ‘Business of outdoor advertising’ means the erection, use or
maintenance of advertising structures, or the posting or display of
outdoor advertisements, by any person who receives profit gained
from rentals or any other compensation from any other person for
the use or maintenance of such advertising structures or the posting
or display of such advertisements, except reasonable compensation for
materials and labor used or furnished in the actual erection of adver-
tising structures or the actual posting of advertisements;

(d) ‘‘Commissioner’’ means the State Highway Commissioner;

(e) ‘Commonwealth’ means the Commonwealth of Virginia;

(f) ‘‘Highway’’ means every way or place of whatever nature
open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel in this
State, outside of cities and incorporated towns;

(g) ‘‘Municipalities’’ means cities and incorporated towns;

(h) ‘‘Person’’ includes an individual, partnership, association or
corporation;

(i) ‘Post’? means post, display, print, paint, burn, nail, paste or
otherwise attach; | |

(j) ‘‘Real property’’ includes any property physically attached
or annexed to real property in any manner whatsoever; ,

(k) ‘State’? means the Commonwealth of Virginia;

(1) ‘Town’ means an incorporated town.

Section 3. Territory to which the act applies; entries, examina-
tions and surveys.—(a) The territory under. the jurisdiction of the
commissioner for the purposes of this act shall include all of the State,
exclusive of that portion thereof which lies within the corporate
limits of municipalities. ,
~ (b) . The commissioner and all employees under his direction, may
enter upon such lands as may be necessary in the performance of
their functions and duties as prescribed by this act. Any person
who shall hinder or obstruct the commissioner or any assistant or
agent of the commissioner in carrying out such functions and duties
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Section 4. Licensed Outdoor Advertisers.—(a) No person shall
engage or continue in the business of outdoor advertising in this
State outside of the corporate limits of municipalities without first
obtaining a license therefor from the commissioner. The fee for such
license, hereby imposed for revenue for the use of the State, shall be
twenty-five dollars per annum, payable annually in advance. Appli-
cations for: licenses, or renewal of licenses, shall be made on forms
furnished by the commissioner and shall contain such information as
the commissioner may require, and shall be accompanied by the
annual fee. Licenses granted: under this section shall expire on the
thirty-first day of December of each year, and shall not be prorated.
Applications for the renewal of licenses shall be made not less than
thirty days prior to the date of expiration. Nothing in this section
shall be construed to require any person who advertises upon a
structure or fixture on his property or a licensed advertiser’s structure
or other space to obtain a license.

(b) The commissioner shall have the right, after thirty days’
notice in writing to the licensee, to revoke any license granted by
him upon repayment of a proportionate part of the license fee, in
any case where he shall find that any of the information required to
be given in the application for the license is knowingly false or mis-
leading or that the licensee has violated any of the provisions of this
act, unless such licensee shall, before the expiration of said thirty
days, correct such false or misleading information and comply with
the provisions of this act. Any person whose license is so revoked
may, within thirty days from the date of such revocation, appeal
from the decision of the commissioner to the circuit court of the city
of Richmond or, at the election of the licensee, to the Circuit Court
of the county or city in which the licensee resides, by presenting to
the court or the judge thereof, after five days’ notice in writing to
the commissioner, an affidavit made by the licensee or by his duly
authorized agent or attorney, setting forth the fact of such revocation,
and that the same was contrary to law. Any person aggrieved by
the judgment of said court shall have the right of appeal to the Supreme
Court of Appeals.

Section 6. Individual device permits; fees.—(a) Except as in this
act otherwise provided, no person, whether engaged in the business of
outdoor advertising or not, shall erect, use, maintain, post or display
any advertisement or advertising structure in this State, outside of
municipalities, without first obtaining a permit therefor from the
commissioner and paying the annual fee therefor, as herein provided.

(b) A separate application for a permit shall be made for each
separate advertisement or advertising structure, on a form furnished
by the commissioner, which application shall be signed by the appli-
cant or his representative duly authorized in writing to act for him,
and shall describe and set forth the size, shape and the nature of the
advertisement or advertising structure it is proposed to post, display,
erect or maintain and its actual or proposed location with sufficient
accuracy to enable the commissioner to identify such advertisement
or advertising structure and to find its actual or proposed location.
Each application shall be accompanied by an application fee in an
amount determined as follows on the basis of the area of the adver-
tisement or advertising structure for which the permit is sought,
according to the following schedule: (1) Fifty cents if such area does
not exceed fifty square feet; (2) Two dollars if such area exceeds
fifty square feet but does not exceed four hundred square feet; (3)
Three dollars if such area exceeds four hundred square feet but does
not exceed six hundred square feet; and (4) An additional one dollar
for each two hundred square feet of such area in excess of six hundred
square feet. The fee shall be retained by the commissioner if the
permit is issued. If the permit is refused, the commissioner shall
refund one-half the application fee to the applicant if the application
fee does not exceed one dollar; if the application fee exceeds one
dollar the Commissioner shall upon refusal of the permit return to
the applicant all of the application fee in excess of one dollar. Each
application shall be accompanied by the written consent, or in lieu
thereof a copy certified by an officer authorized to take acknowledg-
ments to deeds in this State, of the owner of the real property upon
which such advertisement or advertising structure is to be erected,
used, maintained, posted or displayed, or of such other person having
the legal right to grant such consent, or of the duly authorized agent
of such owner, or other person. Application shall be made in like
manner for a permit to use, maintain or display any existing adver-
tisement or advertising structure. Permits issued hereunder shall
run for the calendar year, and may be renewed upon the payment of
the same fee required to be paid upon application for a permit. No
application shall be required for renewal of a permit.

(c) The area of an advertising structure is the total area of each
side thereof used or constructed to be used, either in whole or in part,
for the posting of one or more advertisements; the area of each such
side shall be determined from its outside measurements, excluding as
a part thereof, the height and overall width of supports and supporting
structure and any other portion or portions thereof beneath the normal
area upon which an advertisement is posted or intended to be posted.
Each advertisement or advertising structure of an area of less than
fifty square feet shall be treated as having an area of fifty square feet;
when an advertisement or advertising structure has an area in excess
of fifty square feet, such area shall be treated as being the nearest
multiple of fifty.

(d) No bond or permit shall be required for the posting or display
of any advertisement posted or displayed on any advertising structure
or space for which a permit has been issued or renewed for the then
current calendar year under the provisions of this act unless said
permit has been revoked.

(e) The commissioner may, after thirty days notice in writing
to the permittee, revoke any permit issued by him under this section
upon repayment of a proportionate part of the fee in any case where
it shall appear to the commissioner that the application for the permit
contains knowingly false or misleading information, that the per-
mittee has failed to keep in a good general condition and in a reason-
able state of repair the advertisement or advertising structure for
which such permit was issued, or that the permittee has violated any
of the provisions of this act, unless such permittee shall, before the
expiration of said thirty days, correct such false or misleading infor-
mation, or make the necessary repairs or improvement in the general
condition of such advertisement or advertising structure, or comply
with the provisions of this act, as the case may be; if the erection,
maintenance and display of any advertisement or advertising structure
for which a permit is issued by the commissioner and the permit fee
has been paid as above provided, shall be prevented by any zoning
board, commission or other public agency which also has jurisdiction
over the proposed advertisement or advertising structure or its site,
the application fee for such advertisement or advertising structure
shall be returned by the commissioner and the permit revoked. But
one-half the application fee shall be deemed to have accrued upon
the erection of an advertising structure or the display of an advertise-
ment followed by an inspection by the commissioner or his representa-
tive.

(f) In any case if an applicant for a permit shall certify in his
application that he is unable to state the actual or proposed locatior
of the advertisement or advertising structure or to file the writter
consent of the landowner or other person having the legal right to the
real estate upon which the advertisement or advertising structure is
to be erected, used, maintained, posted or displayed the commissioner
shall issue to such applicant a temporary permit, together with the
proper identification number to be attached to such advertisement o1
advertising structure, which temporary permit shall expire sixty days
from the date of its issue. If within said sixty days, the applicant
shall file with the comrhissioner an application setting forth all of the
information required in sub-section (b) of this section the commis-
sioner shall issue to such applicant a permit.

(zg) Any person aggrieved by any action of the commissioner in
refusing to grant or in revoking a permit under this section may,
within thirty days from the date of such refusal or revocation, appeal
from the decision of the commissioner to the circuit court of the city
of Richmond, or, at the election of such person, to the circuit or corpora-
tion court of the county or city in which such person resides, by
presenting to the court or the judge thereof in vacation, after five
days notice in writing to the commissioner, an affidavit made by such
person or by his duly authorized agent or attorney, setting forth the
fact of such refusal or revocation, as the case may be, and that the
action of the commissioner was without just cause.

Section 6-a. Transfer of licenses and permits to successor con-
cerns.—Any license or permit issued pursuant to this act may be
transferred to any person who acquires as a successor the business
of the person for whom such license or permit was issued and a new
license or permit therefor issued covering the balance of the year
for which such license or permit was issued, upon the payment to the
Commissioner of a fee equal to twenty-five (25%) per centum of the
fee required for the issuance of an original license or permit similar
to that to be transferred.

Section 7-a. Pasting and gluing advertisements prohibited in
certain instances.—No advertisement shall be pasted or glued on any
building, fence, wall, tree, rock or other similar structure or object,
unless the same be an advertising structure for which a permit has
been issued and is in effect.

Section 9. Certain outdoor advertising prohibited.—No adver-
tisement or advertising structure shall be erected or maintained:

(a) Within five hundred feet of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the
Colonial National Parkway or the Mount Vernon Boulevard or
within five hundred feet of any public cemetery, public park, reserva-
tion, public playground, national forest or State forest, outside the
limits of any municipality;

(b) Which involves motion or rotation of any part of the structure
or displays intermittent lights;

(c) Which uses the word ‘‘stop” or “‘danger’’ prominently dis-
played, or presents or implies the need or requirement of stopping or
the existence of danger, or which is a copy or imitation of official signs;

(d) In such manner or place as to constitute a hazard to traffic;
386 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY [va., 1940

(e) Which advertises any county, city, town, village, historic
place or shrine without the consent, in writing, of such county, city,
town or village or of the owner of such historic place or shrine.

Section 13. Certain advertisements excepted.—The following
advertisements and the advertising structures, or parts thereof, upon
which they are posted or displayed, are excepted from all the pro-
visions of this act, save those enumerated in section nine, sub-sections
(b), (c) and (d) and (e) and in section fourteen:

(a) A reasonable number of signs erected or maintained, or
caused to be erected or maintained, by the owner or lessee of a place
of business or residence, within three hundred and fifty feet of such
place of business or residence and relating solely to merchandise,
services or entertainment sold, produced, manufactured or furnished
at such place of business or residence;

(a-1) Signs erected or maintained, or caused to be erected or
maintained, on any farm by the owner or lessee of such farm and
relating solely to farm produce, merchandise, services or entertain-
ment sold, produced, manufactured or furnished on such farm; ,

(b) Signs upon real property posted or displayed by the owner,
or by the authority of the owner, stating that the property, upon
which the sign is located, or a part of such property, is for sale or
rent, or stating any data pertaining to such property and its appur-
tenances, and the name and address of the owner and the agent of
such owner;

(c) Official notices or advertisements posted or displayed by or
under the direction of any public or court officer in the performance
of his official or directed duties, or by trustees under deeds of trust,
deeds of assignment or other similar instruments;

(d) Danger or precautionary signs relating to the premises or
signs warning of the condition of or dangers of travel on a highway,
erected or authorized by the commissioner; or forest fire warning
signs erected under authority of the Virginia Conservation Com-
mission, and signs, notices or symbols erected by the United States
Government under the direction of the United States Forestry Service;

(e) Signs relating solely to any county, city, town, village or
historic place or shrine, situated within this State, when such signs
are erected or posted by or with the consent in writing of such county,
city, town or village or owner of such historic place or shrine;

(f) Notices of any railroad, bridges, ferries or other transporta-
tion or transmission company necessary in the discretion of the com-
missioner for the safety of the public, or for the direction of the public
to such utility, or to any place to be reached by it;

(g) Signs, notices or symbols for the information of aviators as
to location, direction and landings and conditions affecting safety in
aviation erected or authorized by the commissioner;

(h) Signs containing sixteen square feet or less and bearing an
announcement of any county, town, village or city, situated in this
State, advertising itself or local industries, meetings, buildings or
attractions, provided the same is maintained wholly at public expense:
(i) Advertisements or advertising structures not visible from any
highway or other public place;

(j) Signs or notices containing two square feet or less, placed at
a junction of two or more roads in the State highway system denoting
only the distance or direction of a residence or place of business,
provided such signs or notices do not exceed a reasonable number
in the discretion of the commissioner;

(k) Signs or notices erected or maintained upon property giving
the name of the owner, lessee or occupant of the premises;

(1) Advertisements and advertising structures within the cor-
porate limits of cities and towns;

(m) Historical markers erected by duly constituted and au-
thorized public authorities;

-(n) Highway markets and signs erected, or caused to be erected,
by the commissioner or the State Highway Commission or other
authorities in accordance with law;

(o) Signs erected upon property warning the public against
hunting, fishing or trespassing thereon;

(p) Signs erected by Red Cross authorities relating to Red Cross
Emergency Stations. And authority is hereby expressly given for
the erection and maintenance of such signs upon the right-of-way of
all highways in this State at such locations as may be approved by
the commissioner;

(q) Signs advertising agricultural products and_ horticultural
products, or either, when such products are produced by the person
who erects and maintains the said signs; provided, however, that
the location and number of said signs shall be in the sole discretion
of the State Highway Commissioner;

(r) Signs advertising only the name, time and place of bona fide
agricultural county, district or State fairs, together with announce-
ments of special events in connection therewith which do not con-
sume more than fifty per centum of the display area of such signs,
provided the persons who post the same or cause them to be posted
will satisfy the Commissioner that such signs will be removed within
thirty days after the last day of the fair so advertised.

Section 14. Violation a nuisance; abatement.—Any advertise-
ment, or advertising structure, which is erected, used, maintained,
posted, or displayed in violation of section seven-a, or without se-
curing a permit where such is required, or after revocation of such
permit, or where it shall appear to the Commissioner that any ad-
vertisement or advertising structure, whether or not excepted under
the provisions of section thirteen hereof, is not kept in a good general
condition and in a reasonably good state of repair and is not put
into good general condition and in a reasonably good state of repair
after thirty days written notice to the person erecting, using, main-
taining, posting or displaying the same, is hereby declared to be a
public and private nuisance and shall be forthwith removed, ob-
literated or abated by the commissioner or his representatives. The
commissioner is hereby authorized and empowered to collect the
cost of such removal, obliteration or abatement from the person
erecting, using, maintaining, posting or displaying such advertisement
or advertising structure.

2. This act shall take effect on, and be in force and effect on
and after, January first, nineteen hundred and forty-one.