Senate Bill 2977

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 49-23-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ALLOW ON-PREMISE SIGNS TO A CERTAIN DISTANCE FROM THE BUSINESS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 49-23-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-23-5. (1) No outdoor advertising shall be erected or maintained within six hundred sixty (660) feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way and visible from the main-traveled way of a state controlled route, except the following:

(a) Directional and other official signs and notices, which signs and notices shall include, but not be limited to, signs and notices pertaining to natural wonders, scenic and historic attractions, as authorized or required by law;

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

(c) Signs, displays and devices advertising the principal activities conducted on the property upon which they are located; such signs, displays and devices may be located six hundred (600) feet from the building in which the business activity is carried on;

(d) Outdoor advertising signs, displays and devices located in areas which are zoned industrial or commercial as defined in Section 49-23-3;

(e) Outdoor advertising signs, displays and devices located in unzoned commercial or industrial areas as defined in Section 49-23-3; and

(f) Signs, displays and devices which locate, identify, mark or warn of the presence of pipelines, utility lines or rail lines and appurtenances thereto, including, but not limited to, markers used in maintenance, operation, observation and safety.

(2) No outdoor advertising shall be erected at or beyond six hundred sixty (660) feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way outside of urban areas, with the purpose of their message being read from the main-traveled ways of state controlled routes, except the following:

(a) Directional and other official signs and notices, which signs and notices shall include, but not be limited to, signs and notices, pertaining to natural wonders, scenic and historic attractions, as authorized or required by law;

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

(c) Signs, displays and devices advertising the principal activities conducted on the property upon which they are located.

(3) Signs lawfully in existence on October 22, 1965, as determined by the commission, subject to the concurrence of the United States Secretary of Transportation, to be landmark signs of historic or artistic significance, including signs on farm structures or natural surfaces, the preservation of which would be consistent with the purposes of this section, are not required to be removed.

(4) No outdoor advertising shall be erected along or adjacent to a scenic byway as defined in Section 49-23-3.

(5) No outdoor advertising shall be erected contrary to the restrictions in SECTION 7 of Section 65-3-137.

(6) The board of supervisors of the county, for an outdoor advertising sign that is located outside the corporate limits of any incorporated municipality, and the governing authorities of a municipality, for an outdoor advertising sign that is located within the corporate limits of the municipality, may prohibit any outdoor advertising sign that contains any message or depiction of a sexually explicit nature.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.