Ariz. Admin. Code § R12-5-1101 - Policy; Use of Land

1. Qualifications of applicants. Any person of the age of 21 years or over, a citizen of the United States or who has declared an intention to become a citizen of the United States or any firm, association or corporation which has complied with the laws of the state, shall be qualified to apply for a special use permit.

2. Application for special use permit; renewal thereof; application fee. An application for general special use permit shall be made on Land Division form. Such application shall describe with particularity the land applied for, and shall state in detail the use to which the applicant intends to put the lands and the period for such use.

3. Form of special use permit. The form of a general special use permit will be prepared by the Department and will be subject to the provisions and supplemental conditions therein contained and the provisions of law and these rules and regulations.

4. Term of permit. A special use permit shall not be issued for a period to exceed ten years or such lesser term as may be established by the Commissioner if he deems such lessor term to be in the best interest of the state. An application for an initial special use permit shall not be approved for a period of longer than two years. Unless it is deemed to be for the best interest of the state, it is not the policy of the Department to allow and issue a special use permit which will seriously interfere with the operations of an established lessee or permittee holding a lease or permit from the Department to the surface or subsurface rights to the land.

5. Minimum fee. No special use permit shall provide for an annual fee for less than appraised rental value of the land and in no event for less than 5¢ per acre per annum or a minimum of $10.00 per annum per permit.

6. Failure to use land for purposes authorized. Any permittee who shall fail to use the land for the purpose for which he holds a permit during the term of his permit, unless for good cause such failure has been authorized or ratified by the Commissioner in writing, may subject his permit to forfeiture or cancellation as provided by law and these rules and regulations.

7. Rights of permittee. All permits granted by the Commissioner are only a license or permit for the use of the land described in the permit for the purpose for which the permit is issued and in a manner compatible with the terms of said permit. The Commissioner reserves the right to grant other permits for the use of said lands for the removal of natural products therefrom. No permittee has the authority or right to issue to any person any right to the use of said land or the removal of any products therefrom, but such right of use vests solely in the Commissioner and must be granted by the Commissioner in writing.

8. Use of state lands. No permittee shall use lands under permit to him except for the purpose for which the permit is issued, unless authorized by the Commissioner in writing.

A. The Department may issue Special Land Use Permits, as a non-exclusive right to use the land and not as a grant of any vested or unvested interest in the land, for any purpose otherwise authorized by statute or law for leases and other grants, including without limitation, grazing, agriculture, commercial, homesite, mineral exploration, and recreation.

9.B. Advertising displays and signage on State Trust Land. The erection or maintenance on State Trust Land of advertising displays and signage, without the Department's issuance of a permit, is unauthorized and shall be deemed a trespass, except as to the following:

10. Advertising displays defined. The words "advertising displays" as used in this Article shall include structures of any kind with or without lighting effects erected or maintained for outdoor advertising purposes, upon which any poster, bill, printing, painting, or other advertisement of any kind whatsoever, including statuary, may be placed for advertising purposes but shall not include: a.

1. Official notices or advertisements posted by or under the direction of any public or court officer in the performance of his official duties;

b.2. Danger, precautionary and information signs erected by officials of the federal government or officials of the state or any subdivision thereof, or any non-profit organization in the state warning of the conditions of travel on a highway, or of forest fires, or road symbols, or speed limits, and including all civil defense directional signs;

c.3. Highway markers or signs relating to any city, town, village, historic place, or shrine;

d.4. Notice of any railroad, bridge, ferry, or other transportation or transmission company necessary for the direction or safety of the public;

e.5. Official signs, notices or symbols for the information of aviators, as to location, direction or landings, and conditions affecting safety in aviation;

f. Signs containing 16 square feet or less bearing an announcement of any town, village or city, or non-profit association, or chamber of commerce, advertising itself, or local industries, buildings, meetings, or attractions, but not advertising any particular individual or corporation engaged in business for a profit; providing not more than one sign bearing the same or similar announcement shall be placed on any one approach to the city or village involved;

g.6. Signs erected by Red Cross or other organizations that serve to direct the public during emergency-related events; and

7. Any other circumstances approved in advance by the Department.

11. Applications for advertising display permits. Applications for permits must be executed upon Land Division form No. A-73-3. Each application must contain a sufficient recital of the facts relative to the advertising display, including its size and lighting effect, if any, to enable its substantial production from the description. A sketch showing the location on which the display is to be placed with respect to adjacent physical features should be furnished. The application should identify the highway or other medium of travel along which it is proposed to erect the display and should give the distance and direction of the site, measured by highway travel, to the nearest cities or towns. If the land on which it is desired to place the display has been surveyed, its description should be given in terms of the public land surveys.

12. Fees and rentals for advertising display permits

a. A fee of $1.00 must accompany each application for an advertising display permit.

b. The initial and annual charges for advertising displays shall be as follows: not less than 10¢ per annum for each square foot of sign surface and not less than $2.50 per annum for each display. The amount of the charge, subject to such minima, will be fixed by the Commissioner, which in no event will be less than the appraised rental value for such use.

c. Due consideration will be given in fixing the amounts to all pertinent facts and circumstances, including the charges made for corresponding privileges on privately owned lands similarly situated.

d. When conflicting applications are filed, due consideration will be given to the showing of each applicant and such action will be taken as is deemed to be warranted by the facts and circumstances.

13. Form of advertising display permit and terms. Special use permits to erect and maintain advertising displays on state lands may be issued by or under authority of the Commissioner on forms provided by the Department, or, in his discretion, will be issued on Land Division form and will be subject to the provisions and supplemental conditions therein contained and to such other conditions as may be added thereto, and the provisions of law and these rules and regulations. The term thereof shall be for periods of not exceeding ten years and the permits will be revocable in the discretion of the Commissioner at any time.

14. Renewal of advertising display permits. An advertising display permit issued pursuant to these rules and regulations may be renewed, in the discretion of the Commissioner, upon the filing of an application for renewal not more than 60 nor less than 30 days prior to its expiration.

15.C. Identification of authorized advertising displays. Each advertising display erected or maintained under a permit issued pursuant to these rules and regulations shall, for convenient identification, have the serial number of such permit marked or painted thereon.

16. Unauthorized advertising displays

a. Persons who heretofore have erected advertising displays on state lands must either obtain permits to continue such displays, if authorized by these rules and regulations, or must remove the displays as promptly as possible.

b. Where an unauthorized advertising display on state land is found, the Commissioner will take appropriate steps to secure its removal, unless the owner obtains a permit. The owner, if known, will be given notice in writing of the requirements. Displays erected without permission prior to January 1, 1953, must be removed within three months from and after the date of the approval of these rules and regulations, unless application for a permit is made within that period. Displays erected prior to January 1, 1953, for which applications for permits are made but for which permits are refused, and unauthorized displays thereafter erected must be removed within such reasonable time as may be fixed by the Commissioner. If the owner fails to remove the display within the time allowed, it may be removed by the Commissioner and the owner will be held liable to the Department for expenses incurred in removing it. If the owner is unknown, or cannot be found, the display may be removed by the Commissioner without notice. A registered letter addressed to the owner at his last known place of residence, if returned unclaimed, will be considered sufficient service of notice.

17.D. Restrictions on advertising displays and signage.

a.1. No advertising display or signage shall be permitted which, in the opinion of the Department, would mar the landscape, hide road intersections or crossings, or is otherwise objectionable. At any time, the Department may determine that signage or displays may impose unsafe or imprudent risk to the public or other authorized uses of State Trust Land and may prohibit placement or require modification or removal.

b.2. No advertising display or signage shall be affixed to or painted on any tree or rock situated on State Trust Land or on any other natural object on such land.

c.3. All advertising displays and signage shall conform to applicable state laws and local ordinances or regulations.

Notes

Ariz. Admin. Code § R12-5-1101

Original rule, Art. XI, Subchapter B, Ch. II (Supp. 76-4). Emergency amendment filed September 26, 1990, adopted effective September 27, 1990, pursuant to A.R.S. 41-1026, valid for only 90 days (Supp. 90-3). Emergency expired. Section R12-5-1101 renumbered from Section R12-5-241 (Supp. 93-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 30 A.A.R. 2360, effective 8/19/2024.