37 Miss. Code. R. § 1-7501-09002-502 - Procedure

Permits shall be administered in accord with the following procedure:

1. Each person or company desiring to erect outdoor advertising subject to these regulations shall make application on Form MND-800, Application for Permit to Erect Outdoor Advertising Sign. Prior to submitting the completed form, the applicant shall place a marker on the site of the proposed billboard indicating the exact location of said billboard. Failure to place the marker on the site will result in rejection of the permit. The applicant shall attach to the completed form a certified copy of any permits required by the county and/or municipality in which the proposed sign will be located. If the county and/or municipality does not require a permit, the applicant shall furnish MDOT a certified signed copy of a statement by the responsible official of that jurisdiction that a permit is not required. The applicant shall also attach a copy of the deed for the parcel on which the proposed sign is to be located as well as acknowledgement in the permit application that no restrictions of outdoor advertising structures exist in said document. The completed form and the permit fee of eighty five dollars ($85.00) will be submitted to the State Maintenance Engineer, in Jackson, Mississippi.

2. Upon receipt of an application in proper form and the permit application fee, the State Maintenance Engineer or his/her designated agent will inspect the proposed site location, authorized by the signed landowner permission contained in the permit application, to insure the site and view conforms to the requirements in this Rule, check all additional information required, and photograph said sign location.

3. Following the inspection the State Maintenance Engineer or his/her designated agent shall within ten (10) days, grant or deny the application unless good cause exists for extending said deadline for an additional ten (10) days and the applicant is notified prior to the extension. If the sign is located within a municipality or county that requires permitting of outdoor advertising in its jurisdiction, a certified copy of the permit from said municipality or county must be attached to the permit application. If the permit application lacks any of the information required by Federal Law, Mississippi Law, or the provisions of this Rule, the applicant will be allowed thirty (30) days from the date of notification to correct deficiencies, after which the application will be void.

4. If the application is in order and complies with the applicable Law as set out herein, the State Maintenance Engineer or his appointed representative will approve the permit and enter the permit number on the form.

5. Copies of the approved permit will be distributed to the applicant and other affected parties.

6. Upon receipt, the permit fee will be forwarded to the Financial Management Division for deposit with the State Treasurer.

7. After erection of the sign in conformance with the permit, the applicant shall be required to place the Company Logo on the sign structure in full view from the highway.

8. The applicant shall advise the State Maintenance Engineer or designated agent in writing, as soon as the sign is erected in order that a final inspection can be made and a sign marker, showing the permit number, affixed to the sign.

9. After the sign is erected by permit the designated agent will affix a sign marker to the sign structure in a prominent location.

10. Each permit issued shall have an initial term of twelve (12) months from the date of issuance. If the sign structure has not been entirely erected (as specified by the permit) during this term, the permit shall expire. No extensions of this initial term will be granted. If the sign structure has not been erected during the 12 month term and if the permittee still desires to erect an Outdoor Advertising structure at the site, a new application and another eighty five dollar ($85.00) fee must be submitted. Following the expiration of the initial term, permittees of Outdoor Advertising structures erected within the allowed 12 month period will be required to pay an annual renewal fee of twenty ($20.00) beginning the following July 1^st, which shall begin the secondary term of the permit.

a. The secondary term of the permit shall end on the next following July 1^st after payment of the renewal fee. The renewal fee will be billed to the permit holder on July 1 of each year thereafter. Failure to pay the renewal fee before September 1 of that same year will result in revocation of the permit and the billboard will be declared an illegal sign subject to immediate removal.

11. Form MND-800, Application for Permit to Erect Outdoor Advertising Sign, is required for each proposed sign installation. A double face or "V" type structure shall only require one (1) application as provided in Section 900.

12. Nothing contained in this Rule shall be construed to limit in any way the authority of any municipality or county in which the sign is to be erected to grant or deny a permit for the erection of said sign or to waive any requirement of any municipality or county for a permit for the erection of said sign. If a municipality or county refuses to grant a permit for a sign within their jurisdiction, the Department will not grant a permit for said sign.

13. If the application is denied, the Applicant shall have the right to request an Administrative Review as set out under Section 1800 - Administrative Reviews.

14. Procedure Where Site is Zoned Commercial or Industrial.

a. If the site has been zoned Commercial or Industrial as a part of the original zoning ordinance of the Municipality or County, the applicant must attach an affidavit of the clerk of said Municipality or County that attests to the zoning classification of said site.

b. If the application is being made for a sign which is contained within an area that has been rezoned from a classification that would not allow commercial advertising to a commercial or industrial area, a certified copy of the rezoning ordinance or order shall be attached to the application.

15. If the owner of a permit granted hereunder assigns, sells or otherwise transfers said permit to another owner, the transferring owner, jointly with the new owner, must notify the Department by submitting Form 850, Notification of Transfer of MDOT Outdoor Advertising Permit, to the State Maintenance Engineer within thirty (30) days of the transfer.

16. A sign that is allowed to remain as a "grandfathered" sign and that otherwise conforms to the requirements herein may obtain a permit. For such signs, the initial permit fee will be the same as a permit application fee as set herein.

17. Where the property owner, outdoor advertising firm, or any agent or predecessor in interest has received an encroachment permit allowing them to remove vegetation from the adjacent right of way, no outdoor advertising permit may be granted within that area for twenty (20) years from the date of the permit. Where vegetation has been removed from the right of way without permit, no outdoor advertising permit will be allowed until thirty (30) years from the date that the illegal removal was discovered by the Department. The area in either case is measured parallel along the edge of pavement for the length of area where vegetation is removed and additionally 500 feet in either direction along that side of the roadway. It is the express intent herein to prohibit outdoor advertising where vegetation has been removed from the right of way to create a visible location for the billboard.

18. If an environmental review under NEPA has begun for a project before the complete permit application is received by the department, the resulting permit, if any, may be provisionally granted. After the Right of Way plans for the project are certified, the provisional permit may be reevaluated. If upon reevaluation, the proposed sign location will be non-conforming at the time construction of the project is completed, the permittee will be required to remove the sign at his expense without compensation at a mutually agreed upon date such that the sign does not interfere with the applicable construction project. If the final plans for right-of-way or construction of a project have been certified before the receipt of a completed permit application and the proposed location will be non-conforming at the time construction is completed, the permit will be denied. If a permit is received by the department along a route that is under active construction, the inspection of the permit site may be suspended until such time as construction operations present a safe opportunity to perform said inspection with concurrence from the Project Engineer or until date of Release of Maintenance for the project.

Notes

37 Miss. Code. R. § 1-7501-09002-502

Amended 5/27/2021