Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) The department will cancel a permit for a sign if the sign:
(1) is removed, unless the sign is removed and re-erected at the request of a condemning authority;
(2) is not maintained in accordance with this subchapter or Transportation Code, Chapter 394;
(3) is damaged beyond repair, as determined under §
21.439 of this subchapter (relating to Discontinuance of Sign Due to Destruction);
(4) is abandoned, as determined under §
21.427 of this subchapter (relating to Abandonment of Sign);
(5) has substantial changes made to a non-conforming sign in violation of this subchapter or Transportation Code, Chapter 394;
(6) is built by an applicant who uses false information on a material issue of the permit application;
(7) is erected, repaired, substantially changed, or maintained in violation of this subchapter, including under §
21.417 of this subchapter (relating to Erection and Maintenance from Private Property), §
21.423 of this subchapter (relating to Amended Permit), or §
21.441 of this subchapter (relating to Destruction of Vegetation and Access from Right of Way Prohibited), or in violation of Transportation Code, Chapter 394;
(8) has been made more visible by the permit holder clearing vegetation from the highway right of way in violation of §
21.441 of this subchapter;
(9) is in an unzoned commercial or industrial area and the department has evidence that an activity supporting the unzoned commercial or industrial area was created primarily or exclusively to qualify the area as an unzoned commercial or industrial area, and that no activity has been conducted at the site within one year; or
(10) site cannot be accessed from private property.
(b) The department may cancel a permit for a sign if the sign:
(1) is erected after the effective date of this section and is more than twenty feet from the location described in the permit application, or is built within twenty feet of the location described in the permit application but at a location that does not meet all spacing requirements of this chapter or other assertions contained in the permit application;
(2) has customary repairs made to a non-conforming sign, or substantial changes made to a conforming sign without obtaining a required amended permit under §
21.423 of this subchapter (relating to Amended Permit); or
(3) is erected, repaired, or maintained from the right of way.
(c) Before initiating an enforcement action under this section, the department will notify a sign owner in writing of a violation of subsection (b) of this section and will give the sign owner 90 days to correct the violation, provide proof of the correction, and if required, obtain an amended permit from the department.
(d) Upon determination that a permit should be canceled, the department will mail a notice of cancellation to the address of the record license holder. The notice must state:
(1) the reason for the cancellation;
(2) the effective date of the cancellation;
(3) the right of the permit holder to request an administrative hearing on the cancellation; and
(4) the procedure for requesting a hearing and the period for filing the request.
(e) A request for an administrative hearing under this section must be in writing and delivered to the department within 45 days after the date that the notice of cancellation is received.
(f) If timely requested, an administrative hearing will be conducted in accordance with Chapter 1, Subchapter E of this title (relating to Procedures in Contested Case) and the cancellation will be abated until the cancellation is affirmed by order of the commission.
(g) A permit holder may voluntarily cancel a permit by submitting a request in writing after the sign for which the permit was issued has been removed. Subsections (d)-(f) of this section do not apply to a permit voluntarily canceled under this subsection.
(h) The department will notify the landowner identified on the permit application of a cancellation enforcement action. The notice is for informational purposes only and does not convey any rights to the landowner. The landowner may not appeal the cancellation unless the landowner is also the permit holder.
