S-1194.1                   _______________________________________________

                                                     SENATE BILL 5605

                              _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Senators Fraser, Prentice and Prince

Read first time 02/04/93.  Referred to Committee on Ecology & Parks.

Funding roadside improvements.

          AN ACT Relating to roadside improvements; amending RCW 47.36.310 and 47.42.120; and adding a new section to chapter 47.40 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 47.40 RCW to read as follows:

          The highway heritage account is created in the transportation fund.  Revenue from this account shall be appropriated to the department of transportation and shall be used exclusively for grants to public agencies and private nonprofit organizations for projects that preserve, enhance, provide information about, or improve access to scenic, historical, or cultural features along state highways, county roads, or city streets.  Use of this revenue to match federal or local revenue available for purposes described in this section is a high priority.

        Sec. 2.  RCW 47.36.310 and 1987 c 469 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

          The department is authorized to erect and maintain specific information panels within the right of way of the interstate highway system to give the traveling public specific information as to gas, food, or lodging available on a crossroad at or near an interchange.  Specific information panels shall include the words "GAS," "FOOD," or "LODGING" and directional information and may contain one or more individual business signs maintained on the panel.  Specific information panels are authorized within the corporate limits of cities and towns and areas zoned for commercial or industrial uses at locations where there is adequate distance between interchanges to ensure compliance with the provisions of Title 23 C.F.R. sec. 655.307(a).  The erection and maintenance of specific information panels shall conform to the national standards promulgated by the United States secretary of transportation pursuant to sections 131 and 315 of Title 23, United States Code and rules adopted by the state department of transportation.  A motorist service business located within one mile of a state highway shall not be permitted to display its name, brand, or trademark on a specific information panel unless its owner has first entered into an agreement with the department limiting the height of its on-premise signs at the site of its service installation to not more than fifteen feet higher than the roof of its main building.  The department shall charge reasonable fees for the display of individual business signs to defray the costs of their installation and maintenance.  In addition, businesses shall pay an annual fee of one hundred dollars per mainline sign before an interchange and fifty dollars per ramp sign on an exit from the mainline or for a sign on a conventional road approach to an intersection to be deposited in the highway heritage account created in section 1 of this act.  The restriction for on-premise signs shall not apply if the sign is not visible from the highway.  The department may, on a case-by-case basis, waive the height restriction when an on-premise sign is visible from the rural interstate system.

        Sec. 3.  RCW 47.42.120 and 1984 c 7 s 232 are each amended to read as follows:

          Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, no sign except a sign of type 1 or 2 or those type 3 signs that advertise activities conducted upon the properties where the signs are located, may be erected or maintained without a permit issued by the department.  Application for a permit shall be made to the department on forms furnished by it.  The forms shall contain a statement that the owner or lessee of the land in question has consented thereto.  The application shall be accompanied by a fee ((of ten dollars)) to be deposited with the state treasurer to the credit of the motor vehicle fund.  Permits shall be for the calendar year and shall be renewed annually upon payment of this fee for the new year without the filing of a new application.  The department shall set the initial and renewal permit fees to defray administrative costs.  In addition, businesses shall pay an annual fee of two hundred dollars per billboard to be deposited in the highway heritage account created in section 1 of this act.  Fees shall not be prorated for fractions of the year.  Advertising copy may be changed at any time without the payment of an additional fee.  Assignment of permits in good standing is effective only upon receipt of written notice of assignment by the department.  A permit may be revoked after hearing if the department finds that any statement made in the application was false or misleading, or that the sign covered is not in good general condition and in a reasonable state of repair, or is otherwise in violation of this chapter, if the false or misleading information has not been corrected and the sign has not been brought into compliance with this chapter within thirty days after written notification.

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