105 Ind. Admin. Code 7-4-13

Current through December 4, 2024

Section 105 IAC 7-4-13 - Conditional permit

Authority: IC 8-23-2-6; IC 8-23-20-25

Affected: IC 8-23-20-25.6

Sec. 13.

A conditional permit may be granted to any nonconforming sign, provided that the sign has not been substantially changed after the date upon which it became a nonconforming sign, and as follows:

(1) A nonconforming sign with a conditional permit must remain substantially the same as it was on the date that its status became nonconforming. A permittee may make customary maintenance or repair on a nonconforming sign. However, a nonconforming sign may not be the object of any activity after which the sign did not remain substantially the same as it was on the date that its status initially became a nonconforming sign, except for activities performed after the occurrence of an event described in subdivision (7)(A) through (7)(C). Any such activity prohibited by the immediately preceding sentence shall automatically and permanently transform the nonconforming sign's status to that of an illegal sign, with the permit for any such sign subject to revocation and which sign is subject to removal by the department.

(2) Customary maintenance or repair on a nonconforming sign includes any of the following permissible activities, all of which shall not require any addendum to a permit for such sign:

(A) Nailing, cleaning, and painting.

(B) Replacement of nuts and bolts.

(C) Replacement of structural components, including vertical supports and sign faces, with the same material so long as the sign is not destroyed.

(D) Changes in the advertising message.

(E) Upgrading existing lighting for energy efficiency or worker safety.

(F) Addition of catwalks, safety cables, or handrails when required to resolve safety concerns by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or the Indiana department of labor.

(G) The sale, lease, or transfer of the sign or its permit.

(3) Customary maintenance or repair on a nonconforming sign does not include any of the following prohibited activities (all of which are considered a substantial change that automatically and permanently transforms the nonconforming sign into an illegal sign):

(A) Increasing the number of vertical supports or changing the vertical support materials, such as replacing wooden supports with metal, or replacing I-beams with a monopole.

(B) Increasing the height of the sign.

(C) Changing the physical location.

(D) Changing the configuration of a sign structure, including changing a V-shaped sign to a stacked sign, a side-by-side sign, or a back-to-back sign, or changing a single face sign to a V-shaped sign, a stacked sign, a side-by-side sign, or a back-to-back sign.

(E) Increasing the overall size or dimensions of the sign face, or any other addition of a sign face.

(F) Adding bracing (whether temporary or permanent), guy wires, concrete, or other reinforcing devices.

(G) Adding variable or changeable message capability.

(H) Adding lighting, either attached or unattached, to a sign that previously did not have lights, or adding more intense lighting to an illuminated sign, except if done in accordance with subdivision (2)(E).

(I) Rebuilding, repair of (other than customary maintenance or repair on a nonconforming sign), or reerecting a sign structure after substantial damage from wear and tear, or other natural causes, unless the department has given its approval to do so by granting an addendum to the sign's permit in accordance with subdivision (5).

(J) Relocating all or a portion of a sign, unless relocating pursuant to IC 8-23-20-25.6(c)(2) and section 24 of this rule.

(K) Turning the direction of a sign face.

(L) Any repair, maintenance, or improvement that causes the sign to be erected or maintained in a manner contrary to its conditional permit.

(4) The list of permitted activities in subdivision (2) and the list of prohibited activities in subdivision (3) are not exclusive lists of those respective activities and the department shall determine in each other situation whether:

(A) the sign remained substantially the same as it was on the date the sign became a nonconforming sign after the completion of any specific activity performed for the nonconforming sign; and

(B) the specific activity performed had the effect of substantially changing the nonconforming sign or materially extending the life of the nonconforming sign beyond its normal life.

It shall be presumed that any additional activities otherwise permitted involving the replacement of materials will materially extend the life of a nonconforming sign beyond its normal life, if the sign was destroyed when such activity was performed.

(5) In the event that a permittee wishes to perform activities on a nonconforming sign in a manner that might exceed customary maintenance or repair on a nonconforming sign, the permittee shall submit a completed modification request for an addendum to the sign permit on a form to be provided by the department, or through the electronic permitting system, together with an addendum fee of one hundred dollars ($100). In the event of a damaged or destroyed sign, the modification request shall contain, at a minimum, the following:

(A) An explanation of the extent of the damage to the sign and the scope of repairs needed.

(B) Whether the sign was damaged by normal wear and tear, weather, or by other natural causes, or whether the sign was damaged or destroyed by some act covered by subdivision (7)(A) through (7)(C).

(C) Clear color on-site photographs of the sign and all salvageable parts thereof.

(D) A specific description of the work to be undertaken on the nonconforming sign.

After receiving the modification request, the department will promptly consider the modification request and determine, in accordance with the standards in this section, whether the requested activity should be permitted or prohibited, and within sixty (60) days give a written notice of its decision to the permittee. If the permittee or its representative performs activities not specifically listed in subdivision (2) on a nonconforming sign without submitting a modification request under this subdivision and receiving an authorization for the addendum from the department, or if the permittee or its representative performs any such activity after the department issued its decision that any such activity was prohibited, then the performance of such activity automatically and permanently transforms the nonconforming sign into an illegal sign subject to revocation of its permit and removal in accordance with subdivision (1).

(6) Any modification approved by the addendum under this section must be completed within three hundred sixty-five (365) days of the date of issuance of the addendum, or the department's approval under the addendum expires without further action needed on the part of the department. No extension of time shall be granted by the department.

(7) A conditional permit for a nonconforming sign shall be revoked by the department if the sign is destroyed, abandoned, obsolete, or discontinued, provided that the sign may be reerected or otherwise fixed if the department so approves and the sign was destroyed by:

(A) vandalism;

(B) another criminal act; or

(C) a tortious act.

(8) Proof of an act described in subdivision (7)(A) through (7)(C) can be shown by timely reports or complaints to the appropriate county sheriff or police department. Any such act, for purposes of this rule, must:

(A) not involve the carelessness or negligence of the permittee, the property owner, or business that is advertised on the sign (collectively, the "sign parties"), or any owner, officer, employee, agent, representative, or independent contractor of any of the sign parties; and

(B) involve the damage or destruction by one (1) or more persons not connected, directly or indirectly, to any of the sign parties.

(9) The permittee has the burden of proof that:

(A) the nonconforming sign was damaged or destroyed by an act described in subdivision (7)(A) through (7)(C); and

(B) each of the conditions precedent in subdivision (8) are true.

(10) If a nonconforming sign was destroyed or the sign was damaged to the extent that the sign is illegal and subject to removal, the permittee has the obligation to perform any repair or other activity on the sign that will preserve the safety of persons who might otherwise be subject to injury or damage to their property from the remnants of the sign prior to the sign's removal. Any such repair or other activity will not change the illegal status of the nonconforming sign.

105 IAC 7-4-13

Filed 7/24/2019, 8:08 a.m.: 20190821-IR-105170337FRA

Emergency rule filed 8/2/2022, 12:55 p.m.: 20220810-IR-105220243ERA, eff 8/15/2022