S.C. Code Regs. § § 63-351

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 10, October 25, 2024

Section 63-351 - Directional and Other Official Signs

A. Definitions for this Section:

(1) "Scenic Area," means any area of particular scenic beauty or historical significance as determined by the Federal, state or local officials having jurisdiction thereof and includes land which has been acquired for the restoration, preservation, and enhancement of scenic beauty.

(2) "Parkland," means any publicly owned land which is designated or used as a public park, recreation area, wildlife or waterfowl refuge, or historical site.

(3) "Federal or State Law," means a federal or state constitutional provision or statute, or an ordinance, rule, or regulation enacted or adopted by a state or federal agency or a political subdivision pursuant to a federal or state constitution or statute.

(4) "Directional and Other Official Signs and Notices," means only official signs and notices, public utility signs, service club and religious notices, public service signs, and directional signs.

(5) "Official Signs and Notices," means signs and notices erected by public officers or public agencies within their territorial or zoning jurisdiction and pursuant to and in accordance with direction or authorization contained in federal, state, or local law for the purposes of carrying out an official duty or responsibility. Historical markers authorized by state law and erected by state or local government agencies or non-profit historical societies may be considered official signs.

(6) "Public Utility Signs," means warning signs, information signs, notices, or markers which are customarily erected and maintained by publicly or privately owned utilities, as essential to their operations.

(7) "Service Club and Religious Notices," means signs and notices relating to meetings of non-profit service clubs or charitable associations, or religious services, which do not exceed eight square feet in area.

(8) "Directional Signs," means signs deemed by the Department to be in the interest of the traveling public and containing directional information about public places owned or operated by federal, state or local government or their agencies; publicly or privately owned natural phenomena; historic, cultural, scientific, educational and religious sites; and areas of natural scenic beauty or naturally suited for outdoor recreation.

B. The following signs are prohibited:

(1) Signs advertising activities that are illegal under federal or state laws in effect at the location of those signs or at the location of those activities.

(2) Signs located in such a manner as to obscure or otherwise interfere with the effectiveness of an official traffic sign, signal, or device, or obstruct or interfere with the driver's view of approaching, merging or intersecting traffic.

(3) Signs which are erected upon trees or rocks or other natural features.

(4) Obsolete signs.

(5) Signs which are structurally unsafe or in disrepair.

(6) Signs which move or have any animated moving parts.

(7) Signs located in rest areas, parklands or scenic areas.

C. Directional signs shall not exceed the following size limits:

(1) Maximum area - one hundred fifty square feet.

(2) Maximum height -twenty feet.

(3) Maximum length - twenty feet.

All dimensions include border and trim, but exclude supports.

D. Lighting requirements are the same as Regulation 63-347.

E. Spacing of directional signs:

(1) Each location of a directional sign must be approved by the Department.

(2) No directional sign may be located within two thousand feet of an interchange, or intersection at grade along the interstate highways or freeway primary federal-aid highways (measured along the highway from the nearest point of the beginning or ending of pavement widening at the exit from or entrance to the main-traveled way).

(3) No directional sign may be located within two thousand feet of a rest area, parkland, or scenic area.

(4) No two directional signs facing the same direction of travel may be spaced less than one mile apart;

(a) Not more than three directional signs legible to the same direction of travel may be erected along a single route approaching the activity;

(b) Signs located adjacent to an Interstate highway must be within seventy five air miles of the activity;

(c) Signs located adjacent to a federal-aid primary highway must be within fifty air miles of the activity.

F. Message content--Directional Signs.

The message on directional signs shall be limited to the identification of the attraction or activity and directional information useful to the traveler in locating the attraction, such as mileage, route numbers, or exit numbers. Descriptive words or phrases, and pictorial or photographic representations of the activity or its environs are prohibited.

G. Persons or firms desiring to construct or qualify signs as directional must first comply with the following procedures:

(1) Submit, in writing, to the Director of Outdoor Advertising, SCDOT, P.O. Box 191, Columbia, SC 29202, a detailed outline of the sign. This shall include overall dimensions and message portion of the sign to include type of construction and lighting.

(2) Application for sign must be submitted on the form provided by the Department and must be accompanied by the appropriate fees.

(3) Specify reasons why the activity being advertised should be approved for directional signing. Submission must document why the activity is regionally or nationally known.

(4) The Department shall consider all requests and shall consult, as necessary, with other state agencies and local organizations possessing cultural or historical expertise in rendering a decision.

(5) If the Department's decision is in the affirmative, a permit and identification tag will be issued. If the permit is denied, the applicant will be notified in writing outlining the specific reasons for refusal. The applicant may appeal the decision of the Department by filing written notice with the Department within thirty days of the Department's mailing of notice to the applicant at the address provided on the application. All appeals will be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act. The applicant shall bear the burden of showing that the Department should issue the permit.

(6) All signs authorized by the Department under this section shall be subject to maintenance standards outlined in Regulation Section 63-350.

(7) No sign shall be authorized for a highway if the attraction for which the sign is sought is already identified on official signs and notices visible from that highway.

S.C. Code Regs. § 63-351

Amended by State Register Volume 13, Issue No. 6, eff June 23, 1989; State Register Volume 16, Issue No. 7, eff July 24, 1992; State Register Volume 18, Issue No. 6, eff June 24, 1994; State Register Volume 31, Issue No. 3, eff March 23, 2007.