(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, or maintained in violation
of §21.441 of this subchapter (relating to Destruction of Vegetation
and Access from Right of Way Prohibited);
(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;
(4) does not have the permit plate properly attached
under §21.414 of this subchapter (relating to Sign Permit Plate).
(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 60
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.
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