| (a) A commercial sign that has been timely removed
from a department construction project site may be erected in compliance
under §21.199 of this subchapter (relating to Permit Issued with
Credit for Acquired Commercial Sign) and §21.200 of this subchapter
(relating to Acquired Commercial Sign within Certified Cities) if
the sign is legally erected and maintained and will be within the
highway right of way as a result of a highway construction project
or, under exceptional circumstances as determined by the executive
director or the executive director's deputy if the sign is legally
erected and maintained and the relocation will further the intended
purposes of the Highway Beautification Act of 1965 (23 U.S.C. §§131,
136, 319).
(1) To establish timely removal, the permit holder
must do the following:
(A) Verify ownership of the commercial sign structure.
If the sign structure is not the property of the fee owner, verify
ownership of the sign structure by providing a Disclaimer of Interest
signed by the fee owner, or a copy of the permit holder's lease or
easement that states all ownership in the structure is vested in the
permit holder;
(B) Negotiate for the sale of and convey the commercial
sign structure to the State of Texas prior to the date of a special
commissioners' hearing in a proceeding brought to acquire the commercial
sign through eminent domain, in exchange for a purchase price agreed
to by the permit holder and the department, minus a retention/salvage
value;
(C) Agree in the conveyance document to retain possession
of and title to the commercial sign structure;
(D) Agree in the conveyance document to remove the
commercial sign structure by the deadline provided by the department
in a Notice to Vacate;
(E) Not later than the deadline provided in the Notice
to Vacate remove the part of the commercial sign structure that is
above ground and fill to ground level all holes in the ground caused
by the sign removal; and
(F) Not later than 180 days after the date of the sign's
removal provide the documentation required by this section in the
form prescribed by the department by submitting it electronically
through the department's website, www.txdot.gov.
(2) In the event the permit holder fails to retain
and remove the commercial sign structure within the time prescribed
in the Notice to Vacate, the permit holder will not be eligible for
an acquired credit.
(b) A sign is eligible for a credit only if the structure
has remained in its present location from the time the owner received
notice of eminent domain proceedings until the above-ground portion
of the structure is removed entirely from the property pursuant to
the Notice to Vacate or earlier upon written approval by the department.
A sign that is moved to the acquired parcel's remainder is not eligible
for an acquired sign credit.
(c) The department will issue a credit under this section
only if all requirements of this section are satisfied. A credit expires
on the fourth anniversary of the date that the permit holder satisfies
the requirements of subsection (a)(1)(E) of this section.
(d) The holder of a credit issued under this section
may transfer the credit. To transfer the credit, the transferee must
file an electronic transfer application through the department's website,
www.txdot.gov. A transferred credit retains the original credit expiration
date.
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