{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-69-69-1273","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 69, § 69-1273","heading":"Definitions","body":"As used in Section 1271 et seq. of this title:\n\n(a) \"Sign\", \"outdoor advertising\" or \"outdoor advertising\n\ndevice\" means any outdoor sign, display, device, notice, figure,\n\npainting, drawing, message, placard, poster, billboard or other\n\nthing which is designed, intended or used to advertise or inform,\n\nbut shall not include surface markers showing the location or route\n\nof underground utility facilities or pipelines or public telephone\n\ncoin stations installed for emergency use.\n\n(b) \"Main traveled way\" means the traveled way of a highway on\n\nwhich through traffic is carried. In the case of a divided highway,\n\nthe traveled way of each of the separated roadways for traffic in\n\nopposite directions is a main traveled way. It does not include\n\nsuch facilities as frontage roads, turning roadways or parking\n\nareas.\n\n(c) \"To erect\" and its variants means to construct, build,\n\nraise, assemble, place, affix, attach, create, paint, draw or in any\n\nother way bring into being or establish. But these shall not\n\ninclude any of the foregoing activities when performed as incident\n\nto the change of advertising message or customary maintenance of the\n\nsign structure.\n\n(d) \"Unzoned commercial or industrial areas\" means those areas\n\nwhich are not zoned by state or local law, regulation or ordinance,\n\nand on which there is located one or more permanent structures\n\ndevoted to a commercial or industrial activity or on which a\n\ncommercial or industrial activity is actually conducted, whether or\n\nnot a permanent structure is located thereon, and the area along the\n\nhighway extending outward six hundred (600) feet from and beyond the\n\nedge of such activity on both sides of the highway. Provided\n\nhowever, the unzoned area shall not include land on the opposite\n\nside of an interstate or dual-laned limited access primary highway\n\nfrom the commercial or industrial activity establishing the unzoned\n\ncommercial or industrial area or land on the opposite side of other\n\nfederal-aid primary highways, which land is deemed scenic by an\n\nappropriate agency of the state.\n\nAll measurements shall be from the outer edges of the regularly\n\nused buildings, parking lots, storage or processing areas of the\n\ncommercial or industrial activities, not from the property lines of\n\nthe activities, and shall be along or parallel to the edge of\n\npavement of the highway. Such an area shall not include any area\n\nwhich is beyond six hundred sixty (660) feet from the nearest edge\n\nof the right-of-way. In unzoned commercial or industrial areas\n\nsigns shall not be located:\n\n(1) Within three hundred (300) feet of any building used\n\nprimarily as a residence, unless the owner of the\n\nbuilding consents in writing to allow the sign to\n\nexist; or\n\n(2) Within five hundred (500) feet of any of the\n\nfollowing: public park, garden, recreation area or\n\nforest preserve, church, school and officially\n\ndesignated historical battlefield.\n\nAll spacing considerations are determined by whether or not they\n\nexist within the adjacent or control area.\n\n(e) \"Commercial and industrial activities\" means those\n\nactivities, clearly visible from the main traveled way, generally\n\nrecognized as commercial or industrial by zoning authorities in this\n\nstate, except that none of the following shall be considered\n\ncommercial or industrial:\n\n(1) Agricultural, forestry, ranching, grazing, farming and\n\nrelated activities, including, but not limited to,\n\nwayside fresh produce stands;\n\n(2) Outdoor advertising structures;\n\n(3) Transient or temporary activities;\n\n(4) Activities more than six hundred sixty (660) feet from\n\nthe nearest edge of the right-of-way;\n\n(5) Activities conducted in a building principally used as\n\na residence; and\n\n(6) Railroad tracks and minor sidings.\nted to,\n\nwayside fresh produce stands;\n\n(2) Outdoor advertising structures;\n\n(3) Transient or temporary activities;\n\n(4) Activities more than six hundred sixty (660) feet from\n\nthe nearest edge of the right-of-way;\n\n(5) Activities conducted in a building principally used as\n\na residence; and\n\n(6) Railroad tracks and minor sidings.\n\n(f) \"Official signs\" means signs and notices erected and\n\nmaintained by public officers or public agencies within their\n\nterritorial jurisdiction and pursuant to and in accordance with\n\ndirection or authorization contained in federal or state law for the\n\npurposes of carrying out an official duty or responsibility.\n\n(g) \"Informational signs\" means signs containing directions or\n\ninformation about public places owned or operated by federal, state\n\nor local governments or their agencies, publicly or privately owned\n\nnatural phenomena, historic, cultural, educational and religious\n\nsites, and areas of natural scenic beauty or naturally suited for\n\noutdoor recreation, deemed to be in the interest of the traveling\n\npublic.\n\n(h) \"On-premise activities signs\" means signs advertising\n\nactivities conducted upon the property on which the signs are\n\nlocated.\n\n(i) \"On-premise sale or lease signs\" means signs advertising\n\nthe sale or lease of property on which they are located.\n\n(j) \"Interstate highway\" means any highway at any time\n\nofficially designated a part of the National System of Interstate\n\nand Defense Highways by the Department and approved by the\n\nappropriate authority of the federal government.\n\n(k) \"Primary highway\" means the Federal-aid Primary System in\n\nexistence on June 1, 1991, and any highway which is not on that\n\nsystem but is on the National Highway System.\n\n(l) \"Centerline of the highway\" means a line equidistant from\n\nthe edges of the median separating the main traveled ways of a\n\ndivided highway, or the centerline of the main traveled way of a\n\nnondivided highway.\n\n(m) \"Adjacent area\" or \"control area\" means the area which is\n\nadjacent to and within six hundred sixty (660) feet of the nearest\n\nedge of the right-of-way on any interstate or primary highway within\n\nurban areas, which six hundred sixty-foot distance shall be measured\n\nhorizontally along a line perpendicular to, or ninety (90) degrees\n\nto, the centerline of the highway. Outside of urban areas, adjacent\n\narea or control area means the area which is visible from the main\n\ntraveled way on any interstate or primary highway.\n\n(n) \"Business area\" means any part of a control area which is:\n\n(1) Within six hundred sixty (660) feet of the nearest\n\nedge of the right-of-way and zoned for business,\n\nindustrial or commercial activities under the\n\nauthority of any state zoning law, or city or county\n\nzoning ordinance of this state; or\n\n(2) Not so zoned, but which constitutes an unzoned\n\ncommercial or industrial area as herein defined.\n\n(o) \"Department\" means the Department of Transportation of the\n\nState of Oklahoma.\n\n(p) \"Maintain\" means to hold or keep in a state of efficiency\n\nor validity, to support or sustain, by cleaning or repairing the\n\nsign or changing the message on its face.\n\n(q) \"Visible\" means capable of being seen without visual aid by\n\na person of normal visual acuity.\n\n(r) \"License\" means the privilege to do business in the State\n\nof Oklahoma having been granted by an official agency.\n\n(s) \"Permit\" means the privilege to erect a sign or signs in an\n\nindividual location within the State of Oklahoma having been granted\n\nby an official agency.\n\n(t) \"License fee\" means the monetary consideration paid for the\n\nprivilege of doing business in the State of Oklahoma.\n\n(u) \"Permit fee\" means the monetary consideration paid for the\n\nprivilege of erecting a sign or signs in a specific location within\n\nthe State of Oklahoma.\no erect a sign or signs in an\n\nindividual location within the State of Oklahoma having been granted\n\nby an official agency.\n\n(t) \"License fee\" means the monetary consideration paid for the\n\nprivilege of doing business in the State of Oklahoma.\n\n(u) \"Permit fee\" means the monetary consideration paid for the\n\nprivilege of erecting a sign or signs in a specific location within\n\nthe State of Oklahoma.\n\n(v) \"Urban area\" means an urbanized area or, in the case of an\n\nurbanized area encompassing more than one state, that part of the\n\nurbanized area in each such state, or an urban place as designated\n\nby the Bureau of the Census having a population of five thousand\n\n(5,000) or more and not within any urbanized area, within boundaries\n\nto be fixed by responsible state and local officials in cooperation\n\nwith each other, subject to approval by the Secretary of\n\nTransportation. Such boundaries shall, as a minimum, encompass the\n\nentire urban place designated by the Bureau of the Census.\n\n(w) \"Relocation permit\" means a permit issued pursuant to the\n\nprovisions of subparagraph (d) of paragraph (3) of Section 1275 of\n\nthis title. A relocation permit shall have precedence over any\n\nmunicipal or county restriction that interferes with the intended\n\npurpose of providing a method and opportunity to minimize the cost\n\nof acquiring legally erected outdoor advertising signs by the\n\nDepartment; provided, however, for those municipalities with a\n\npopulation in excess of five hundred thousand (500,000) based on the\n\nmost recent census data, neither a relocation permit nor any outdoor\n\nadvertising sign permit shall be issued in those areas in which a\n\nmunicipality or county has lawfully enacted a prohibition on the\n\nerection of an outdoor advertising sign. This section shall not\n\nprohibit a registered sign owner from seeking just compensation\n\nthrough a legal proceeding.","path":["OK Code","Title 69"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os69.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"933fc47c7167a295a397bb1962321ec66d7b4b40f3ea0a5a7eb0dd3edc0cf25e","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-69-69-1272","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-69-69-1274"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}