New Colorado Statewide Sign Regulations Enacted on February 14
For many years, billboards and other off-premise signs have been subject to regulations on both a municipal and a state level. On-premise are not subject to most Highway Beautification Act provisions and generally are exempt from state controls, regulated instead only through local permits. But newly enacted outdoor advertising regulations in Colorado will affect companies that install on-premise signs near highways regulated by the Colorado Department of Transportation.
ISA’s Kenny Peskin (@signcodeguy) and members of the Colorado Sign Association worked with attorneys from the Colorado DOT to improve several provisions that likely impact on-premise signs. Through the work of ISA and other sign industry participants, most of the key points advanced by the sign industry have been incorporated into the text of outdoor advertising regulations that took effect on February 14.
Among the key provisions are a much-reduced level of CDOT oversight for on-premise signs (relative to the original proposal), incorporation of the ISA-recommended EMC brightness standards, an extension from 6 months to 12 months in the time needed to declare a sign “abandoned”, and new rules for signage at “comprehensive development” areas that share common ownership.
If you have any additional questions about the new CDOT outdoor advertising rules, please contact ISA Manager of State and Local Government Affairs Kenny Peskin or Colorado Sign Association Executive Director Patti King.
