§ 88. Control of outdoor advertising. 1. Definitions. As used in this
section:

(a) "Interstate highway system" means that portion of the national
system of interstate and defense highways located within this state, as
officially designated, or as may hereafter be so designated, by the
commissioner of transportation, and approved by the secretary of
commerce or the secretary of transportation of the United States
pursuant to the provisions of title twenty-three of the United States
code, as amended.

(b) "Primary highway system" means that portion of connected main
highways, as officially designated, or as may hereafter be so
designated, by the commissioner of transportation, and approved by the
secretary of commerce or the secretary of transportation of the United
States pursuant to the provisions of title twenty-three of the United
States code, as amended.

(c) "Safety rest area" means an area or site established and
maintained within or adjacent to the highway right of way by or under
public supervision or control, for the convenience of the travelling
public.

(d) "Information center" means an area or site established and
maintained at a roadside rest area for the purpose of informing the
public of places of interest within the state and providing such other
information as the commissioner of transportation may consider
desirable.

2. The commissioner of transportation is hereby authorized and
directed to immediately implement the following program for the
effective control of the erection and maintenance of outdoor advertising
signs, displays and devices within six hundred sixty feet of the nearest
edge of the right of way and visible from the main traveled way of the
interstate and primary highway systems and, notwithstanding the
provisions of subdivisions seven, eleven, and twelve of this section,
for the effective control of the erection and maintenance along the
interstate and primary highway systems of those additional outdoor
advertising signs, displays and devices which are more than six hundred
and sixty feet from the nearest edge of the right-of-way located outside
of urban areas, as defined by federal statute, rule or regulation for
the purposes of section one hundred thirty-one of title twenty-three of
the United States code, visible from the main traveled way of the
interstate and primary highway systems and erected with the purpose of
their message being read from such main traveled way. Effective control
means that such signs, displays and devices shall, pursuant to such
program, be limited to (a) directional and other official signs and
notices which are required or authorized by law and which shall conform
to the national standards promulgated by the secretary of transportation
of the United States pursuant to section one hundred thirty-one of title
twenty-three of the United States code, as amended, (b) signs, displays
and devices advertising the sale or lease of property upon which they
are located, (c) signs, displays and devices advertising activities
conducted on the property on which they are located, (d) signs, displays
and devices located in areas within six hundred sixty feet of the
nearest edge of the right of way which are zoned industrial or
commercial under authority of state law and which are permitted or
authorized pursuant to this section or the agreement ratified and
approved by this section, (e) signs, displays and devices which are
permitted or authorized pursuant to this section or the agreement
ratified and approved by this section and are located in unzoned
commercial or industrial areas within six hundred sixty feet of the
nearest edge of the right of way which areas shall be determined from
actual land uses in conformance with the agreement ratified and approved
by this section, (f) signs lawfully in existence on October
twenty-second, nineteen hundred sixty-five, determined by the
commissioner with the approval of the secretary of transportation of the
United States, to be landmark signs, including signs on farm structures
or natural surfaces of historic or artistic significance, the
preservation of which would be consistent with the purposes of this
section and with the purposes of the federal "Highway Beautification Act
of 1965", and any acts amendatory thereto, and (g) any other signs,
displays and devices permitted or authorized pursuant to this section.
Provided that, nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit
the erection or maintenance of outdoor advertising signs, displays and
devices which include the steady illumination of sign faces, panels or
slats that rotate or change to different messages in a fixed position,
commonly known and referred to as changeable or multiple message signs,
provided the change of one sign face to another is not more frequent
than once every six seconds and the actual change process is
accomplished in three seconds or less, when such signs, displays and
devices are permitted or authorized pursuant to this section and by the
agreement ratified and approved by this section.

3. The agreement entered into between the commissioner of
transportation and the secretary of transportation of the United States
dated May thirteenth, nineteen hundred sixty-eight regarding the size,
lighting and spacing of signs, displays and devices which may be erected
and maintained within six hundred and sixty feet of the nearest edge of
the right-of-way within areas adjacent to the interstate and primary
highway systems which are zoned industrial or commercial under authority
of state law, or in such other unzoned industrial or commercial areas as
may be permitted pursuant to the terms of such agreement is hereby
ratified and approved. With respect to the certification permitted under
subsection A of article four of the said agreement, the commissioner of
transportation shall make such a certification within thirty days after
it is shown to his reasonable satisfaction that there are regulations
which are enforced with respect to the size, lighting and spacing of
outdoor advertising signs, displays and devices within the meaning of
the agreement. The action of the commissioner of transportation with
respect to such a certification shall be reviewable under article
seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules by the supreme court
which shall have jurisdiction of the proceedings and the power to grant
such relief as it deems just and proper.

4. The commissioner of transportation may agree with the secretary of
transportation of the United States to provide for the establishment of
information centers at safety rest areas. The commissioner of
transportation is hereby directed to negotiate with such secretary of
transportation in order to permit signs, within the areas controlled by
the provisions of this section, which relate to public and private
natural wonders, scenic and historical attractions and other information
concerning outdoor recreation, places for camping, lodging, eating and
vehicle service and repair deemed to be of specific interest to the
travelling public. Any of the above types of signs referred to in this
subdivision which do not violate the provisions of the federal "Highway
Beautification Act of 1965", and any acts amendatory thereto, and which
conform to the national standards promulgated by the secretary of
transportation of the United States pursuant to section one hundred
thirty-one of title twenty-three of the United States code, as amended,
are hereby authorized to be erected and maintained in the state of New
York subject to registration with the commissioner of transportation
pursuant to subdivision five of this section.

5. The commissioner of transportation is hereby authorized to control
the erection and maintenance of outdoor advertising signs, displays and
devices along the interstate and primary highway systems in conformance
with the terms of this section and in conformity with the agreement
ratified and approved by this section and the national standards
promulgated by the secretary of transportation of the United States
pursuant to subdivision (c) of section one hundred thirty-one of title
twenty-three of the United States code as amended. The commissioner of
transportation may provide for a system of registration of outdoor
advertising signs, displays and devices which comply with the terms of
the agreement, ratified and approved by this section, with the secretary
of transportation of the United States. No registration shall be
required for signs, displays and devices advertising the sale or lease
of property upon which they are located and signs, displays and devices
advertising activities conducted on the property on which they are
located.

6. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two hereof, any
outdoor advertising sign, display or device lawfully in existence along
the interstate and primary highway systems on September first, nineteen
hundred sixty-five, which is not permitted or authorized pursuant to the
provisions contained herein may continue to be maintained until July
first, nineteen hundred seventy and shall not be replaced or relocated
along the interstate and primary highway systems except in those areas
authorized pursuant to this section or areas authorized under the terms
of the agreement ratified and approved by this section. Notwithstanding
the provisions of subdivision two hereof, any other outdoor advertising
sign, display or device lawfully erected which is not permitted or
authorized pursuant to this section of the agreement ratified and
approved by this section may continue to be maintained until the end of
the fifth year after it becomes nonconforming pursuant to this section
or under the terms of the agreement ratified and approved by this
section, unless an earlier removal is required in order for the state to
comply with the federal "Highway Beautification Act of 1965", as amended
and shall not be replaced or relocated along the interstate and primary
highway systems except in those areas authorized pursuant to this
section or areas which are permitted under the terms of the agreement
ratified and approved by this section.

7. The commissioner of transportation is hereby authorized to acquire
the necessary rights in and to property and is directed to pay
compensation therefor, in the same manner as other property is acquired
for state highway purposes pursuant to this chapter and is further
directed to provide equivalent directional information, as provided in
subdivision eleven of this section, with respect to outdoor advertising
signs, displays and devices which are not permitted or authorized
pursuant to this section or with the terms of the agreement ratified and
approved by this section and which were lawfully erected under state
law. Such compensation is authorized to be paid only for the following:
(a) the taking from the owner of such sign, display or device of all
right, title, leasehold and interest in such sign, display or device,
and (b) the taking from the owner of the real property on which such
sign, display or device is located, of the right to erect and maintain
such signs, displays and devices thereon. The term "property" as used in
this section is defined to include lands, waters, rights in land or
waters, structures, franchises, and interest in land, including lands
under water and riparian rights and any and all other things and rights
usually included within the said term and includes also any and all
interests in such property less than full title, such as easements,
permanent or temporary, rights-of-way, uses, leases, licenses and all
other incorporeal hereditaments and every estate, interest or right,
legal or equitable. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two
hereof, no rights in and to property shall be acquired with respect to
any outdoor advertising sign, display or device except to the extent
that federal funds authorized to be appropriated pursuant to the federal
"Highway Beautification Act of 1965", as amended, to reimburse the state
for seventy-five per centum of the cost thereof, are in fact
appropriated and allocated to the state for that purpose. Further,
notwithstanding the provisions of this section or any other general,
special or local law, no outdoor advertising sign for which compensation
must be paid pursuant to this subdivision, nor any outdoor advertising
sign in a commercial or industrial zone or area which is controlled
pursuant to this section, shall be removed, or required to be removed,
by the state or any agency thereof or any municipal corporation or
subdivision, without the payment of such compensation in accordance with
the provisions of article five of the eminent domain procedure law,
provided, however, that this prohibition shall not apply to any city
having a population of one million or more.

8. Any outdoor advertising sign, display or device erected or
maintained in violation of this section, or of the terms of the
agreement ratified and approved by this section, is hereby declared to
be, and is a public nuisance. The commissioner of transportation shall
give thirty days' notice, by registered or certified mail, to the owner
of the property on which such advertising sign, display or device is
located and to the owner of such advertising sign, display or device, to
remove the same if it is a prohibited sign, display or device or to
cause it to conform to the requirements of this section or the terms of
the agreement ratified and approved by this section or the national
standards if it is an authorized or permitted sign, display or device.
If the owner of the property or the owner of the advertising sign,
display or device fails to act within thirty days as required in the
notice, the commissioner of transportation or his duly authorized agent
shall cause the removal of such advertising sign, display or device at
the expense of the owner of the property or the owner of the advertising
sign, display or device, except that the state shall pay the expense of
removing any advertising sign, display or device which was lawfully
erected on the date of enactment of this section which becomes
non-conforming under the terms of this section or the agreement ratified
and approved by this section.

9. Nothing in this section shall be construed to abrogate or affect
the provisions of any other statute, lawful ordinance, regulation
pursuant thereto or resolutions which are more restrictive than the
provisions of this section or the agreement ratified and approved by
this section.

10. In order to provide information in the specific interest of the
travelling public, the commissioner of transportation is hereby
authorized to maintain maps and to permit informational directories and
commercial advertising pamphlets to be made available at safety rest
areas, and to construct and maintain or permit the construction and/or
maintenance of information centers at safety rest areas for the purpose
of informing the public of places of interest within the state and
providing such other information as he may consider desirable. In the
event that such an information center is to be constructed and/or
maintained by a person, firm, corporation, municipality or state
department or agency, other than the department of transportation, the
commissioner of transportation is authorized to enter into a lease for a
term of years or memorandum of understanding, on terms which he deems
appropriate, regarding the construction and/or maintenance of such
information center. The commissioner of transportation shall use the
federal cost-sharing provisions of section 131(i) of title 23, United
States Code to the fullest extent practicable in implementing such
travel information programs.

11. The commissioner is directed to conduct an economic study to
identify those areas within the state which would suffer substantial
economic hardship upon the removal of advertising signs, displays, or
devices which provide directional information about goods and services
in the interest of the travelling public, were legally erected under
state law, and are subject to control under subdivision seven of this
section. Pending completion of such economic study, the commissioner is
directed to provide for the immediate removal of signs which were
unlawfully erected under state law, and is further directed to develop
an aesthetically pleasing official business directional sign program
providing directional information to the travelling public in a manner
substantially equivalent to that now provided by advertising signs,
displays, or devices, pursuant to subdivision twelve of this section.
Upon completion of such economic study and consequent identification of
those areas within the state which would suffer substantial economic
hardship upon the removal of advertising signs, displays, or devices
which provide directional information about goods and services in the
interest of the travelling public, the commissioner shall request the
secretary of transportation of the United States to permit the retention
of such advertising signs, displays, or devices in those areas
identified as suffering substantial economic hardship. Except as
otherwise provided in this section, the commissioner is hereby directed
to assure that any official business sign program be implemented with
due consideration of the findings of the economic study identifying
areas potentially subject to substantial economic hardship.

12. The commissioner of transportation shall develop and implement,
after required federal approval, an official business directional sign
program to provide directional information regarding businesses which
provide goods and services to the traveling public. Fees charged to
participating businesses will be such as to make the program
self-sustaining within two years of implementation. The program shall
utilize official signs erected in the right-of-way of the primary
highway system. Such official signs shall meet the standards prescribed
by the commissioner of transportation and the secretary of
transportation of the United States and shall contain thereon, as a
minimum, the business name or trademark, a general service logogram and
directional information. The official business directional sign program
shall be integrated with, but not limited by, information centers
provided for in subdivision ten of this section to maximize the
information made available in the specific interest of the traveling
public. Guidelines for business eligibility and placement of official
signs shall be promulgated by the commissioner of transportation after
public hearing and federal approval. Such guidelines shall include
provision for substantially equivalent directional information upon the
removal of advertising signs, displays or devices providing directional
information. Such guidelines shall provide that priority for
participation in the program be given to those businesses offering goods
and services in the interest of the traveling public (a) which are
primarily local or regional in nature and which would have the least
ability to adopt alternative directional information media, or (b) which
utilized directional advertising signs, displays and devices legally
erected under state law. The traffic generated by a specific business
shall be a secondary consideration in determining priority of
participation in the program. The specific implementation of such
guidelines shall be made with the advice of travel information council
pursuant to subdivision thirteen of this section. The commissioner shall
seek to speed federal approval of the official business directional sign
program.

13. All fees collected by the commissioner pursuant to this section
shall be deposited by the comptroller into the special obligation
reserve and payment account of the dedicated highway and bridge trust
fund established pursuant to section eighty-nine-b of the state finance
law.