Virginia Law

A. In order to participate in the program, each activity must comply with the Land Use Permit Regulations (24VAC30-151) and the general, site, and design considerations specified in this section.

B. General considerations. The following general considerations apply to any permitted activity:

1. Qualifications. All work shall be performed by qualified local government personnel or qualified individuals acting as agents of the permitted local government.

2. Compliance. Such work shall comply with all Virginia Department of Transportation (department) specifications, standards, policies, and guidance as provided in the terms of the permit and all applicable federal, state, and local government policies, laws, regulations, and ordinances.

3. Improvement. Any permitted activity must ensure a net improvement to existing right-of-way conditions and impose no net operational or financial burden to the department as determined by the department.

4. The permittee shall be responsible for the maintenance of the permitted areas for the life of the permit. In the event the permittee fails to adequately maintain the improvements, the department may, at its discretion, revoke the permit. Prior to such revocation, the department may, at its discretion and at the permittee's expense, return the permitted area to its original condition.

5. The master plan, project concept plan, sketches, drawings, estimates, specifications, and descriptive text of all activities and any required federal, state, or local permits shall be available for review by the department at all times.

C. Site considerations. For a site to be approved by the department, the following site conditions must be met.

1. The site must not be scheduled for future construction as defined within the department's current six-year improvement plan, which would conflict with the activities proposed on the project;

2. The site must contain sufficient right-of-way to reasonably permit planting and landscaping operations without conflicting with safety, operational, or maintenance considerations;

3. The site must contain no overhead or underground utilities, driveways, pavement, sidewalks, or highway system fixtures, including traffic signage or signalization, that will conflict with the planting or landscaping operations proposed under the project; and

4. The proposed activities must not obstruct or interfere with existing drainage conditions along the site.

D. Design considerations. For a site to be approved by the department, the following design considerations must be met.

1. The project design shall not include the following design elements:

a. Lighting;

b. Flagpoles or pennant poles;

c. Fountains or water features;

d. Landscaping that depicts or represents any logo, name, or constitutes an advertisement in any form;

e. Statuary, sculpture, or other art objects;

f. Pruning or cutting within highway rights-of-way of vegetation with trunk base diameter greater than six inches, unless approved by the District Roadside Manager;

g. Any improvements intended to provide greater visibility to any existing or future business, advertisement, or advertising structure; or

h. Any improvements that obscure or interfere with the view of existing lawfully erected advertising structures from the main traveled way.

2. Acknowledgment signs and structures installed pursuant to this program must meet the following design specifications:

a. Panels per sign structure: a maximum of two acknowledgment panels per sign structure.

b. Panel dimensions: six feet wide by 20 inches tall; three inches corner radii; 1/2 inch to two inches thick.

c. Sign material: high density sign foam or equivalent.

d. Background color options: dark blue (Pantone Matching System #288 or equivalent as determined by the department), dark burgundy (Pantone Matching System #188 or equivalent as determined by the department), dark green (Pantone Matching System #349 or equivalent as determined by the department), or off-white (Pantone Matching System Cool Gray 1 or equivalent as determined by the department).

e. Sign border: must be inset one inch from outside edge to a 3/4-inch wide border formed by sandblasting or routing a depth of 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch; color must be off-white (Pantone Matching System Cool Gray 1 or equivalent as determined by the department) if dark background or dark blue (Pantone Matching System #288 or equivalent as determined by the department), dark burgundy (Pantone Matching System #188 or equivalent as determined by the department), or dark green (Pantone Matching System #349 or equivalent as determined by the department) if off-white background.

f. Acknowledgment content: a single sponsoring entity may be represented per panel; the representation may be placed within but no closer than 1/2 inch inside the border and formed by sandblasting or routing a depth of 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch.

g. The words "Landscaping by" must be included in the upper left hand area of the border and must be a minimum of three inches tall. The border must be broken and the color of the "Landscaping by" must be the same as the border.

h. Installation: the bottom of the sign at its closest point to the ground shall not be greater than 30 inches above the ground. The distance between panels shall not exceed four inches. Post height shall not exceed five inches above the top of the highest panel, with the top one inch trimmed at a 45-degree angle. Post stain color must be a solid gray (Pantone Matching System #423 or equivalent as determined by the department).

3. In the event an acknowledgment sign structure or panel is damaged, the permittee shall be responsible for repairing or replacing the sign.

4. Acknowledgment sign structures installed pursuant to this program may be placed within the right-of-way, within the limits of the installed landscaping, at the following locations:

a. Noncontrolled access primary and secondary highways with speed limits of 45 mph or less: no greater than one acknowledgment sign structure per direction per 1/4 mile of main traveled way.

b. Noncontrolled access primary and secondary highways with speed limits greater than 45 mph: one acknowledgment sign structure per direction per 1/2 mile of main traveled way.

c. Controlled access primary and secondary highways with speed limits of 45 mph or less: no greater than one acknowledgment sign structure per direction per 1/4 mile of main traveled way except as specified in subdivision 4 e of this subsection.

d. Controlled access primary and secondary highways with speed limits greater than 45 mph: no greater than one acknowledgment sign structure per direction per 1/2 mile of main traveled way except as specified in subdivision 4 e of this subsection.

e. Interchanges on controlled access interstates, primary, and secondary highways: no greater than one acknowledgment sign structure per turning roadway.