North Carolina § 136-89 - 56. Commercial enterprises.

§ 136-89. 56. Commercial enterprises.

No commercial enterprises or activities shall be authorized or conducted by the Department of Transportation, or the governing body of any city or town, within or on the property acquired for or designated as a controlled-access facility, as defined in this Article, except for: Materials displayed at welcome centers which shall be directly related to travel, accommodations, tourist-related activities, tourist-related services, and attractions. The Department of Transportation shall issue rules regulating the display of these materials. These materials may contain advertisements for real estate; and Vending machines permitted by the Department of Transportation and placed by the Division of Services for the Blind, Department of Health and Human Services, as the State licensing agency designated pursuant to Section 2(a)(5) of the Randolph-Sheppard Act (20 USC 107a(a)(5)). The Department of Transportation shall regulate the placing of the vending machines in highway rest areas and shall regulate the articles to be dispensed. In order to permit the establishment of adequate fuel and other service facilities by private owners or their lessees for the users of a controlled-access facility, the Department of Transportation shall permit access to service or frontage roads within the publicly owned right-of-way of any controlled-access facility established or designated as provided in this Article, at points which, in the opinion of the Department of Transportation, will best serve the public interest. The location of such fuel and other service facilities may be indicated to the users of the controlled-access facilities by appropriate signs, the size, style, and specifications of which shall be determined by the Department of Transportation. The location of fuel, gas, food, lodging, camping, and attraction facilities may be indicated to the users of the controlled-access facilities by appropriate logos placed on signs owned, controlled, and erected within the right-of-way of fully and partially controlled-access highways by the Department of Transportation. The owners, operators or lessees of fuel, gas, food, lodging, camping, and attraction facilities who wish to place a logo identifying their business or service on a sign shall furnish a logo meeting the size, style and specifications determined by the Department of Transportation and shall pay the Department of Transportation a fee set by the Board of Transportation. The Board shall set the fee to cover the initial costs of signs, sign installation, and maintenance, and the costs of administering the logo sign program. The Transportation Mobility and Safety Division of the Department of Transportation shall administer the logo sign program, including receiving requests for information concerning the logo sign program. History (1957, c. 993, s. 9; 1973, c. 507, s. 5; 1977, c. 464, s. 7.1; 1981, c. 481, s. 1; 1983, c. 604, s. 1; 1985, c. 456; c. 718, ss. 2, 3, 6; 1987, c. 417, s. 2; 1996, 2nd Ex. Sess., c. 18, s. 19.10(b); 1997-443, s. 11A.118(a); 2003-184, s. 2; 2014-100, s. 34.14(a); 2015-239, s. 1.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2014-100, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2014.'" Session Laws 2014-100, s. 38.7, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2015-239, s. 2, provides: "The Department of Transportation shall adopt temporary rules to implement this act." Session Laws 2018-5, s. 34.20, provides: "Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the Department of Transportation shall install, in conformity with the Uniform Manual, an attraction facilities sign as authorized under G.S. 136-89.56 on U.S. Route 221 between 1,000 and 2,000 feet South of the intersection with U.S. Route 70 in McDowell County. Upon the request of the Historic Carson House, a nonprofit organization, and payment of any applicable fees, the Department shall install the Historic Carson House logo panel on the attraction facilities sign." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2014-100, s. 34.14(a), effective July 1, 2014, rewrote the last two sentences in the section. Session Laws 2015-239, s. 1, effective September 10, 2015, in the last paragraph of the section, inserted "within the right-of-way of fully and partially controlled-access highways" in the first sentence, inserted "of Transportation" following the second instance of "Department" in the second sentence, and added the last sentence.