HB640 Summary

• Amends the definition of "business area" to replace "adjacent" with "adjoining" and removes "at any time" language in outdoor advertising regulations under Code of Alabama Section 23-1-271.

• Adopts the federal definition of "primary highway" to include highways designated as part of the federal-aid primary system as of June 1, 1991, or highways on the National Highway System.

• Modifies the definition of "unzoned commercial, business, or industrial area" to require that all property be regularly used for its business purpose, with specific language clarifying that parking lots, storage areas, and processing areas must be adjoining and regularly used.

• Revises spacing requirements for outdoor advertising signs in Section 23-1-274 to align with the February 10, 1972 Agreement between the United States Department of Transportation and Alabama Department of Transportation.

• Establishes specific spacing distances for sign structures on interstate and primary highways, ranging from 100 to 500 feet depending on highway type and location, with different standards for signs erected before and after July 15, 1995.