Relocation of billboards.
El Paso City Code § 20.18.270
in effect20.18.270 - Relocation of billboards.
A. Relocation of certain billboard for a city public works project or city or state roadway improvement project.
1. Legal and legal non-conforming billboards located on or overhanging a parcel of land acquired by the State of Texas for roadway expansion projects may be relocated subject to the restrictions in this section.
2. The owner of the billboard must submit a billboard relocation application, along with supporting documentation from the state requiring the relocation, within one year after the billboard is actually removed from the parcel of land. The applicant shall pay the established fee. The relocation must be completed within one year after approval of the relocation application.
3. Except as provided in this section, relocated billboards must fully comply with the size, height, spacing, setback, and other restrictions in this title.
4. Relocation to remainder.
a. All relocated billboards must be relocated to the remainder of the tract on which the billboard is located, unless it is not possible for the following reasons:
b. There is no remainder;
c. The owner of the billboard is unable to obtain an agreement from the property owner of the remainder; or
d. The remainder is not of sufficient size or suitable configuration to allow the relocated billboard to be as visible as the original billboard from the nearest main traveled thoroughfare.
e. Billboards relocated to a remainder must comply with Section 20.22.090, and must be placed no less than five hundred feet from an existing billboard.
5. Restrictions on relocations.
a. A billboard shall not be relocated to a scenic corridor or special control area.
b. A billboard not located on a road on the state highway system must be relocated at least five hundred feet from another off-premises billboard.
c. A billboard located on a road on the state highway system must be relocated at least five hundred feet from another off-premises billboard on the same side of the freeway.
d. A relocated billboard may not have a greater sign face area than it had at its original location, except that the sign face area of multiple relocated billboards may be combined, provided that:
i. The overall number of billboards within the city is reduced;
ii. The sign face area of the combined billboard shall not exceed six hundred seventy-two square feet, the maximum size of a bulletin sign;
iii. Stacked billboards are prohibited.
e. Two one-sided billboards may be relocated to create one two-faced billboard, provided that the two faces are oriented within sixty degrees of one another.
f. All relocated billboards must be built to comply with the building code.
g. A billboard may not be relocated until demolition and other required permits have been applied for and approved by the city.
h. A billboard may not be relocated within five hundred feet of a historic district or a public park.
i. A billboard not located on a road on the state highway system may not be relocated within three hundred fifty feet of a zoning district listed in 20.18.230.A.
j. A billboard located on a road on the state highway system may not be relocated within one hundred fifty feet of a zoning district listed in Section 20.18.230.A.
k. No new properties, such as electrical, mechanical, or LED, may be added to a relocated billboard. (For example, a non-illuminated billboard may not be converted to an illuminated billboard, and a static billboard may not be converted to a digital or tri-vision billboard.)
l. The height of a relocated billboard may not exceed forty-two and one-half feet above grade of the center point of the main-traveled way. For the purposes of this section, height is measured from the centerline of the main-traveled way closest to the sign face, at a point perpendicular to the sign location. A frontage road of a controlled access highway or freeway is not considered the main-traveled way for purposes of this subsection. In the event that the main-traveled way that is perpendicular to the sign structure is below grade, sign height will be measured from the base of the sign structure.
B. Relocation of certain static billboards unrelated to a city public works project or city or state roadway improvement project.
1. Relocated static billboards which are unable to meet the provisions of this chapter upon relocation may be granted an exception and the receiving parcel's dimensional and spacing requirements varied subject to a special permit granted by city council in conformance with Chapter 20.04 if the council determines that the enforcement of the prohibition in a particular instance:
a. Is not in the best interest of the public;
b. Constitutes waste or the inefficient use of land or other resources;
c. Does not serve its intended purpose;
d. Is not effective or necessary; or
e. For any other reason the city council, after consideration of the health, safety, and welfare of the public and the equities of the situation, determines is in the best interest of the community.
2. Relocations allowed by special permit must also comply with the following additional standards:
a. The owner of the sign and receiving parcel property owner must sign and submit a special permit application.
b. The sending site shall be used as a landscaped median, preserved open space, or park capital improvement project by the City of El Paso.
c. The detailed site development plan required as a provision of the special permit shall include:
i. Sign elevations, including size and height of structure and square footage of all sign faces.
ii. Labeled distances to all surrounding residential zones.
iii. Labeled distances to the closest on and off-premises signs.
d. The relocation must be completed within one year from special permit approval.
C. Restrictions on relocations.
1. No billboard may be relocated into any of the special control areas identified in Section 20.18.250.
2. A billboard must be relocated at least five hundred feet from another off-premises billboard on the same side of the roadway or highway.
3. A relocated billboard shall not have a greater sign face area than it had at its original location, except that the sign face area of multiple relocated billboards may be combined at the new location, provided that:
a. One bulletin billboard structure shall be permitted for two existing legally permitted and erected poster billboard structures removed,
b. One poster billboard structure shall be permitted for four existing legally permitted and erected junior billboard structures removed,
c. One bulletin billboard structure shall be permitted for eight existing legally permitted and erected junior billboard structures removed;
4. A billboard may not be relocated until demolition and other required permits have been applied for and approved by the city.
5. A billboard may not be relocated within five hundred feet of a historic district or a public park.
6. No new properties, such as electrical, mechanical, or LED, may be added to a relocated billboard. (For example, a non-illuminated billboard may not be converted to an illuminated billboard, and a static billboard may not be converted to a digital or tri-vision billboard.)
7. The relocated billboard shall have the necessary demolition credits and those credits shall be used to allow for relocation at the time of application to the city.
8. The height of a relocated billboard may not exceed forty-two and one-half feet above grade of the center point of the main-traveled way. For the purposes of this section, height is measured from the centerline of the main-traveled way closest to the sign face, at a point perpendicular to the sign location. A frontage road of a controlled access highway or freeway is not considered the main-traveled way for purposes of this subsection. In the event that the main-traveled way that is perpendicular to the sign structure is below grade, sign height will be measured from the base of the sign structure.
(Ord. No. 17317, § 3, 5-4-2010; Ord. No. 18248, § 1, 9-23-2014; Ord. No. 18362, § 1, 6-2-2015; Ord. No. 18590, § 1, 11-1-2016)
Source: City of El Paso, City Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/el_paso/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT20ZO_CH20.18SIRE_ARTIIIBIRE_20.18.270REBIFetched: 10/28/2026