Advertisements in parks, bus stops and terminals: fifty square feet and a clear sidewalk

It is Section 8.7.11.6 of Chapter 8.7 of Joint Regulation No. 9473, within the rule for advertisements in commercial, industrial and public districts and on Government land. It stands apart because it speaks not of lots or commercial façades but of four kinds of structure: the intense active recreation park, the bus stop, the public expression board and the transportation terminal with its parking lot.

The section applies to advertisements sited in intense active recreation parks and on other structures in D districts and publicly owned ones or in non-calificated areas: ballparks and indoor courts, structures used as bus stops, public expression boards, bus terminals and other public transportation vehicles, and light vehicle parking lots.

• In intense active recreation parks: that the unlimited-size advertisements in the interior be oriented toward the bleachers and cannot be seen from the public way.Verified against the official source
• On the fence bounding ballparks’ playing area: inward-oriented advertisements not exceeding thirty (30) feet in height and designed safely and in accordance with the best engineering standards.Verified against the official source
• At bus stops: advertisements perpendicular to the public way, with non-flashing illumination and a total size no greater than fifty (50) square feet, without extending over the structure’s roof or side wall.Verified against the official source
• Obtaining an individual permit for each advertisement at a bus stop.Verified against the official source
• That the structure used as a bus stop have a roof, a seating area and a trash can, as well as an electrical connection or provision for paying for energy endorsed by the AEE.Verified against the official source
• That the structure not invade the right-of-way easement and allow at all times free safe passage along the sidewalk, without pedestrians or persons with physical disabilities or in wheelchairs or other special equipment having to detour or step into the street.Verified against the official source
• Complying with the ADA or any other law protecting both persons with disabilities and pedestrians, and at no time preventing the free flow of pedestrians.Verified against the official source
• Having the recommendation of OGPe’s Infrastructure Manager.Verified against the official source
• Conforming or removing within a term of ninety (90) days from the Regulation’s effectiveness the bus stop structures with advertisements that do not meet any of this Section’s requirements.Verified against the official source
• On public expression boards: complying with the requirements of the DTOP regulation governing them since 13 June 1976 and with those of Regulation No. 4411 in force on 1 February 1991.Verified against the official source

• Individual permit for each advertisement sited at a bus stop.
• Recommendation of OGPe’s Infrastructure Manager for the bus stop structure where the advertisement is sited.

1. 1

   Step 1: Parks: unlimited inward

   Advertisements of unlimited size may be installed in the interior of intense active recreation parks, such as ballparks and indoor courts, provided they are oriented toward the bleachers and cannot be seen from the public way. The two conditions are cumulative: inward orientation and no visibility from the street. That is what allows a ballpark’s wall full of advertisements without it counting as outdoor advertising under the Regulation.

2. 2

   Step 2: The playing area’s fence

   The installation of inward-oriented advertisements on the fence bounding the ballparks’ playing area is further permitted, provided they do not exceed thirty feet in height and are designed safely and in accordance with the best engineering standards. And the section leaves a third route open: advertisements may be installed on the façades of intense active recreation buildings and on the ground per this Section.

3. 3

   Step 3: The bus stop: fifty square feet

   On structures used as bus stops, advertisements may be sited perpendicular to the public way, their illumination shall be non-flashing and the total size shall be no greater than fifty square feet without extending over the structure’s roof or side wall. Note the orientation: here a perpendicular advertisement is allowed, unlike what other rules of the chapter require for façades. And for each advertisement at a bus stop an individual permit shall be obtained: there is no fleet permit.

4. 4

   Step 4: What the stop must have

   The section is not limited to the advertisement: it imposes requirements on the structure holding it. Structures used as bus stops must have a roof, a seating area and a trash can, as well as an electrical connection or provision for paying for energy endorsed by the AEE. That is, the advertising comes tied to a minimum of service for whoever waits for the bus. A note on the source: the Regulation names the AEE, and we reproduce the agency it names without substituting another.

5. 5

   Step 5: The sidewalk is untouchable

   Bus stop structures where advertisements are sited may not invade the right-of-way easement and must at all times allow free safe passage along the sidewalk, without pedestrians and persons with physical disabilities or who must move in wheelchairs or other special equipment having to detour or step into the street. They must comply with the ADA or any other law protecting both persons with disabilities and pedestrians, and at no time may they prevent the free flow of pedestrians. The recommendation of OGPe’s Infrastructure Manager is required.

6. 6

   Step 6: Ninety days for non-compliant stops

   Bus stop structures where advertisements are sited which in any way do not meet any of this Section’s requirements must be conformed to those requirements or removed within a term of ninety days from the Regulation’s effective date. And as to obtaining the corresponding permits for each of the advertisements sited at the stops, Law 355-1999 and this Chapter must be complied with.

7. 7

   Step 7: Public expression boards and terminals

   Advertisements to be installed on the public expression boards shall comply with the requirements of the DTOP regulation governing them since 13 June 1976, as well as with those of Regulation No. 4411 in force on 1 February 1991; and the DTOP is responsible for keeping the boards in good condition. Those two regulations are not reproduced by this Chapter and we did not read them, so we publish no parameter of theirs. Finally, advertisements may be installed on the façades or on the ground at bus terminals, other public transportation vehicles and light vehicle parking lots, with a maximum size per this Section and the Chapter.

The individual permit for each bus stop advertisement is processed before OGPe or the autonomous municipality with the corresponding hierarchy, per Law 355-1999 and Chapter 8.7. The structure further requires the recommendation of OGPe’s Infrastructure Manager. Public expression boards are governed by the DTOP regulation in force over them since 13 June 1976 and by Regulation No. 4411, and the DTOP is responsible for keeping them in good condition.

• Installing in a park an advertisement oriented inward but visible from the public way, when both conditions must hold at once.
• Going beyond thirty feet in height on advertisements on the fence bounding the playing area.
• Installing a bus stop advertisement of more than fifty square feet of total size.
• Extending the advertisement over the stop structure’s roof or side wall.
• Using flashing illumination on a bus stop advertisement.
• Processing a single permit for several stop advertisements, when an individual permit is obtained for each.
• Installing a stop with an advertisement without a roof, without a seating area or without a trash can.
• Placing the structure so it invades the right-of-way easement or leaves the sidewalk without free safe passage.
• Forcing a pedestrian or a person in a wheelchair to detour or step into the street to get past the stop.
• Installing the structure without the recommendation of OGPe’s Infrastructure Manager.
• Letting the ninety days from the Regulation’s effectiveness pass without conforming or removing a non-compliant stop with an advertisement.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos (OGPe)

  OGPe

  docs.pr.gov

• OGPe Single Business Portal

  ogpe

  www.permisos.pr.gov

• Planning Board

  jp

  jp.pr.gov