Florida Senate - 2013 SB 1632
By Senator Latvala
20-01515B-13 20131632__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to transportation; amending provisions
3 of ch. 479 F.S., relating to outdoor advertising
4 signs; amending s. 479.01, F.S.; revising and deleting
5 definitions; amending s. 479.02, F.S.; revising powers
6 of the Department of Transportation relating to
7 nonconforming signs; deleting a requirement that the
8 department adopt certain rules; creating s. 479.024,
9 F.S.; limiting the placement of signs in commercial or
10 industrial zones; defining the terms “parcel” and
11 “utilities”; providing mandatory criteria for local
12 governments to use in determining zoning for
13 commercial or industrial parcels; providing that
14 certain parcels are considered unzoned commercial or
15 industrial areas; providing that specified uses may
16 not be independently recognized as commercial or
17 industrial areas; providing an appeal process for an
18 applicant whose permit is denied; requiring an
19 applicant whose application is denied to remove an
20 existing sign pertaining to the application; requiring
21 the department to reduce certain transportation
22 funding in certain circumstances; amending s. 479.03,
23 F.S.; providing for notice to owners of intervening
24 privately owned lands before entering upon such lands
25 to remove an illegal sign; amending s. 479.04, F.S.;
26 providing that an outdoor advertising license is not
27 required solely to erect outdoor signs or structures;
28 amending s. 479.05, F.S.; authorizing the department
29 to suspend a license for certain offenses and
30 specifying activities that the licensee may engage in
31 during the suspension; amending s. 479.07, F.S.;
32 revising requirements for obtaining sign permits;
33 conforming and clarifying provisions; increasing the
34 allowable permit fee and requiring an application fee;
35 revising sign placement requirements for signs on
36 certain highways; deleting provisions that establish a
37 pilot program relating to placement and removing a
38 permit reinstatement fee; amending s. 479.08, F.S.;
39 clarifying provisions relating to the denial or
40 revocation of a permit because of false or misleading
41 information in the permit application; amending s.
42 479.10, F.S.; providing for cancellation of a permit;
43 amending s. 479.105, F.S.; revising notice
44 requirements to owners and advertisers relating to
45 signs erected or maintained without a permit; revising
46 procedures providing for the department to issue a
47 permit as a conforming or nonconforming sign to the
48 owner of an unpermitted sign; amending s. 479.106,
49 F.S.; deleting limits on application fees for permits
50 to remove vegetation on public rights-of-way;
51 increasing an administrative penalty for illegally
52 removing certain vegetation; amending s. 479.107,
53 F.S.; deleting fines for certain signs on highway
54 rights-of-way; amending s. 479.111, F.S.; clarifying
55 provisions relating to signs allowed on certain
56 highways; amending s. 479.15, F.S.; deleting a
57 definition; clarifying and conforming provisions
58 related to permitted signs on property that is the
59 subject of public acquisition; amending s. 479.156,
60 F.S.; clarifying provisions related to the regulation
61 of wall murals; amending s. 479.16, F.S.; providing
62 that certain provisions relating to the regulation of
63 signs may not be implemented or continued if such
64 actions will adversely affect the allocation of
65 federal funds to the department; exempting from permit
66 requirements certain signs placed by tourist-oriented
67 businesses, certain farm signs during harvest season,
68 acknowledgement signs on publicly funded school
69 premises, certain displays on specific sports
70 facilities, and certain signs at welcome centers;
71 amending s. 479.24, F.S.; clarifying provisions
72 relating to compensation paid for the department’s
73 acquisition of lawful signs; amending s. 479.25, F.S.;
74 requiring a local government to grant a variance or
75 waiver to a local ordinance or regulation to allow the
76 owner of a lawfully permitted sign to increase the
77 height of the sign if a noise-attenuation barrier is
78 permitted by or erected by a governmental entity in a
79 way that interferes with the visibility of the sign;
80 deleting provisions to conform; amending s. 479.261,
81 F.S.; conforming provisions related to a logo sign
82 program on limited access highways; amending s.
83 479.313, F.S.; requiring a permittee to pay the cost
84 of removing certain signs following the cancellation
85 of the permit for the sign; providing an effective
86 date.
87
88 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
89
90 Section 1. Section 479.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to
91 read:
92 479.01 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
93 (1) “Allowable uses” means those uses that are authorized
94 within a zoning category without the requirement to obtain a
95 variance or waiver. The term includes conditional uses and those
96 allowed by special exception, but does not include uses that are
97 accessory, incidental to the allowable uses, or allowed only on
98 a temporary basis.
99 (2) “Automatic changeable facing” means a facing that is
100 capable of delivering two or more advertising messages through
101 an automated or remotely controlled process.
102 (3) “Business of outdoor advertising” means the business of
103 constructing, erecting, operating, using, maintaining, leasing,
104 or selling outdoor advertising structures, outdoor advertising
105 signs, or outdoor advertisements.
106 (4) “Commercial or industrial zone” means a parcel of land
107 designated for commercial or industrial uses under both the
108 future land use map of the comprehensive plan and the land use
109 development regulations adopted pursuant to chapter 163. If a
110 parcel is located in an area designated for multiple uses on the
111 future land use map of a comprehensive plan and the zoning
112 category of the land development regulations does not clearly
113 designate that parcel for a specific use, the area will be
114 considered an unzoned commercial or industrial area if it meets
115 the criteria of subsection (26).
116 (4)(5) “Commercial use” means activities associated with
117 the sale, rental, or distribution of products or the performance
118 of services. The term includes, without limitation, such uses or
119 activities as retail sales; wholesale sales; rentals of
120 equipment, goods, or products; offices; restaurants; food
121 service vendors; sports arenas; theaters; and tourist
122 attractions.
123 (5)(6) “Controlled area” means 660 feet or less from the
124 nearest edge of the right-of-way of any portion of the State
125 Highway System, interstate, or federal-aid primary system and
126 beyond 660 feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way of any
127 portion of the State Highway System, interstate, or federal-aid
128 primary system outside an urban area.
129 (6)(7) “Department” means the Department of Transportation.
130 (7)(8) “Erect” means to construct, build, raise, assemble,
131 place, affix, attach, create, paint, draw, or in any other way
132 bring into being or establish; but it does not include any of
133 the foregoing activities when performed as an incident to the
134 change of advertising message or customary maintenance or repair
135 of a sign.
136 (8)(9) “Federal-aid primary highway system” means the
137 federal-aid primary highway system in existence on June 1, 1991,
138 and any highway that was not a part of such system as of that
139 date, but that is, or became after June 1, 1991, a part of the
140 National Highway System, including portions that have been
141 accepted as part of the National Highway System but are unbuilt
142 or unopened existing, unbuilt, or unopened system of highways or
143 portions thereof, which shall include the National Highway
144 System, designated as the federal-aid primary highway system by
145 the department.
146 (9)(10) “Highway” means any road, street, or other way open
147 or intended to be opened to the public for travel by motor
148 vehicles.
149 (10)(11) “Industrial use” means activities associated with
150 the manufacture, assembly, processing, or storage of products or
151 the performance of services relating thereto. The term includes,
152 without limitation, such uses or activities as automobile
153 manufacturing or repair, boat manufacturing or repair, junk
154 yards, meat packing facilities, citrus processing and packing
155 facilities, produce processing and packing facilities,
156 electrical generating plants, water treatment plants, sewage
157 treatment plants, and solid waste disposal sites.
158 (11)(12) “Interstate highway system” means the existing,
159 unbuilt, or unopened system of highways or portions thereof
160 designated as the national system of interstate and defense
161 highways by the department.
162 (12)(13) “Main-traveled way” means the traveled way of a
163 highway on which through traffic is carried. In the case of a
164 divided highway, the traveled way of each of the separate
165 roadways for traffic in opposite directions is a main-traveled
166 way. It does not include such facilities as frontage roads,
167 turning roadways which specifically include on-ramps or off
168 ramps to the interstate highway system, or parking areas.
169 (13)(14) “Maintain” means to allow to exist.
170 (14)(15) “Motorist services directional signs” means signs
171 providing directional information about goods and services in
172 the interest of the traveling public where such signs were
173 lawfully erected and in existence on or before May 6, 1976, and
174 continue to provide directional information to goods and
175 services in a defined area.
176 (16) “New highway” means the construction of any road,
177 paved or unpaved, where no road previously existed or the act of
178 paving any previously unpaved road.
179 (15)(17) “Nonconforming sign” means a sign which was
180 lawfully erected but which does not comply with the land use,
181 setback, size, spacing, and lighting provisions of state or
182 local law, rule, regulation, or ordinance passed at a later date
183 or a sign which was lawfully erected but which later fails to
184 comply with state or local law, rule, regulation, or ordinance
185 due to changed conditions.
186 (16)(18) “Premises” means all the land areas under
187 ownership or lease arrangement to the sign owner which are
188 contiguous to the business conducted on the land except for
189 instances where such land is a narrow strip contiguous to the
190 advertised activity or is connected by such narrow strip, the
191 only viable use of such land is to erect or maintain an
192 advertising sign. When the sign owner is a municipality or
193 county, “premises” shall mean all lands owned or leased by such
194 municipality or county within its jurisdictional boundaries as
195 set forth by law.
196 (17)(19) “Remove” means to disassemble all sign materials
197 above ground level and, transport them from the site, and
198 dispose of sign materials by sale or destruction.
199 (18)(20) “Sign” means any combination of structure and
200 message in the form of an outdoor sign, display, device, figure,
201 painting, drawing, message, placard, poster, billboard,
202 advertising structure, advertisement, logo, symbol, or other
203 form, whether placed individually or on a V-type, back-to-back,
204 side-to-side, stacked, or double-faced display or automatic
205 changeable facing, designed, intended, or used to advertise or
206 inform, any part of the advertising message or informative
207 contents of which is visible from any place on the main-traveled
208 way. The term does not include an official traffic control sign,
209 official marker, or specific information panel erected, caused
210 to be erected, or approved by the department.
211 (19)(21) “Sign direction” means that direction from which
212 the message or informative contents are most visible to oncoming
213 traffic on the main-traveled way.
214 (20)(22) “Sign face” means the part of the sign, including
215 trim and background, which contains the message or informative
216 contents, including an automatic changeable face.
217 (21)(23) “Sign facing” includes all sign faces and
218 automatic changeable faces displayed at the same location and
219 facing the same direction.
220 (22)(24) “Sign structure” means all the interrelated parts
221 and material, such as beams, poles, and stringers, which are
222 constructed for the purpose of supporting or displaying a
223 message or informative contents.
224 (23)(25) “State Highway System” has the same meaning as in
225 s. 334.03 means the existing, unbuilt, or unopened system of
226 highways or portions thereof designated as the State Highway
227 System by the department.
228 (26) “Unzoned commercial or industrial area” means a parcel
229 of land designated by the future land use map of the
230 comprehensive plan for multiple uses that include commercial or
231 industrial uses but are not specifically designated for
232 commercial or industrial uses under the land development
233 regulations, in which three or more separate and distinct
234 conforming industrial or commercial activities are located.
235 (a) These activities must satisfy the following criteria:
236 1. At least one of the commercial or industrial activities
237 must be located on the same side of the highway and within 800
238 feet of the sign location;
239 2. The commercial or industrial activities must be within
240 660 feet from the nearest edge of the right-of-way; and
241 3. The commercial industrial activities must be within
242 1,600 feet of each other.
243
244 Distances specified in this paragraph must be measured from the
245 nearest outer edge of the primary building or primary building
246 complex when the individual units of the complex are connected
247 by covered walkways.
248 (b) Certain activities, including, but not limited to, the
249 following, may not be so recognized as commercial or industrial
250 activities:
251 1. Signs.
252 2. Agricultural, forestry, ranching, grazing, farming, and
253 related activities, including, but not limited to, wayside fresh
254 produce stands.
255 3. Transient or temporary activities.
256 4. Activities not visible from the main-traveled way.
257 5. Activities conducted more than 660 feet from the nearest
258 edge of the right-of-way.
259 6. Activities conducted in a building principally used as a
260 residence.
261 7. Railroad tracks and minor sidings.
262 8. Communication towers.
263 (24)(27) “Urban area” has the same meaning as defined in s.
264 334.03(31).
265 (25)(28) “Visible commercial or industrial activity” means
266 a commercial or industrial activity that is capable of being
267 seen without visual aid by a person of normal visual acuity from
268 the main-traveled way and that is generally recognizable as
269 commercial or industrial.
270 (26)(29) “Visible sign” means that the advertising message
271 or informative contents of a sign, whether or not legible, is
272 capable of being seen without visual aid by a person of normal
273 visual acuity.
274 (27)(30) “Wall mural” means a sign that is a painting or an
275 artistic work composed of photographs or arrangements of color
276 and that displays a commercial or noncommercial message, relies
277 solely on the side of the building for rigid structural support,
278 and is painted on the building or depicted on vinyl, fabric, or
279 other similarly flexible material that is held in place flush or
280 flat against the surface of the building. The term excludes a
281 painting or work placed on a structure that is erected for the
282 sole or primary purpose of signage.
283 (28)(31) “Zoning category” means the designation under the
284 land development regulations or other similar ordinance enacted
285 to regulate the use of land as provided in s. 163.3202(2)(b),
286 which designation sets forth the allowable uses, restrictions,
287 and limitations on use applicable to properties within the
288 category.
289 Section 2. Section 479.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to
290 read:
291 479.02 Duties of the department.—It shall be the duty of
292 The department shall to:
293 (1) Administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter,
294 and the 1972 agreement between the state and the United States
295 Department of Transportation, relating to the size, lighting,
296 and spacing of signs in accordance with Title I of the Highway
297 Beautification Act of 1965 and Title 23, United States Code, and
298 federal regulations, including, but not limited to, those
299 pertaining to the maintenance, continuance, and removal of
300 nonconforming signs in effect as of the effective date of this
301 act.
302 (2) Regulate size, height, lighting, and spacing of signs
303 permitted on commercial and industrial parcels and in unzoned
304 commercial or industrial areas in zoned and unzoned commercial
305 areas and zoned and unzoned industrial areas on the interstate
306 highway system and the federal-aid primary highway system.
307 (3) Determine unzoned commercial and industrial parcels and
308 unzoned commercial or areas and unzoned industrial areas in the
309 manner provided in s. 479.024.
310 (4) Implement a specific information panel program on the
311 limited access interstate highway system to promote tourist
312 oriented businesses by providing directional information safely
313 and aesthetically.
314 (5) Implement a rest area information panel or devices
315 program at rest areas along the interstate highway system and
316 the federal-aid primary highway system to promote tourist
317 oriented businesses.
318 (6) Test and, if economically feasible, implement
319 alternative methods of providing information in the specific
320 interest of the traveling public which allow the traveling
321 public freedom of choice, conserve natural beauty, and present
322 information safely and aesthetically.
323 (7) Adopt such rules as it deems necessary or proper for
324 the administration of this chapter, including rules that which
325 identify activities that may not be recognized as industrial or
326 commercial activities for purposes of determination of a an area
327 as an unzoned commercial or industrial parcel or an unzoned
328 commercial or industrial area in the manner provided in s.
329 479.024.
330 (8) Prior to July 1, 1998, Inventory and determine the
331 location of all signs on the state, interstate and federal-aid
332 primary highway systems to be used as. Upon completion of the
333 inventory, it shall become the database and permit information
334 for all permitted signs permitted at the time of completion, and
335 the previous records of the department shall be amended
336 accordingly. The inventory shall be updated no less than every 2
337 years. The department shall adopt rules regarding what
338 information is to be collected and preserved to implement the
339 purposes of this chapter. The department may perform the
340 inventory using department staff, or may contract with a private
341 firm to perform the work, whichever is more cost efficient. The
342 department shall maintain a database of sign inventory
343 information such as sign location, size, height, and structure
344 type, the permitholder’s name, and any other information the
345 department finds necessary to administer the program.
346 Section 3. Section 479.024, Florida Statutes, is created to
347 read:
348 479.024 Commercial and industrial parcels.—Signs shall only
349 be permitted by the department in commercial or industrial
350 zones, as determined by the local government, in compliance with
351 chapter 163, unless otherwise provided in this chapter.
352 (1) As used in this section, the term:
353 (a) “Parcel” means the property where the sign is located
354 or is proposed to be located.
355 (b) “Utilities” includes all privately, publicly, or
356 cooperatively owned lines, facilities, and systems for
357 producing, transmitting, or distributing communications, power,
358 electricity, light, heat, gas, oil, crude products, water,
359 steam, waste, and stormwater not connected with the highway
360 drainage, and other similar commodities.
361 (2) The determination as to zoning by the local government
362 for the parcel must meet the following criteria:
363 (a) The parcel is comprehensively zoned and includes
364 commercial or industrial uses as allowable uses.
365 (b) The parcel can reasonably accommodate a commercial or
366 industrial use under the future land use map of the
367 comprehensive plan and land use development regulations, as
368 follows:
369 1. Sufficient utilities are available to support commercial
370 or industrial development.
371 2. The size, configuration, and public access of the parcel
372 are sufficient to accommodate a commercial or industrial use,
373 given requirements in the comprehensive plan and land
374 development regulations for vehicular access, on-site
375 circulation, building setbacks, buffering, parking, and other
376 applicable standards or the parcel consists of railroad tracks
377 or minor sidings abutting commercial or industrial property that
378 meets the criteria of this subsection.
379 (c) The parcel is not being used exclusively for
380 noncommercial or nonindustrial uses.
381 (3) If a local government has not designated zoning through
382 land development regulations in compliance with chapter 163, but
383 has designated the parcel under the future land use map of the
384 comprehensive plan for uses that include commercial or
385 industrial uses, the parcel shall be considered an unzoned
386 commercial or industrial area. For a permit to be issued for a
387 sign in an unzoned commercial or industrial area, there must be
388 three or more distinct commercial or industrial activities
389 within 1,600 feet of each other, with at least one of the
390 commercial or industrial activities located on the same side of
391 the highway as the sign location, and within 800 feet of the
392 sign location. Multiple commercial or industrial activities
393 enclosed in one building when all uses have only shared building
394 entrances shall be considered one use.
395 (4) For purposes of this section, certain uses and
396 activities may not be independently recognized as commercial or
397 industrial, including, but not limited to:
398 (a) Signs.
399 (b) Agricultural, forestry, ranching, grazing, farming, and
400 related activities, including, but not limited to, wayside fresh
401 produce stands.
402 (c) Transient or temporary activities.
403 (d) Activities not visible from the main-traveled way,
404 unless a department transportation facility is the only cause
405 for the activity not being visible.
406 (e) Activities conducted more than 660 feet from the
407 nearest edge of the right-of-way.
408 (f) Activities conducted in a building principally used as
409 a residence.
410 (g) Railroad tracks and minor sidings, unless such use is
411 immediately abutted by commercial or industrial property that
412 meets the criteria in subsection (2).
413 (h) Communication towers.
414 (i) Governmental uses, unless those governmental uses would
415 be industrial in nature if privately owned and operated. Such
416 industrial uses must be the present and actual use, not merely
417 be among the allowed uses.
418 (5) If the local government has indicated that the proposed
419 sign location is on a parcel that is in a commercial or
420 industrial zone, but the department finds that it is not, the
421 department shall notify the sign applicant in writing of its
422 determination.
423 (6) An applicant whose application for a permit is denied
424 may, within 30 days after the receipt of the notification of
425 intent to deny, request an administrative hearing pursuant to
426 chapter 120 for a determination of whether the parcel is located
427 in a commercial or industrial zone. Upon receipt of such
428 request, the department shall notify the local government that
429 the applicant has requested an administrative hearing pursuant
430 to chapter 120.
431 (7) If the department in a final order determines that the
432 parcel does not meet the permitting conditions in this section
433 and a sign structure exists on the parcel, the applicant shall
434 remove the sign within 30 days after the date of the order and
435 is responsible for all sign removal costs.
436 (8) If the Federal Highway Administration reduces funds
437 that would otherwise be apportioned to the department due to a
438 local government’s failure to be compliant with this section,
439 the department shall reduce apportioned transportation funding
440 to the local government by an equivalent amount.
441 Section 4. Section 479.03, Florida Statutes, is amended to
442 read:
443 479.03 Jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation;
444 entry upon privately owned lands.—The territory under the
445 jurisdiction of the department for the purpose of this chapter
446 shall include all the state. Employees, agents, or independent
447 contractors working for the department, in the performance of
448 their functions and duties under the provisions of this chapter,
449 may enter into and upon any land upon which a sign is displayed,
450 is proposed to be erected, or is being erected and make such
451 inspections, surveys, and removals as may be relevant. Upon
452 written notice to After receiving consent by the landowner,
453 operator, or person in charge of an intervening privately owned
454 land that or appropriate inspection warrant issued by a judge of
455 any county court or circuit court of this state which has
456 jurisdiction of the place or thing to be removed, that the
457 removal of an illegal outdoor advertising sign is necessary and
458 has been authorized by a final order or results from an
459 uncontested notice to the sign owner, the department may shall
460 be authorized to enter upon any intervening privately owned
461 lands for the purposes of effectuating removal of illegal signs,
462 provided that the department shall only do so in circumstances
463 where it has determined that no other legal or economically
464 feasible means of entry to the sign site are reasonably
465 available. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, the
466 department shall be responsible for the repair or replacement in
467 a like manner for any physical damage or destruction of private
468 property, other than the sign, incidental to the department’s
469 entry upon such intervening privately owned lands.
470 Section 5. Section 479.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to
471 read:
472 479.04 Business of outdoor advertising; license
473 requirement; renewal; fees.—
474 (1) A No person may not shall engage in the business of
475 outdoor advertising in this state without first obtaining a
476 license therefor from the department. Such license shall be
477 renewed annually. The fee for such license, and for each annual
478 renewal, is $300. License renewal fees shall be payable as
479 provided for in s. 479.07.
480 (2) A No person is not shall be required to obtain the
481 license provided for in this section solely to erect or
482 construct outdoor advertising signs or structures as an
483 incidental part of a building construction contract.
484 Section 6. Section 479.05, Florida Statutes, is amended to
485 read:
486 479.05 Denial, suspension, or revocation of license.—The
487 department may has authority to deny, suspend, or revoke any
488 license requested or granted under this chapter in any case in
489 which it determines that the application for the license
490 contains knowingly false or misleading information of material
491 consequence, that the licensee has failed to pay fees or costs
492 owed to the department for outdoor advertising purposes, or that
493 the licensee has violated any of the provisions of this chapter,
494 unless such licensee, within 30 days after the receipt of notice
495 by the department, corrects such false or misleading
496 information, pays the outstanding amounts, or complies with the
497 provisions of this chapter. Suspension of a license allows the
498 licensee to maintain existing sign permits, but the department
499 may not grant a transfer of an existing permit or issue an
500 additional permit to a licensee with a suspended license. Any
501 person aggrieved by an any action of the department which
502 denies, suspends, or revokes in denying or revoking a license
503 under this chapter may, within 30 days after from the receipt of
504 the notice, apply to the department for an administrative
505 hearing pursuant to chapter 120.
506 Section 7. Section 479.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to
507 read:
508 479.07 Sign permits.—
509 (1) Except as provided in ss. 479.105(1) 479.105(1)(e) and
510 479.16, a person may not erect, operate, use, or maintain, or
511 cause to be erected, operated, used, or maintained, any sign on
512 the State Highway System outside an urban area, as defined in s.
513 334.03(31), or on any portion of the interstate or federal-aid
514 primary highway system without first obtaining a permit for the
515 sign from the department and paying the annual fee as provided
516 in this section. As used in this section, the term “on any
517 portion of the State Highway System, interstate, or federal-aid
518 primary system” means a sign located within the controlled area
519 which is visible from any portion of the main-traveled way of
520 such system.
521 (2) A person may not apply for a permit unless he or she
522 has first obtained the Written permission of the owner or other
523 person in lawful possession or control of the site designated as
524 the location of the sign is required for issuance of a in the
525 application for the permit.
526 (3)(a) An application for a sign permit must be made on a
527 form prescribed by the department, and a separate application
528 must be submitted for each permit requested. A permit is
529 required for each sign facing.
530 (b) As part of the application, the applicant or his or her
531 authorized representative must certify in a notarized signed
532 statement that all information provided in the application is
533 true and correct and that, pursuant to subsection (2), he or she
534 has obtained the written permission of the owner or other person
535 in lawful possession of the site designated as the location of
536 the sign in the permit application. Every permit application
537 must be accompanied by the appropriate permit fee,; a signed
538 statement by the owner or other person in lawful control of the
539 site on which the sign is located or will be erected,
540 authorizing the placement of the sign on that site,; and, where
541 local governmental regulation of signs exists, a statement from
542 the appropriate local governmental official indicating that the
543 sign complies with all local government governmental
544 requirements and, if a local government permit is required for a
545 sign, that the agency or unit of local government will issue a
546 permit to that applicant upon approval of the state permit
547 application by the department.
548 (c) The annual permit fee for each sign facing shall be
549 established by the department by rule in an amount sufficient to
550 offset the total cost to the department for the program, but
551 shall not exceed $200 $100. The A fee may not be prorated for a
552 period less than the remainder of the permit year to accommodate
553 short-term publicity features; however, a first-year fee may be
554 prorated by payment of an amount equal to one-fourth of the
555 annual fee for each remaining whole quarter or partial quarter
556 of the permit year. Applications received after the end of the
557 third quarter of the permit year must include fees for the last
558 quarter of the current year and fees for the succeeding year. A
559 nonrefundable application fee of $25 must accompany each permit
560 application.
561 (4) An application for a permit shall be acted on by
562 granting, denying, or returning the incomplete application the
563 department within 30 days after receipt of the application by
564 the department.
565 (5)(a) For each permit issued, the department shall furnish
566 to the applicant a serially numbered permanent metal permit tag.
567 The permittee is responsible for maintaining a valid permit tag
568 on each permitted sign facing at all times. The tag shall be
569 securely attached to the upper 50 percent of the sign structure
570 sign facing or, if there is no facing, on the pole nearest the
571 highway; and it shall be attached in such a manner as to be
572 plainly visible from the main-traveled way. Effective July 1,
573 2012, the tag must be securely attached to the upper 50 percent
574 of the pole nearest the highway and must be attached in such a
575 manner as to be plainly visible from the main-traveled way. The
576 permit becomes void unless the permit tag must be is properly
577 and permanently displayed at the permitted site within 30 days
578 after the date of permit issuance. If the permittee fails to
579 erect a completed sign on the permitted site within 270 days
580 after the date on which the permit was issued, the permit will
581 be void, and the department may not issue a new permit to that
582 permittee for the same location for 270 days after the date on
583 which the permit became void.
584 (b) If a permit tag is lost, stolen, or destroyed, the
585 permittee to whom the tag was issued must apply to the
586 department for a replacement tag. The department shall adopt a
587 rule establishing a service fee for replacement tags in an
588 amount that will recover the actual cost of providing the
589 replacement tag. Upon receipt of the application accompanied by
590 the service fee, the department shall issue a replacement permit
591 tag. Alternatively, the permittee may provide its own
592 replacement tag pursuant to department specifications that the
593 department shall adopt by rule at the time it establishes the
594 service fee for replacement tags.
595 (6) A permit is valid only for the location specified in
596 the permit. Valid permits may be transferred from one sign owner
597 to another upon written acknowledgment from the current
598 permittee and submittal of a transfer fee of $5 for each permit
599 to be transferred. However, the maximum transfer fee for any
600 multiple transfer between two outdoor advertisers in a single
601 transaction is $1,000 $100.
602 (7) A permittee shall at all times maintain the permission
603 of the owner or other person in lawful control of the sign site
604 to have and maintain a sign at such site.
605 (8)(a) In order to reduce peak workloads, the department
606 may adopt rules providing for staggered expiration dates for
607 licenses and permits. Unless otherwise provided for by rule, all
608 licenses and permits expire annually on January 15. All license
609 and permit renewal fees are required to be submitted to the
610 department by no later than the expiration date. At least 105
611 days before prior to the expiration date of licenses and
612 permits, the department shall send to each permittee a notice of
613 fees due for all licenses and permits that which were issued to
614 him or her before prior to the date of the notice. Such notice
615 shall list the permits and the permit fees due for each sign
616 facing. The permittee shall, no later than 45 days before prior
617 to the expiration date, advise the department of any additions,
618 deletions, or errors contained in the notice. Permit tags which
619 are not renewed shall be returned to the department for
620 cancellation by the expiration date. Permits which are not
621 renewed or are canceled shall be certified in writing at that
622 time as canceled or not renewed by the permittee, and permit
623 tags for such permits shall be returned to the department or
624 shall be accounted for by the permittee in writing, which
625 writing shall be submitted with the renewal fee payment or the
626 cancellation certification. However, failure of a permittee to
627 submit a permit cancellation does shall not affect the
628 nonrenewal of a permit. Before Prior to cancellation of a
629 permit, the permittee shall provide written notice to all
630 persons or entities having a right to advertise on the sign that
631 the permittee intends to cancel the permit.
632 (b) If a permittee has not submitted his or her fee payment
633 by the expiration date of the licenses or permits, the
634 department shall send a notice of violation to the permittee
635 within 45 days after the expiration date, requiring the payment
636 of the permit fee within 30 days after the date of the notice
637 and payment of a delinquency fee equal to 10 percent of the
638 original amount due or, in the alternative to these payments,
639 requiring the filing of a request for an administrative hearing
640 to show cause why the his or her sign should not be subject to
641 immediate removal due to expiration of his or her license or
642 permit. If the permittee submits payment as required by the
643 violation notice, the his or her license or permit will be
644 automatically reinstated and such reinstatement will be
645 retroactive to the original expiration date. If the permittee
646 does not respond to the notice of violation within the 30-day
647 period, the department shall, within 30 days, issue a final
648 notice of sign removal and may, following 90 days after the date
649 of the department’s final notice of sign removal, remove the
650 sign without incurring any liability as a result of such
651 removal. However, if at any time before removal of the sign, the
652 permittee demonstrates that a good faith error on the part of
653 the permittee resulted in cancellation or nonrenewal of the
654 permit, the department may reinstate the permit if:
655 1. The permit reinstatement fee of up to $300 based on the
656 size of the sign is paid;
657 2. All other permit renewal and delinquent permit fees due
658 as of the reinstatement date are paid; and
659 3. The permittee reimburses the department for all actual
660 costs resulting from the permit cancellation or nonrenewal.
661 (c) Conflicting applications filed by other persons for the
662 same or competing sites covered by a permit subject to paragraph
663 (b) may not be approved until after the sign subject to the
664 expired permit has been removed.
665 (d) The cost for removing a sign, whether by the department
666 or an independent contractor, shall be assessed by the
667 department against the permittee.
668 (9)(a) A permit may shall not be granted for any sign for
669 which a permit had not been granted by the effective date of
670 this act unless such sign is located at least:
671 1. One thousand five hundred feet from any other permitted
672 sign on the same side of the highway, if on an interstate
673 highway.
674 2. One thousand feet from any other permitted sign on the
675 same side of the highway, if on a federal-aid primary highway.
676
677 The minimum spacing provided in this paragraph does not preclude
678 the permitting of V-type, back-to-back, side-to-side, stacked,
679 or double-faced signs at the permitted sign site. If a sign is
680 visible to more than one highway subject to the jurisdiction of
681 the department and within the controlled area of the highways
682 from the controlled area of more than one highway subject to the
683 jurisdiction of the department, the sign must shall meet the
684 permitting requirements of all highways, and, if the sign meets
685 the applicable permitting requirements, be permitted to, the
686 highway having the more stringent permitting requirements.
687 (b) A permit may shall not be granted for a sign pursuant
688 to this chapter to locate such sign on any portion of the
689 interstate or federal-aid primary highway system, which sign:
690 1. Exceeds 50 feet in sign structure height above the crown
691 of the main-traveled way to which the sign is permitted, if
692 outside an incorporated area;
693 2. Exceeds 65 feet in sign structure height above the crown
694 of the main-traveled way to which the sign is permitted, if
695 inside an incorporated area; or
696 3. Exceeds 950 square feet of sign facing including all
697 embellishments.
698 (c) Notwithstanding subparagraph (a)1., there is
699 established a pilot program in Orange, Hillsborough, and Osceola
700 Counties, and within the boundaries of the City of Miami, under
701 which the distance between permitted signs on the same side of
702 an interstate highway may be reduced to 1,000 feet if all other
703 requirements of this chapter are met and if:
704 1. The local government has adopted a plan, program,
705 resolution, ordinance, or other policy encouraging the voluntary
706 removal of signs in a downtown, historic, redevelopment, infill,
707 or other designated area which also provides for a new or
708 replacement sign to be erected on an interstate highway within
709 that jurisdiction if a sign in the designated area is removed;
710 2. The sign owner and the local government mutually agree
711 to the terms of the removal and replacement; and
712 3. The local government notifies the department of its
713 intention to allow such removal and replacement as agreed upon
714 pursuant to subparagraph 2.
715 4. The new or replacement sign to be erected on an
716 interstate highway within that jurisdiction is to be located on
717 a parcel of land specifically designated for commercial or
718 industrial use under both the future land use map of the
719 comprehensive plan and the land use development regulations
720 adopted pursuant to chapter 163, and such parcel shall not be
721 subject to an evaluation in accordance with the criteria set
722 forth in s. 479.01(26) to determine if the parcel can be
723 considered an unzoned commercial or industrial area.
724
725 The department shall maintain statistics tracking the use of the
726 provisions of this pilot program based on the notifications
727 received by the department from local governments under this
728 paragraph.
729 (d) This subsection does not cause a sign that was
730 conforming on October 1, 1984, to become nonconforming.
731 (10) Commercial or industrial zoning that which is not
732 comprehensively enacted or that which is enacted primarily to
733 permit signs may shall not be recognized as commercial or
734 industrial zoning for purposes of this provision, and permits
735 may shall not be issued for signs in such areas. The department
736 shall adopt rules within 180 days after this act takes effect
737 that which shall provide criteria to determine whether such
738 zoning is comprehensively enacted or enacted primarily to permit
739 signs.
740 Section 8. Section 479.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to
741 read:
742 479.08 Denial or revocation of permit.—The department may
743 deny or revoke any permit requested or granted under this
744 chapter in any case in which it determines that the application
745 for the permit contains knowingly false or misleading
746 information of material consequence. The department may revoke
747 any permit granted under this chapter in any case in which the
748 permittee has violated any of the provisions of this chapter,
749 unless such permittee, within 30 days after the receipt of
750 notice by the department, complies with the provisions of this
751 chapter. For the purpose of this section, the notice of
752 violation issued by the department must describe in detail the
753 alleged violation. Any person aggrieved by any action of the
754 department in denying or revoking a permit under this chapter
755 may, within 30 days after receipt of the notice, apply to the
756 department for an administrative hearing pursuant to chapter
757 120. If a timely request for hearing has been filed and the
758 department issues a final order revoking a permit, such
759 revocation shall be effective 30 days after the date of
760 rendition. Except for department action pursuant to s.
761 479.107(1), the filing of a timely and proper notice of appeal
762 shall operate to stay the revocation until the department’s
763 action is upheld.
764 Section 9. Section 479.10, Florida Statutes, is amended to
765 read:
766 479.10 Sign removal following permit revocation or
767 cancellation.—A sign shall be removed by the permittee within 30
768 days after the date of revocation or cancellation of the permit
769 for the sign. If the permittee fails to remove the sign within
770 the 30-day period, the department shall remove the sign at the
771 permittee’s expense with or without further notice and without
772 incurring any liability as a result of such removal.
773 Section 10. Section 479.105, Florida Statutes, is amended
774 to read:
775 479.105 Signs erected or maintained without required
776 permit; removal.—
777 (1) Any sign which is located adjacent to the right-of-way
778 of any highway on the State Highway System outside an
779 incorporated area or adjacent to the right-of-way on any portion
780 of the interstate or federal-aid primary highway system, which
781 sign was erected, operated, or maintained without the permit
782 required by s. 479.07(1) having been issued by the department,
783 is declared to be a public nuisance and a private nuisance and
784 shall be removed as provided in this section.
785 (a) Upon a determination by the department that a sign is
786 in violation of s. 479.07(1), the department shall prominently
787 post on the sign, or as close to the sign as possible for those
788 locations where the sign is not easily accessible, face a notice
789 stating that the sign is illegal and must be removed within 30
790 days after the date on which the notice was posted. However, if
791 the sign bears the name of the licensee or the name and address
792 of the nonlicensed sign owner, The department shall,
793 concurrently with and in addition to posting the notice on the
794 sign, provide a written notice to the owner of the sign, the
795 advertiser displayed on the sign, or the owner of the property,
796 stating that the sign is illegal and must be permanently removed
797 within the 30-day period specified on the posted notice. The
798 written notice shall further state that a hearing may be
799 requested, the sign owner has a right to request a hearing,
800 which request must be filed with the department within 30 days
801 after receipt the date of the written notice. However, the
802 filing of a request for a hearing will not stay the removal of
803 the sign.
804 (b) If, pursuant to the notice provided, the sign is not
805 removed by the sign owner of the sign, the advertiser displayed
806 on the sign, or the owner of the property within the prescribed
807 period, the department shall immediately remove the sign without
808 further notice; and, for that purpose, the employees, agents, or
809 independent contractors of the department may enter upon private
810 property without incurring any liability for so entering.
811 (c) However, the department may issue a permit for a sign,
812 as a conforming or nonconforming sign, if the sign owner
813 demonstrates to the department one of the following:
814 1. If the sign meets the current requirements of this
815 chapter for a sign permit, the sign owner may submit the
816 required application package and receive a permit as a
817 conforming sign, upon payment of all applicable fees.
818 2. If the sign does not meet the current requirements of
819 this chapter for a sign permit, the sign owner may receive a
820 permit as a nonconforming sign if the department determines that
821 the sign is not located on state right-of-way and is not a
822 safety hazard and if the sign owner pays a penalty fee of $300
823 and all pertinent fees required by this chapter, including
824 annual permit renewal fees payable since the date of the
825 erection of the sign, and attaches to the permit application
826 package documentation that demonstrates that:
827 a. The sign has been unpermitted, structurally unchanged,
828 and continuously maintained at the same location for a period of
829 7 years or more;
830 b. During the entire period in which the sign has been
831 erected, a permit was required but was not obtained;
832 c. During the initial 7 years in which the sign has been
833 erected, the sign would have met the criteria established in
834 this chapter at that time for issuance of a permit; and
835 d. The department has not initiated a notice of violation
836 or taken other action to remove the sign during the initial 7
837 year period.
838 (d) This subsection does not cause a neighboring sign that
839 is permitted and that is within the spacing requirements in s.
840 479.07(9)(a) to become nonconforming.
841 (e)(c) For purposes of this subsection, a notice to the
842 sign owner, when required, constitutes sufficient notice; and
843 notice is not required to be provided to the lessee, advertiser,
844 or the owner of the real property on which the sign is located.
845 (f)(d) If, after a hearing, it is determined that a sign
846 has been wrongfully or erroneously removed pursuant to this
847 subsection, the department, at the sign owner’s discretion,
848 shall either pay just compensation to the owner of the sign or
849 reerect the sign in kind at the expense of the department.
850 (e) However, if the sign owner demonstrates to the
851 department that:
852 1. The sign has been unpermitted, structurally unchanged,
853 and continuously maintained at the same location for a period of
854 7 years or more;
855 2. At any time during the period in which the sign has been
856 erected, the sign would have met the criteria established in
857 this chapter for issuance of a permit;
858 3. The department has not initiated a notice of violation
859 or taken other action to remove the sign during the initial 7
860 year period described in subparagraph 1.; and
861 4. The department determines that the sign is not located
862 on state right-of-way and is not a safety hazard,
863
864 the sign may be considered a conforming or nonconforming sign
865 and may be issued a permit by the department upon application in
866 accordance with this chapter and payment of a penalty fee of
867 $300 and all pertinent fees required by this chapter, including
868 annual permit renewal fees payable since the date of the
869 erection of the sign.
870 (2)(a) If a sign is under construction and the department
871 determines that a permit has not been issued for the sign as
872 required under the provisions of this chapter, the department is
873 authorized to require that all work on the sign cease until the
874 sign owner shows that the sign does not violate the provisions
875 of this chapter. The order to cease work shall be prominently
876 posted on the sign structure, and no further notice is required
877 to be given. The failure of a sign owner or her or his agents to
878 immediately comply with the order shall subject the sign to
879 prompt removal by the department.
880 (b) For the purposes of this subsection only, a sign is
881 under construction when it is in any phase of initial
882 construction prior to the attachment and display of the
883 advertising message in final position for viewing by the
884 traveling public. A sign that is undergoing routine maintenance
885 or change of the advertising message only is not considered to
886 be under construction for the purposes of this subsection.
887 (3) The cost of removing a sign, whether by the department
888 or an independent contractor, shall be assessed against the
889 owner of the sign by the department.
890 Section 11. Subsections (4), (5), and (7) of section
891 479.106, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
892 479.106 Vegetation management.—
893 (4) The department may establish an application fee by rule
894 not to exceed $25 for each individual application to defer the
895 costs of processing such application and a fee not to exceed
896 $200 to defer the costs of processing an application for
897 multiple sites.
898 (5) The department may only grant a permit pursuant to s.
899 479.07 for a new sign which requires the removal, cutting, or
900 trimming of existing trees or vegetation on public right-of-way
901 for the sign face to be visible from the highway when the sign
902 owner has removed at least two nonconforming signs of
903 approximate comparable size and surrendered the permits for the
904 nonconforming signs to the department for cancellation. For
905 signs originally permitted after July 1, 1996, the first
906 application, or application for a change of view zone, no permit
907 for the removal, cutting, or trimming of trees or vegetation
908 shall require, in addition to mitigation or contribution to a
909 plan of mitigation, the removal of two nonconforming signs. No
910 permits for the removal, cutting, or trimming of trees may be
911 granted for signs permitted after July 1, 1996 be granted where
912 such trees or vegetation are part of a beautification project
913 implemented before prior to the date of the original sign permit
914 application, when the beautification project is specifically
915 identified in the department’s construction plans, permitted
916 landscape projects, or agreements.
917 (7) Any person engaging in removal, cutting, or trimming of
918 trees or vegetation in violation of this section or benefiting
919 from such actions shall be subject to an administrative penalty
920 of up to $1,000 per sign facing and required to mitigate for the
921 unauthorized removal, cutting, or trimming in such manner and in
922 such amount as may be required under the rules of the
923 department.
924 Section 12. Subsection (5) of section 479.107, Florida
925 Statutes, is amended to read:
926 479.107 Signs on highway rights-of-way; removal.—
927 (5) The cost of removing a sign, whether by the department
928 or an independent contractor, shall be assessed by the
929 department against the owner of the sign. Furthermore, the
930 department shall assess a fine of $75 against the sign owner for
931 any sign which violates the requirements of this section.
932 Section 13. Section 479.111, Florida Statutes, is amended
933 to read:
934 479.111 Specified signs allowed within controlled portions
935 of the interstate and federal-aid primary highway system.—Only
936 the following signs shall be allowed within controlled portions
937 of the interstate highway system and the federal-aid primary
938 highway system as set forth in s. 479.11(1) and (2):
939 (1) Directional or other official signs and notices which
940 conform to 23 C.F.R. ss. 750.151-750.155.
941 (2) Signs in commercial-zoned and industrial-zoned areas or
942 commercial-unzoned and industrial-unzoned areas and within 660
943 feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way, subject to the
944 requirements set forth in the 1972 agreement between the state
945 and the United States Department of Transportation.
946 (3) Signs for which permits are not required under s.
947 479.16.
948 Section 14. Section 479.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to
949 read:
950 479.15 Harmony of regulations.—
951 (1) No zoning board or commission or other public officer
952 or agency shall issue a permit to erect any sign which is
953 prohibited under the provisions of this chapter or the rules of
954 the department, nor shall the department issue a permit for any
955 sign which is prohibited by any other public board, officer, or
956 agency in the lawful exercise of its powers.
957 (2) A municipality, county, local zoning authority, or
958 other local governmental entity may not remove, or cause to be
959 removed, any lawfully erected sign along any portion of the
960 interstate or federal-aid primary highway system without first
961 paying just compensation for such removal. A local governmental
962 entity may not cause in any way the alteration of any lawfully
963 erected sign located along any portion of the interstate or
964 federal-aid primary highway system without payment of just
965 compensation if such alteration constitutes a taking under state
966 law. The municipality, county, local zoning authority, or other
967 local government entity that adopts requirements for such
968 alteration shall pay just compensation to the sign owner if such
969 alteration constitutes a taking under state law. This subsection
970 applies only to a lawfully erected sign the subject matter of
971 which relates to premises other than the premises on which it is
972 located or to merchandise, services, activities, or
973 entertainment not sold, produced, manufactured, or furnished on
974 the premises on which the sign is located. As used in this
975 subsection, the term “federal-aid primary highway system” means
976 the federal-aid primary highway system in existence on June 1,
977 1991, and any highway that was not a part of such system as of
978 that date but that is or becomes after June 1, 1991, a part of
979 the National Highway System. This subsection shall not be
980 interpreted as explicit or implicit legislative recognition that
981 alterations do or do not constitute a taking under state law.
982 (3) It is the express intent of the Legislature to limit
983 the state right-of-way acquisition costs on state and federal
984 roads in eminent domain proceedings, the provisions of ss.
985 479.07 and 479.155 notwithstanding. Subject to approval by the
986 Federal Highway Administration, whenever public acquisition of
987 land upon which is situated a lawful permitted nonconforming
988 sign occurs, as provided in this chapter, the sign may, at the
989 election of its owner and the department, be relocated or
990 reconstructed adjacent to the new right-of-way and in close
991 proximity to the current site along the roadway within 100 feet
992 of the current location, provided the nonconforming sign is not
993 relocated in an area inconsistent with s. 479.024 on a parcel
994 zoned residential, and provided further that such relocation
995 shall be subject to applicable setback requirements in the 1972
996 agreement between the state and the United States Department of
997 Transportation. The sign owner shall pay all costs associated
998 with relocating or reconstructing any sign under this
999 subsection, and neither the state nor any local government shall
1000 reimburse the sign owner for such costs, unless part of such
1001 relocation costs are required by federal law. If no adjacent
1002 property is available for the relocation, the department shall
1003 be responsible for paying the owner of the sign just
1004 compensation for its removal.
1005 (4) For a nonconforming sign, Such relocation shall be
1006 adjacent to the current site and the face of the sign may shall
1007 not be increased in size or height or structurally modified at
1008 the point of relocation in a manner inconsistent with the
1009 current building codes of the jurisdiction in which the sign is
1010 located.
1011 (5) In the event that relocation can be accomplished but is
1012 inconsistent with the ordinances of the municipality or county
1013 within whose jurisdiction the sign is located, the ordinances of
1014 the local government shall prevail, provided that the local
1015 government shall assume the responsibility to provide the owner
1016 of the sign just compensation for its removal, but in no event
1017 shall compensation paid by the local government exceed the
1018 compensation required under state or federal law. Further, the
1019 provisions of this section shall not impair any agreement or
1020 future agreements between a municipality or county and the owner
1021 of a sign or signs within the jurisdiction of the municipality
1022 or county. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to cause a
1023 nonconforming sign to become conforming solely as a result of
1024 the relocation allowed in this section.
1025 (6) This section does not cause a neighboring sign that is
1026 already permitted and that is within the spacing requirements
1027 outlined in s. 479.07(9)(a) to become nonconforming The
1028 provisions of subsections (3), (4), and (5) of this section
1029 shall not apply within the jurisdiction of any municipality
1030 which is engaged in any litigation concerning its sign ordinance
1031 on April 23, 1999, nor shall such provisions apply to any
1032 municipality whose boundaries are identical to the county within
1033 which said municipality is located.
1034 Section 15. Section 479.156, Florida Statutes, is amended
1035 to read:
1036 479.156 Wall murals.—Notwithstanding any other provision of
1037 this chapter, a municipality or county may permit and regulate
1038 wall murals within areas designated by such government. If a
1039 municipality or county permits wall murals, a wall mural that
1040 displays a commercial message and is within 660 feet of the
1041 nearest edge of the right-of-way within an area adjacent to the
1042 interstate highway system or the federal-aid primary highway
1043 system shall be located in an area that is zoned for industrial
1044 or commercial use and the municipality or county shall establish
1045 and enforce regulations for such areas that, at a minimum, set
1046 forth criteria governing the size, lighting, and spacing of wall
1047 murals consistent with the intent of 23 U.S.C. s. 131 the
1048 Highway Beautification Act of 1965 and with customary use.
1049 Whenever a municipality or county exercises such control and
1050 makes a determination of customary use pursuant to 23 U.S.C. s.
1051 131(d), such determination shall be accepted in lieu of controls
1052 in the agreement between the state and the United States
1053 Department of Transportation, and the department shall notify
1054 the Federal Highway Administration pursuant to the agreement, 23
1055 U.S.C. s. 131(d), and 23 C.F.R. s. 750.706(c). A wall mural that
1056 is subject to municipal or county regulation and 23 U.S.C. s.
1057 131 the Highway Beautification Act of 1965 must be approved by
1058 the Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway
1059 Administration when required by federal law and federal
1060 regulation under the agreement between the state and the United
1061 States Department of Transportation and federal regulations
1062 enforced by the Department of Transportation under s. 479.02(1).
1063 The existence of a wall mural as defined in s. 479.01(27)
1064 479.01(30) shall not be considered in determining whether a sign
1065 as defined in s. 479.01(18) 479.01(20), either existing or new,
1066 is in compliance with s. 479.07(9)(a).
1067 Section 16. Section 479.16, Florida Statutes, is amended to
1068 read:
1069 479.16 Signs for which permits are not required.—The
1070 following signs are exempt from the requirement that a permit
1071 for a sign be obtained under the provisions of this chapter but
1072 are required to comply with the provisions of s. 479.11(4)-(8),
1073 and the provisions of subsections (15)-(20) may not be
1074 implemented or continued if the Federal Government notifies the
1075 department that implementation or continuation will adversely
1076 affect the allocation of federal funds to the department:
1077 (1) Signs erected on the premises of an establishment,
1078 which signs consist primarily of the name of the establishment
1079 or which identify the principal or accessory merchandise,
1080 services, activities, or entertainment sold, produced,
1081 manufactured, or furnished on the premises of the establishment
1082 and which comply with the lighting restrictions under department
1083 rule adopted pursuant to s. 479.11(5), or signs owned by a
1084 municipality or a county located on the premises of such
1085 municipality or such county which display information regarding
1086 government services, activities, events, or entertainment. For
1087 purposes of this section, the following types of messages shall
1088 not be considered information regarding government services,
1089 activities, events, or entertainment:
1090 (a) Messages which specifically reference any commercial
1091 enterprise.
1092 (b) Messages which reference a commercial sponsor of any
1093 event.
1094 (c) Personal messages.
1095 (d) Political campaign messages.
1096
1097 If a sign located on the premises of an establishment consists
1098 principally of brand name or trade name advertising and the
1099 merchandise or service is only incidental to the principal
1100 activity, or if the owner of the establishment receives rental
1101 income from the sign, then the sign is not exempt under this
1102 subsection.
1103 (2) Signs erected, used, or maintained on a farm by the
1104 owner or lessee of such farm and relating solely to farm
1105 produce, merchandise, service, or entertainment sold, produced,
1106 manufactured, or furnished on such farm.
1107 (3) Signs posted or displayed on real property by the owner
1108 or by the authority of the owner, stating that the real property
1109 is for sale or rent. However, if the sign contains any message
1110 not pertaining to the sale or rental of that real property, then
1111 it is not exempt under this section.
1112 (4) Official notices or advertisements posted or displayed
1113 on private property by or under the direction of any public or
1114 court officer in the performance of her or his official or
1115 directed duties, or by trustees under deeds of trust or deeds of
1116 assignment or other similar instruments.
1117 (5) Danger or precautionary signs relating to the premises
1118 on which they are located; forest fire warning signs erected
1119 under the authority of the Florida Forest Service of the
1120 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; and signs,
1121 notices, or symbols erected by the United States Government
1122 under the direction of the United States Forestry Service.
1123 (6) Notices of any railroad, bridge, ferry, or other
1124 transportation or transmission company necessary for the
1125 direction or safety of the public.
1126 (7) Signs, notices, or symbols for the information of
1127 aviators as to location, directions, and landings and conditions
1128 affecting safety in aviation erected or authorized by the
1129 department.
1130 (8) Signs or notices erected or maintained upon property
1131 stating only the name of the owner, lessee, or occupant of the
1132 premises and not exceeding 16 8 square feet in area.
1133 (9) Historical markers erected by duly constituted and
1134 authorized public authorities.
1135 (10) Official traffic control signs and markers erected,
1136 caused to be erected, or approved by the department.
1137 (11) Signs erected upon property warning the public against
1138 hunting and fishing or trespassing thereon.
1139 (12) Signs not in excess of 16 8 square feet that are owned
1140 by and relate to the facilities and activities of churches,
1141 civic organizations, fraternal organizations, charitable
1142 organizations, or units or agencies of government.
1143 (13) Except that Signs placed on benches, transit shelters,
1144 modular news racks, street light poles, public pay telephones,
1145 and waste receptacles, within the right-of-way, as provided for
1146 in s. 337.408 are exempt from all provisions of this chapter.
1147 (14) Signs relating exclusively to political campaigns.
1148 (15) Signs not in excess of 16 square feet placed at a road
1149 junction with the State Highway System denoting only the
1150 distance or direction of a residence or farm operation, or,
1151 outside an incorporated in a rural area where a hardship is
1152 created because a small business is not visible from the road
1153 junction with the State Highway System, one sign not in excess
1154 of 16 square feet, denoting only the name of the business and
1155 the distance and direction to the business. The small-business
1156 sign provision of this subsection does not apply to charter
1157 counties and may not be implemented if the Federal Government
1158 notifies the department that implementation will adversely
1159 affect the allocation of federal funds to the department.
1160 (16) Signs placed by a local tourist-oriented business
1161 located within a rural area of critical economic concern, as
1162 defined by s. 288.0656(2)(d)and(e), and are:
1163 (a) Not more than 8 square feet in size or more than 4 feet
1164 in height;
1165 (b) Located only in rural areas, along non-limited access
1166 highways;
1167 (c) Located within 2 miles of the business location and are
1168 not less than 500 feet apart;
1169 (d) Located only in two directions leading to the business;
1170 and
1171 (e) Not located within the road right-of-way.
1172
1173 A business placing such signs must be at least 4 miles from any
1174 other business using this exemption and may not participate in
1175 any other department directional signage program.
1176 (17) Signs not in excess of 32 square feet placed
1177 temporarily during harvest season of a farm operation for a
1178 period of no more than 4 months at a road junction with the
1179 State Highway System denoting only the distance or direction of
1180 the farm operation.
1181 (18) Acknowledgement signs erected upon publicly funded
1182 school premises relating to a specific public school club, team,
1183 or event placed no closer than 1,000 feet from another
1184 acknowledgment sign on the same side of the roadway. All sponsor
1185 information on an acknowledgement sign may constitute no more
1186 than 100 square feet of the sign. As used in this subsection,
1187 the term “acknowledgement signs” means signs that are intended
1188 to inform the traveling public that a public school club, team,
1189 or event has been sponsored by a person, firm, or other entity.
1190 (19) Displays erected upon a sports facility which display
1191 content directly related to the facility’s activities and where
1192 a presence of the products or services offered on the property
1193 exists. Displays are to be mounted flush or flat to the surface
1194 of the sports facility and rely upon the building facade for
1195 structural support. For purposes of this subsection, the term
1196 “sports facility”, means any athletic complex, athletic arena,
1197 or athletic stadium, including physically connected parking
1198 facilities, which is open to the public and has a permanent
1199 installed seating capacity of 15,000 or more.
1200 (20) Signs related to Florida tourism, allowed by the
1201 department at welcome centers operated pursuant to s. 288.12265.
1202 Section 17. Section 479.24, Florida Statutes, is amended to
1203 read:
1204 479.24 Compensation for removal of signs; eminent domain;
1205 exceptions.—
1206 (1) Just compensation shall be paid by the department upon
1207 the department’s acquisition removal of a lawful conforming or
1208 nonconforming sign along any portion of the interstate or
1209 federal-aid primary highway system. This section does not apply
1210 to a sign which is illegal at the time of its removal. A sign
1211 will lose its nonconforming status and become illegal at such
1212 time as it fails to be permitted or maintained in accordance
1213 with all applicable laws, rules, ordinances, or regulations
1214 other than the provision which makes it nonconforming. A legal
1215 nonconforming sign under state law or rule will not lose its
1216 nonconforming status solely because it additionally becomes
1217 nonconforming under an ordinance or regulation of a local
1218 governmental entity passed at a later date. The department shall
1219 make every reasonable effort to negotiate the purchase of the
1220 signs to avoid litigation and congestion in the courts.
1221 (2) The department is not required to remove any sign under
1222 this section if the federal share of the just compensation to be
1223 paid upon removal of the sign is not available to make such
1224 payment, unless an appropriation by the Legislature for such
1225 purpose is made to the department.
1226 (3)(a) The department is authorized to use the power of
1227 eminent domain when necessary to carry out the provisions of
1228 this chapter.
1229 (b) If eminent domain procedures are instituted, just
1230 compensation shall be made pursuant to the state’s eminent
1231 domain procedures, chapters 73 and 74.
1232 Section 18. Section 479.25, Florida Statutes, is amended to
1233 read:
1234 479.25 Erection of noise-attenuation barrier blocking view
1235 of sign; procedures; application.—
1236 (1) The owner of a lawfully erected sign that is governed
1237 by and conforms to state and federal requirements for land use,
1238 size, height, and spacing may increase the height above ground
1239 level of such sign at its permitted location if a noise
1240 attenuation barrier is permitted by or erected by any
1241 governmental entity in such a way as to screen or block
1242 visibility of the sign. Any increase in height permitted under
1243 this section may only be the increase in height which is
1244 required to achieve the same degree of visibility from the
1245 right-of-way which the sign had prior to the construction of the
1246 noise-attenuation barrier, notwithstanding the restrictions
1247 contained in s. 479.07(9)(b). A sign reconstructed under this
1248 section shall comply with the building standards and wind load
1249 requirements set forth in the Florida Building Code. If
1250 construction of a proposed noise-attenuation barrier will screen
1251 a sign lawfully permitted under this chapter, the department
1252 shall provide notice to the local government or local
1253 jurisdiction within which the sign is located prior to
1254 construction erection of the noise-attenuation barrier. Upon a
1255 determination that an increase in the height of a sign as
1256 permitted under this section will violate a provision contained
1257 in an ordinance or land development regulation of the local
1258 government or local jurisdiction, prior to construction, the
1259 local government or local jurisdiction shall so notify the
1260 department. When notice has been received from the local
1261 government or local jurisdiction prior to erection of the noise
1262 attenuation barrier, the department shall:
1263 (a) Provide a variance or waiver to the local ordinance or
1264 land development regulations to Conduct a written survey of all
1265 property owners identified as impacted by highway noise and who
1266 may benefit from the proposed noise-attenuation barrier. The
1267 written survey shall inform the property owners of the location,
1268 date, and time of the public hearing described in paragraph (b)
1269 and shall specifically advise the impacted property owners that:
1270 1. Erection of the noise-attenuation barrier may block the
1271 visibility of an existing outdoor advertising sign;
1272 2. The local government or local jurisdiction may restrict
1273 or prohibit increasing the height of the existing outdoor
1274 advertising sign to make it visible over the barrier; and
1275 3. If a majority of the impacted property owners vote for
1276 construction of the noise-attenuation barrier, the local
1277 government or local jurisdiction will be required to:
1278 a. allow an increase in the height of the sign in violation
1279 of a local ordinance or land development regulation;
1280 (b)b. Allow the sign to be relocated or reconstructed at
1281 another location if the sign owner agrees; or
1282 (c)c. Pay the fair market value of the sign and its
1283 associated interest in the real property.
1284 (2)(b) The department shall hold Hold a public hearing
1285 within the boundaries of the affected local governments or local
1286 jurisdictions to receive input on the proposed noise-attenuation
1287 barrier and its conflict with the local ordinance or land
1288 development regulation and to suggest or consider alternatives
1289 or modifications to the proposed noise-attenuation barrier to
1290 alleviate or minimize the conflict with the local ordinance or
1291 land development regulation or minimize any costs that may be
1292 associated with relocating, reconstructing, or paying for the
1293 affected sign. The public hearing may be held concurrently with
1294 other public hearings scheduled for the project. The department
1295 shall provide a written notification to the local government or
1296 local jurisdiction of the date and time of the public hearing
1297 and shall provide general notice of the public hearing in
1298 accordance with the notice provisions of s. 335.02(1). The
1299 notice shall not be placed in that portion of a newspaper in
1300 which legal notices or classified advertisements appear. The
1301 notice shall specifically state that:
1302 (a)1. Erection of the proposed noise-attenuation barrier
1303 may block the visibility of an existing outdoor advertising
1304 sign;
1305 (b)2. The local government or local jurisdiction may
1306 restrict or prohibit increasing the height of the existing
1307 outdoor advertising sign to make it visible over the barrier;
1308 and
1309 (c)3. Upon If a majority of the impacted property owners
1310 vote for construction of the noise-attenuation barrier, the
1311 local government or local jurisdiction shall will be required
1312 to:
1313 1.a. Allow an increase in the height of the sign through a
1314 waiver or variance to in violation of a local ordinance or land
1315 development regulation;
1316 2.b. Allow the sign to be relocated or reconstructed at
1317 another location if the sign owner agrees; or
1318 3.c. Pay the fair market value of the sign and its
1319 associated interest in the real property.
1320 (3)(2) The department may shall not permit erection of the
1321 noise-attenuation barrier to the extent the barrier screens or
1322 blocks visibility of the sign until after the public hearing is
1323 held and until such time as the survey has been conducted and a
1324 majority of the impacted property owners have indicated approval
1325 to erect the noise-attenuation barrier. When the impacted
1326 property owners approve of the noise-attenuation barrier
1327 construction, the department shall notify the local governments
1328 or local jurisdictions. The local government or local
1329 jurisdiction shall, notwithstanding the provisions of a
1330 conflicting ordinance or land development regulation:
1331 (a) Issue a permit by variance or otherwise for the
1332 reconstruction of a sign under this section;
1333 (b) Allow the relocation of a sign, or construction of
1334 another sign, at an alternative location that is permittable
1335 under the provisions of this chapter, if the sign owner agrees
1336 to relocate the sign or construct another sign; or
1337 (c) Refuse to issue the required permits for reconstruction
1338 of a sign under this section and pay fair market value of the
1339 sign and its associated interest in the real property to the
1340 owner of the sign.
1341 (4)(3) This section does shall not apply to the provisions
1342 of any existing written agreement executed before July 1, 2006,
1343 between any local government and the owner of an outdoor
1344 advertising sign.
1345 Section 19. Subsection (1) of section 479.261, Florida
1346 Statutes, is amended to read:
1347 479.261 Logo sign program.—
1348 (1) The department shall establish a logo sign program for
1349 the rights-of-way of the limited access interstate highway
1350 system to provide information to motorists about available gas,
1351 food, lodging, camping, attractions, and other services, as
1352 approved by the Federal Highway Administration, at interchanges
1353 through the use of business logos and may include additional
1354 interchanges under the program.
1355 (a) As used in this chapter, the term “attraction” means an
1356 establishment, site, facility, or landmark that is open a
1357 minimum of 5 days a week for 52 weeks a year; that has as its
1358 principal focus family-oriented entertainment, cultural,
1359 educational, recreational, scientific, or historical activities;
1360 and that is publicly recognized as a bona fide tourist
1361 attraction.
1362 (b) The department shall incorporate the use of RV-friendly
1363 markers on specific information logo signs for establishments
1364 that cater to the needs of persons driving recreational
1365 vehicles. Establishments that qualify for participation in the
1366 specific information logo program and that also qualify as “RV
1367 friendly” may request the RV-friendly marker on their specific
1368 information logo sign. An RV-friendly marker must consist of a
1369 design approved by the Federal Highway Administration. The
1370 department shall adopt rules in accordance with chapter 120 to
1371 administer this paragraph, including rules setting forth the
1372 minimum requirements that establishments must meet in order to
1373 qualify as RV-friendly. These requirements shall include large
1374 parking spaces, entrances, and exits that can easily accommodate
1375 recreational vehicles and facilities having appropriate overhead
1376 clearances, if applicable.
1377 Section 20. Section 479.313, Florida Statutes, is amended
1378 to read:
1379 479.313 Permit revocation and cancellation; cost of
1380 removal.—All costs incurred by the department in connection with
1381 the removal of a sign located within a controlled area adjacent
1382 to the State Highway System, interstate highway system, or
1383 federal-aid primary highway system following the revocation or
1384 cancellation of the permit for such sign shall be assessed
1385 against and collected from the permittee.
1386 Section 21. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.