The Florida Senate

479.15  Harmony of regulations.--

(1)  No zoning board or commission or other public officer or agency shall issue a permit to erect any sign which is prohibited under the provisions of this chapter or the rules of the department, nor shall the department issue a permit for any sign which is prohibited by any other public board, officer, or agency in the lawful exercise of its powers.

(2)  A municipality, county, local zoning authority, or other local governmental entity may not remove, or cause to be removed, any lawfully erected sign along any portion of the interstate or federal-aid primary highway system without first paying just compensation for such removal. A local governmental entity may not cause in any way the alteration of any lawfully erected sign located along any portion of the interstate or federal-aid primary highway system without payment of just compensation if such alteration constitutes a taking under state law. The municipality, county, local zoning authority, or other local government entity that adopts requirements for such alteration shall pay just compensation to the sign owner if such alteration constitutes a taking under state law. This subsection applies only to a lawfully erected sign the subject matter of which relates to premises other than the premises on which it is located or to merchandise, services, activities, or entertainment not sold, produced, manufactured, or furnished on the premises on which the sign is located. As used in this subsection, the term "federal-aid primary highway system" means the federal-aid primary highway system in existence on June 1, 1991, and any highway that was not a part of such system as of that date but that is or becomes after June 1, 1991, a part of the National Highway System. This subsection shall not be interpreted as explicit or implicit legislative recognition that alterations do or do not constitute a taking under state law.

(3)  It is the express intent of the Legislature to limit the state right-of-way acquisition costs on state and federal roads in eminent domain proceedings, the provisions of ss. 479.07 and 479.155 notwithstanding. Subject to approval by the Federal Highway Administration, whenever public acquisition of land upon which is situated a lawful nonconforming sign occurs, as provided in this chapter, the sign may, at the election of its owner and the department, be relocated or reconstructed adjacent to the new right-of-way along the roadway within 100 feet of the current location, provided the nonconforming sign is not relocated on a parcel zoned residential, and provided further that such relocation shall be subject to applicable setback requirements. The sign owner shall pay all costs associated with relocating or reconstructing any sign under this subsection, and neither the state nor any local government shall reimburse the sign owner for such costs, unless part of such relocation costs are required by federal law. If no adjacent property is available for the relocation, the department shall be responsible for paying the owner of the sign just compensation for its removal.

(4)  Such relocation shall be adjacent to the current site and the face of the sign shall not be increased in size or height or structurally modified at the point of relocation in a manner inconsistent with the current building codes of the jurisdiction in which the sign is located.

(5)  In the event that relocation can be accomplished but is inconsistent with the ordinances of the municipality or county within whose jurisdiction the sign is located, the ordinances of the local government shall prevail, provided that the local government shall assume the responsibility to provide the owner of the sign just compensation for its removal, but in no event shall compensation paid by the local government exceed the compensation required under state or federal law. Further, the provisions of this section shall not impair any agreement or future agreements between a municipality or county and the owner of a sign or signs within the jurisdiction of the municipality or county. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to cause a nonconforming sign to become conforming solely as a result of the relocation allowed in this section.

(6)  The provisions of subsections (3), (4), and (5) of this section shall not apply within the jurisdiction of any municipality which is engaged in any litigation concerning its sign ordinance on April 23, 1999, nor shall such provisions apply to any municipality whose boundaries are identical to the county within which said municipality is located.

History.--s. 13, ch. 20446, 1941; s. 5, ch. 67-461; ss. 23, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 74-273; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 15, 25, 26, ch. 84-227; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 41, ch. 94-237; s. 65, ch. 99-385; s. 5, ch. 2002-13.