The Florida Senate

The purpose of this chapter is to promote and ensure safe ingress and egress to and from public roads of vehicular traffic by preventing the creation of hazardous conditions and locations in the construction of outdoor theaters.

For the purpose of this chapter, an outdoor theater is a place of outdoor assembly used for the showing of plays, operas, motion pictures, and similar forms of entertainment in which the audience views the performance from self-propelled vehicles parked within the theater enclosure. The requirements of this chapter shall not apply to existing outdoor theaters, but shall apply only to outdoor theaters which may be constructed after June 2, 1953.

All entrances and exits for outdoor theaters shall comply with the rules of the Department of Transportation for driveways from property abutting state highways and the following additional requirements:

Sufficient area shall be provided between the highway and the ramp area to provide storage space for vehicles equal to not less than 15 percent of the theater capacity, and of that storage space so provided not less than 5 percent of the theater capacity shall be provided between the highway and the ticket booth. In all cases, sufficient storage space shall be provided so that vehicles will not back on the traveled way of the highway. Storage area shall be calculated on the basis of 162 square feet per vehicle.

The screen shall be so oriented that the picture is not visible from any existing major road. This requirement does not apply to towers already erected. For the purpose of defining a “major road,” it shall be any road functionally classified as an arterial or collector road as designated by the Department of Transportation.

All entrance and exit driveways shall be adequately lighted and properly marked to avoid congestion and confusion and shall remain lighted throughout the performance and until the audience has left the area.

From and after October 1, 1977, it shall be unlawful for the tax collectors of the several counties of the state to issue state and county occupational licenses to any persons applying for the required license to operate an outdoor theater when the theater was completed after October 1, 1977, unless and until proof of compliance with the applicable provisions of this chapter and the regulations of the agency maintaining the access road is furnished by tendering and exhibiting to such tax collector at the time of making such application a qualifying certificate duly issued by the maintaining agency proving such compliance with such regulations, which shall as a minimum be those prescribed by the Department of Transportation for state-maintained roads. A new qualifying certificate for an outdoor facility shall be issued only when changes have been made relating to the above provisions. As the issuing authority deems necessary, additional inspections of an outdoor theater to determine whether such theater is continuing to meet the requirements of this law shall be made. The issuing authority shall have the authority to revoke a qualifying certificate for noncompliance.