House Bill hb0325e1

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                                           HB 325, First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to road designations;

  3         designating a specified portion of Le Jeune

  4         Road in the City of Coral Gables and the City

  5         of Miami in Miami-Dade County as a state

  6         historic road; prohibiting the expenditure of

  7         state funds for certain purposes; providing

  8         construction of the act; directing the Division

  9         of Historical Resources of the Department of

10         State to provide for the erection of suitable

11         markers; providing an effective date.

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13         WHEREAS, the master plan of the City of Coral Gables,

14  created in the early 1920's, was a singular achievement

15  unequaled in its blend of beauty and practicality and

16  unsurpassed in its foresight, and

17         WHEREAS, that portion of Le Jeune Road situated within

18  the corporate limits of the City of Coral Gables and lying

19  between U.S. Highway 1 and Cartagena Plaza is a roadway graced

20  by huge mahogany trees that have matured for at least 40

21  years, forming a canopy for the roadway that offers shade to

22  residents and passersby and thereby creating the beauty and

23  repose sought by the founder of the City of Coral Gables,

24  George E. Merrick, and

25         WHEREAS, the citizens of the City of Coral Gables have

26  expressed their unalterable opposition to the widening of this

27  portion of Le Jeune Road, to the alteration of its appearance,

28  or to its utilization as a north-south arterial highway, and

29         WHEREAS, the citizens of the City of Coral Gables

30  desire to maintain the historic and aesthetic beauty of this

31  portion of Le Jeune Road, NOW, THEREFORE,


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                                           HB 325, First Engrossed



  1  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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  3         Section 1.  That portion of Le Jeune Road situated

  4  within the corporate limits of the City of Coral Gables and

  5  the City of Miami and lying between U.S. Highway 1 and

  6  Cartagena Plaza is hereby designated as a state historic road.

  7  No state funds shall be expended by any public body or agency

  8  for the following purposes:

  9         (1)  To widen or broaden that portion of Le Jeune Road

10  described in this section or to alter its physical dimensions

11  or location.

12         (2)  To alter, remove, or replace any landscaping of

13  that portion of Le Jeune Road described in this section, which

14  shall include any mahogany trees on either side of the paved

15  surface of the road.

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17  Nothing in this act shall be construed to prevent the ordinary

18  maintenance and repair of that portion of Le Jeune Road

19  situated within the corporate limits of the City of Coral

20  Gables and the City of Miami and lying between U.S. Highway 1

21  and Cartagena Plaza, provided the physical dimensions and

22  location of the highway are preserved; nor to prevent the

23  removal or replacement of any landscaping, including any

24  mahogany trees located on either side of the paved surface of

25  the road, if such landscaping is determined by the appropriate

26  governmental authority to be diseased or damaged; nor to

27  prevent any work that is necessary for the public health or

28  safety as determined by the agency having jurisdiction over

29  the portion of Le Jeune Road described in this section; nor to

30  prevent the removal of invasive plant species on the roadway

31  or right-of-way; nor to prevent such action deemed necessary


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                                           HB 325, First Engrossed



  1  to clear or maintain the road subsequent to a natural disaster

  2  such as a hurricane. The term "ordinary maintenance" means

  3  those activities necessary to preserve the existing traffic

  4  patterns and to accommodate the volume of traffic operating on

  5  that portion of Le Jeune Road described in this section on the

  6  effective date of this act. However, the preservation of the

  7  portion of Le Jeune Road described in this section and its

  8  landscaping take priority over considerations of traffic

  9  management, and the public safety shall not be construed to

10  require alterations in that portion of Le Jeune Road described

11  in this section or its landscaping when alternative means of

12  promoting safety, including more restrictive regulations, are

13  available.

14         Section 2.  The Division of Historical Resources of the

15  Department of State shall provide for the erection of suitable

16  markers on and along that portion of Le Jeune Road described

17  in section 1 of this act.

18         Section 3.  The provisions of this act shall not

19  supersede a more restrictive law, ordinance, or rule already

20  in effect or taking effect after the effective date of this

21  act.

22         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

23  law.

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