House Bill hb0325e1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.