Senate Bill sb0566c1
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Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 566
By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senators
Haridopolos, Crist and King
578-1790-06
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to outdoor advertising;
3 amending s. 479.106, F.S.; revising provisions
4 relating to the proximity of vegetation and
5 beautification projects to outdoor advertising
6 signs; specifying distances that constitute a
7 view zone on interstates, expressways,
8 federal-aid primary highways, and the State
9 Highway System for outdoor advertising signs;
10 authorizing the Department of Transportation
11 and owners of outdoor advertising signs to
12 enter into agreements identifying view zone
13 locations; requiring governmental entities and
14 other violators to pay for lost revenues or
15 sign market values for violation of view zone
16 requirements; providing for notice and a period
17 for curing violations; providing an exemption
18 from certain Department of Transportation
19 permit requirements; providing immunity from
20 legal liability for entities that provide
21 design services; amending s. 479.25, F.S.;
22 allowing permitted, conforming, lawfully
23 erected outdoor advertising signs to be
24 increased in height if visibility is blocked
25 due to construction of specified
26 noise-attenuation barriers; requiring that sign
27 reconstruction meet the requirements of the
28 Florida Building Code; providing alternative
29 actions that a local government or local
30 jurisdiction may take if an increase in the
31 height of a sign would violate an ordinance or
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Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 566
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1 land development regulation; providing that the
2 section does not apply to existing settlement
3 agreements between a local government and a
4 sign owner; providing an effective date.
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6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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8 Section 1. Subsection (6) of section 479.106, Florida
9 Statutes, is amended to read:
10 479.106 Vegetation management.--
11 (6) Beautification projects, trees, or other
12 vegetation shall not be planted or located in the view zone of
13 an area which will screen from view legally erected and
14 permitted outdoor advertising signs that which have been
15 permitted prior to the date of the beautification project or
16 other planting, where such planting will, at the time of
17 planting or after future growth, screen such sign from view.
18 View zones are established along the public rights-of-way of
19 interstates, expressways, federal-aid primary highways, and
20 the State Highway System in the state, excluding privately
21 owned property, as follows: a view zone of 350 linear feet for
22 posted speed limits of 35 m.p.h. or less; and a view zone of
23 500 linear feet for posted speed limits of over 35 m.p.h. The
24 established view zone shall be within the first 1,000 feet
25 measured along the edge of the pavement in the direction of
26 approaching traffic from a point on the edge of the pavement
27 perpendicular to the edge of the sign facing nearest the
28 highway and shall be continuous unless interrupted by existing
29 naturally occurring vegetation. The department and the sign
30 owner may enter into an agreement identifying the specific
31 location of the view zone for each sign facing. In the absence
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Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 566
578-1790-06
1 of such agreement, the established view zone shall be measured
2 from the sign along the edge of the pavement in the direction
3 of approaching traffic as provided in this section. Any
4 governmental entity or other party violating this subsection
5 shall pay to the sign owner a penalty equal to the lesser of
6 the revenue from the sign lost during the time of the
7 screening or the fair market value of the sign. However, the
8 governmental entity or other party allegedly violating this
9 subsection must be provided 90 days' written notice by the
10 sign owner of such alleged violation, and a penalty may not be
11 assessed if the alleged violation is cured by the governmental
12 entity or other party within the 90-day period. Any
13 modifications or removal of material within a beautification
14 project or other planting by the governmental entity or other
15 party to cure an alleged violation does not require the
16 issuance of a permit from the Department of Transportation if
17 not less than 48 hours' notice of the modification or removal
18 of the material is provided to the department. A natural
19 person, private corporation, or private partnership licensed
20 under part II of chapter 481 which provides design services
21 for beautification or other projects is not subject to a
22 penalty under this subsection if the initial project design
23 meets the requirements of this subsection.
24 Section 2. Section 479.25, Florida Statutes, is
25 amended to read:
26 479.25 Application of chapter.--
27 (1) The owner of a lawfully erected sign that is
28 governed by and conforms to state and federal requirements for
29 land use, size, height, and spacing may increase the height
30 above ground level of such sign This chapter does not prevent
31 a governmental entity from entering into an agreement allowing
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Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 566
578-1790-06
1 the height above ground level of a lawfully erected sign to be
2 increased at its permitted location if a noise-attenuation
3 barrier, visibility screen, or other highway improvement is
4 permitted by or erected by any governmental entity in such a
5 way as to screen or block visibility of the sign. However, if
6 a nonconforming sign is located on the federal-aid primary
7 highway system, as such system existed on June 1, 1991, or on
8 any highway that was not a part of such system as of that date
9 but that is or becomes after June 1, 1991, a part of the
10 National Highway System, the agreement must be approved by the
11 Federal Highway Administration. Any increase in height
12 permitted under this section may only be the increase in
13 height which is required to achieve the same degree of
14 visibility from the right-of-way which the sign had prior to
15 the construction of the noise-attenuation barrier,
16 notwithstanding the restrictions contained in s. 479.07(9)(b).
17 A sign reconstructed under this section shall comply with the
18 building standards and wind load requirements set forth in the
19 Florida Building Code.
20 (2) If an increase in the height of a sign as
21 permitted under this section will violate a provision of an
22 ordinance or land development regulation of a local government
23 or local jurisdiction, the provisions of such an ordinance or
24 regulation notwithstanding, the local government or local
25 jurisdiction shall choose by resolution to:
26 (a) Issue a permit by variance or otherwise for the
27 reconstruction of a sign under this section;
28 (b) Allow the relocation of a sign, or the
29 construction of another sign, at an alternative location if
30 the sign owner agrees to relocate the sign or construct
31 another sign;
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Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 566
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1 (c) Refuse to issue the required permits for
2 reconstruction of a sign under this section and pay to the
3 owner of the sign the fair market value of the sign and its
4 associated interest in the real property; or
5 (d) Notify the department that application of this
6 section will violate a provision of an ordinance or land
7 development regulation of the local government or local
8 jurisdiction and that the local government or local
9 jurisdiction prohibits the installation of the
10 noise-attenuation barrier to the extent that the barrier
11 screens or blocks visibility of the sign, whereupon the
12 department may not permit or erect the noise-attenuation
13 barrier to the extent that the barrier screens or blocks
14 visibility of the sign visibility screen, or other highway
15 improvement.
16 (3) This section does not apply to the provisions of
17 an existing settlement agreement between a local government
18 and the owner of an outdoor advertising sign if the agreement
19 was executed before the effective date of this act.
20 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
21 law.
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Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 566
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1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
2 Senate Bill 566
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4 The committee substitute (CS) establishes view zones on the
public rights-of-way for interstates, expressways,
5 federal-aide primary highways, and the State Highway System,
excluding privately owned property. It reduces the view zone
6 to 350 linear feet where the speed limit is 35 m.p.h. or less
and keeps the view zone at 500 linear feet where the speed
7 limit is over 35 m.p.h. This CS provides a 90-day window,
after receiving written notice from the sign owner, for the
8 governmental entity or other party to cure the alleged
violation in order to avoid a penalty. A governmental entity
9 or other party is exempt from permit requirements of the
Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for modifying or
10 removing material from a beautification project or other
planting to cure an alleged violation if the department
11 receives not less than 48 hours' notice.
12 Under this CS, if the increase in the height of a sign to
achieve the same visibility before the construction of a
13 noise-attenuation barrier violates a local ordinance or land
development regulation, a local government is required to:
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o Issue a variance or other approval for
15 reconstruction of the sign;
16 o Allow the relocation of a sign or construction at an
alternative location with the sign owner's consent;
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o Deny the permit and pay the sign owner fair market
18 value for the sign and its associated interest in
real property; or
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o Notify FDOT of the conflict with local regulations
20 and then FDOT may not permit or erect the barrier so
that it screens or blocks visibility of the sign.
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In addition, this CS exempts existing settlement agreements
22 between a local government and a sign owner from the
provisions of this bill addressing a sign that has lower
23 visibility because of a noise attention barrier.
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