Florida Senate - 2013 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1632
Barcode 104756
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: WD .
04/10/2013 .
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The Committee on Rules (Latvala) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 1007 - 1227
4 and insert:
5 (c) Notwithstanding subparagraph (a)1., there is
6 established a pilot program in Orange, Hillsborough, and Osceola
7 Counties, and within the boundaries of the City of Miami, under
8 which the distance between permitted signs on the same side of
9 an interstate highway may be reduced to 1,000 feet if all other
10 requirements of this chapter are met and if:
11 1. The local government has adopted a plan, program,
12 resolution, ordinance, or other policy encouraging the voluntary
13 removal of signs in a downtown, historic, redevelopment, infill,
14 or other designated area which also provides for a new or
15 replacement sign to be erected on an interstate highway within
16 that jurisdiction if a sign in the designated area is removed;
17 2. The sign owner and the local government mutually agree
18 to the terms of the removal and replacement; and
19 3. The local government notifies the department of its
20 intention to allow such removal and replacement as agreed upon
21 pursuant to subparagraph 2.
22 4. The new or replacement sign to be erected on an
23 interstate highway within that jurisdiction is to be located on
24 a parcel of land specifically designated for commercial or
25 industrial use under both the future land use map of the
26 comprehensive plan and the land use development regulations
27 adopted pursuant to chapter 163, and such parcel shall not be
28 subject to an evaluation in accordance with the criteria set
29 forth in s. 479.01(26) to determine if the parcel can be
30 considered an unzoned commercial or industrial area.
31
32 The department shall maintain statistics tracking the use of the
33 provisions of this pilot program based on the notifications
34 received by the department from local governments under this
35 paragraph.
36 (d) This subsection does not cause a sign that was
37 conforming on October 1, 1984, to become nonconforming.
38 (10) Commercial or industrial zoning that which is not
39 comprehensively enacted or that which is enacted primarily to
40 permit signs may shall not be recognized as commercial or
41 industrial zoning for purposes of this provision, and permits
42 may shall not be issued for signs in such areas. The department
43 shall adopt rules that within 180 days after this act takes
44 effect which shall provide criteria to determine whether such
45 zoning is comprehensively enacted or enacted primarily to permit
46 signs.
47 Section 10. Section 479.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to
48 read:
49 479.08 Denial or revocation of permit.—The department may
50 deny or revoke any permit requested or granted under this
51 chapter in any case in which it determines that the application
52 for the permit contains knowingly false or misleading
53 information of material consequence. The department may revoke
54 any permit granted under this chapter in any case in which the
55 permittee has violated any of the provisions of this chapter,
56 unless such permittee, within 30 days after the receipt of
57 notice by the department, complies with the provisions of this
58 chapter. For the purpose of this section, the notice of
59 violation issued by the department must describe in detail the
60 alleged violation. Any person aggrieved by any action of the
61 department in denying or revoking a permit under this chapter
62 may, within 30 days after receipt of the notice, apply to the
63 department for an administrative hearing pursuant to chapter
64 120. If a timely request for hearing has been filed and the
65 department issues a final order revoking a permit, such
66 revocation shall be effective 30 days after the date of
67 rendition. Except for department action pursuant to s.
68 479.107(1), the filing of a timely and proper notice of appeal
69 shall operate to stay the revocation until the department’s
70 action is upheld.
71 Section 11. Section 479.10, Florida Statutes, is amended to
72 read:
73 479.10 Sign removal following permit revocation or
74 cancellation.—A sign shall be removed by the permittee within 30
75 days after the date of revocation or cancellation of the permit
76 for the sign. If the permittee fails to remove the sign within
77 the 30-day period, the department shall remove the sign at the
78 permittee’s expense with or without further notice and without
79 incurring any liability as a result of such removal.
80 Section 12. Section 479.105, Florida Statutes, is amended
81 to read:
82 479.105 Signs erected or maintained without required
83 permit; removal.—
84 (1) Any sign which is located adjacent to the right-of-way
85 of any highway on the State Highway System outside an
86 incorporated area or adjacent to the right-of-way on any portion
87 of the interstate or federal-aid primary highway system, which
88 sign was erected, operated, or maintained without the permit
89 required by s. 479.07(1) having been issued by the department,
90 is declared to be a public nuisance and a private nuisance and
91 shall be removed as provided in this section.
92 (a) Upon a determination by the department that a sign is
93 in violation of s. 479.07(1), the department shall prominently
94 post on the sign, or as close to the sign as possible for those
95 locations where the sign is not easily accessible, face a notice
96 stating that the sign is illegal and must be removed within 30
97 days after the date on which the notice was posted. However, if
98 the sign bears the name of the licensee or the name and address
99 of the nonlicensed sign owner, The department shall,
100 concurrently with and in addition to posting the notice on the
101 sign, provide a written notice to the owner of the sign, the
102 advertiser displayed on the sign, or the owner of the property,
103 stating that the sign is illegal and must be permanently removed
104 within the 30-day period specified on the posted notice. The
105 written notice shall further state that a hearing may be
106 requested, the sign owner has a right to request a hearing,
107 which request must be filed with the department within 30 days
108 after receipt the date of the written notice. However, the
109 filing of a request for a hearing will not stay the removal of
110 the sign.
111 (b) If, pursuant to the notice provided, the sign is not
112 removed by the sign owner of the sign, the advertiser displayed
113 on the sign, or the owner of the property within the prescribed
114 period, the department shall immediately remove the sign without
115 further notice; and, for that purpose, the employees, agents, or
116 independent contractors of the department may enter upon private
117 property without incurring any liability for so entering.
118 (c) However, the department may issue a permit for a sign,
119 as a conforming or nonconforming sign, if the sign owner
120 demonstrates to the department one of the following:
121 1. If the sign meets the current requirements of this
122 chapter for a sign permit, the sign owner may submit the
123 required application package and receive a permit as a
124 conforming sign, upon payment of all applicable fees.
125 2. If the sign does not meet the current requirements of
126 this chapter for a sign permit, the sign owner may receive a
127 permit as a nonconforming sign if the department determines that
128 the sign is not located on state right-of-way and is not a
129 safety hazard and if the sign owner pays a penalty fee of $300
130 and all pertinent fees required by this chapter, including
131 annual permit renewal fees payable since the date of the
132 erection of the sign, and attaches to the permit application
133 package documentation that demonstrates that:
134 a. The sign has been unpermitted, structurally unchanged,
135 and continuously maintained at the same location for a period of
136 7 years or more;
137 b. During the entire period in which the sign has been
138 erected, a permit was required but was not obtained;
139 c. During the initial 7 years in which the sign has been
140 erected, the sign would have met the criteria established in
141 this chapter at that time for issuance of a permit; and
142 d. The department has not initiated a notice of violation
143 or taken other action to remove the sign during the initial 7
144 year period.
145 (d) This subsection does not cause a neighboring sign that
146 is permitted and that is within the spacing requirements in s.
147 479.07(9)(a) to become nonconforming.
148 (e)(c) For purposes of this subsection, a notice to the
149 sign owner, when required, constitutes sufficient notice; and
150 notice is not required to be provided to the lessee, advertiser,
151 or the owner of the real property on which the sign is located.
152 (f)(d) If, after a hearing, it is determined that a sign
153 has been wrongfully or erroneously removed pursuant to this
154 subsection, the department, at the sign owner’s discretion,
155 shall either pay just compensation to the owner of the sign or
156 reerect the sign in kind at the expense of the department.
157 (e) However, if the sign owner demonstrates to the
158 department that:
159 1. The sign has been unpermitted, structurally unchanged,
160 and continuously maintained at the same location for a period of
161 7 years or more;
162 2. At any time during the period in which the sign has been
163 erected, the sign would have met the criteria established in
164 this chapter for issuance of a permit;
165 3. The department has not initiated a notice of violation
166 or taken other action to remove the sign during the initial 7
167 year period described in subparagraph 1.; and
168 4. The department determines that the sign is not located
169 on state right-of-way and is not a safety hazard,
170
171 the sign may be considered a conforming or nonconforming sign
172 and may be issued a permit by the department upon application in
173 accordance with this chapter and payment of a penalty fee of
174 $300 and all pertinent fees required by this chapter, including
175 annual permit renewal fees payable since the date of the
176 erection of the sign.
177 (2)(a) If a sign is under construction and the department
178 determines that a permit has not been issued for the sign as
179 required under the provisions of this chapter, the department is
180 authorized to require that all work on the sign cease until the
181 sign owner shows that the sign does not violate the provisions
182 of this chapter. The order to cease work shall be prominently
183 posted on the sign structure, and no further notice is required
184 to be given. The failure of a sign owner or her or his agents to
185 immediately comply with the order shall subject the sign to
186 prompt removal by the department.
187 (b) For the purposes of this subsection only, a sign is
188 under construction when it is in any phase of initial
189 construction prior to the attachment and display of the
190 advertising message in final position for viewing by the
191 traveling public. A sign that is undergoing routine maintenance
192 or change of the advertising message only is not considered to
193 be under construction for the purposes of this subsection.
194 (3) The cost of removing a sign, whether by the department
195 or an independent contractor, shall be assessed against the
196 owner of the sign by the department.
197 Section 13. Subsections (5) and (7) of section 479.106,
198 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
199 479.106 Vegetation management.—
200 (5) The department may only grant a permit pursuant to s.
201 479.07 for a new sign which requires the removal, cutting, or
202 trimming of existing trees or vegetation on public right-of-way
203 for the sign face to be visible from the highway when the sign
204 owner has removed at least two nonconforming signs of
205 approximate comparable size and surrendered the permits for the
206 nonconforming signs to the department for cancellation. For
207 signs originally permitted after July 1, 1996, the first
208 application, or application for a change of view zone, no permit
209 for the removal, cutting, or trimming of trees or vegetation
210 shall require, in addition to mitigation or contribution to a
211 plan of mitigation, the removal of two nonconforming signs. No
212 permits for the removal, cutting, or trimming of trees may be
213 granted for signs permitted after July 1, 1996 be granted where
214 such trees or vegetation are part of a beautification project
215 implemented before prior to the date of the original sign permit
216 application, when the beautification project is specifically
217 identified in the department’s construction plans, permitted
218 landscape projects, or agreements.
219 (7) Any person engaging in removal, cutting, or trimming of
220 trees or vegetation in violation of this section or benefiting
221 from such actions shall be subject to an administrative penalty
222 of up to $1,000 for each tree removed, cut, or trimmed in
223 violation of this section and required to mitigate for the
224 unauthorized removal, cutting, or trimming in such manner and in
225 such amount as may be required under the rules of the
226 department. Any person engaging in removal, cutting, or trimming
227 of other vegetation in violation of this section or benefiting
228 from such actions shall be subject to a separate and additional
229 administrative penalty of $1,000 per sign facing and required to
230 mitigate for the unauthorized removal, cutting, or trimming in
231 such manner and in such amount as may be required under the
232 rules of the department.
233 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
234 And the title is amended as follows:
235 Delete lines 60 - 75
236 and insert:
237 requirements for signs on certain highways; deleting
238 certain sign placement criteria used in a pilot
239 program relating to placement and revising a permit
240 reinstatement fee; amending s. 479.08, F.S.;
241 clarifying provisions relating to the denial or
242 revocation of a permit because of false or misleading
243 information in the permit application; amending s.
244 479.10, F.S.; providing for cancellation of a permit;
245 amending s. 479.105, F.S.; revising notice
246 requirements to owners and advertisers relating to
247 signs erected or maintained without a permit; revising
248 procedures providing for the department to issue a
249 permit as a conforming or nonconforming sign to the
250 owner of an unpermitted sign; amending s. 479.106,
251 F.S.; increasing an administrative penalty for
252 illegally removing certain trees and providing a
253 separate administrative penalty for illegally removing
254 vegetation; amending s. 479.107,