| 1 | The Justice Council recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to transportation access; amending s. |
| 7 | 704.01, F.S.; revising criteria for establishing a |
| 8 | statutory way of necessity exclusive of common-law right; |
| 9 | creating s. 166.0498, F.S.; prohibiting a municipality |
| 10 | from closing certain roads unless certain conditions are |
| 11 | complied with; specifying requirements; providing an |
| 12 | effective date. |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 704.01, Florida |
| 17 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 18 | 704.01 Common-law and statutory easements defined and |
| 19 | determined.-- |
| 20 | (2) STATUTORY WAY OF NECESSITY EXCLUSIVE OF COMMON-LAW |
| 21 | RIGHT.--Based on public policy, convenience, and necessity, a |
| 22 | statutory way of necessity exclusive of any common-law right |
| 23 | exists when any land or portion thereof outside any municipality |
| 24 | which is being used or desired to be used for a dwelling or |
| 25 | dwellings or for agricultural or for timber raising or cutting |
| 26 | or stockraising purposes shall be shut off or hemmed in by |
| 27 | lands, fencing, or other improvements of other persons so that |
| 28 | no practicable route of egress or ingress shall be available |
| 29 | therefrom to the nearest practicable public road or private road |
| 30 | in which the landlocked owner has vested easement rights. The |
| 31 | owner or tenant thereof, or anyone in their behalf, lawfully may |
| 32 | use and maintain an easement for persons, vehicles, stock, |
| 33 | franchised cable television service, and any utility service, |
| 34 | including, but not limited to, water, wastewater, reclaimed |
| 35 | water, natural gas, electricity, and telephone service, over, |
| 36 | under, through, and upon the lands which lie between the said |
| 37 | shut-off or hemmed-in lands and such public road or private road |
| 38 | in which the landlocked owner has vested easement rights by |
| 39 | means of the nearest practical route, considering the use to |
| 40 | which said lands are being put; and the use thereof, as |
| 41 | aforesaid, shall not constitute a trespass; nor shall the party |
| 42 | thus using the same be liable in damages for the use thereof,; |
| 43 | provided that such easement shall be used only in an orderly and |
| 44 | proper manner. |
| 45 | Section 2. Section 166.0498, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 46 | to read: |
| 47 | 166.0498 Closing of a road by a municipality.--A |
| 48 | municipality may not permanently close a road that crosses into |
| 49 | or through an adjoining municipality until the following |
| 50 | conditions have been met: |
| 51 | (1) The municipality closing the road must adopt an |
| 52 | ordinance and provide notice to the adjoining municipality of |
| 53 | the public hearing for the adoption of the ordinance. |
| 54 | (2) The closure may not leave an area within the adjoining |
| 55 | municipality with only one means of egress from or ingress into |
| 56 | the area. |
| 57 | (3) The closure must be reviewed by each municipality's |
| 58 | emergency services providers, including, but not limited to, |
| 59 | police and fire rescue, who must make a determination that the |
| 60 | road closure will not adversely impact the delivery of such |
| 61 | emergency services by an entity or adversely impact local or |
| 62 | regional emergency preparedness, including, but not limited to, |
| 63 | eliminating potential evacuation routes. |
| 64 | (4) The municipality that is closing the road must provide |
| 65 | signage, lighting, other necessary and appropriate safety |
| 66 | signals for traffic, and paved roundabouts or other turn-around |
| 67 | capability for all emergency vehicles on both sides of the |
| 68 | barrier. |
| 69 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |