Notice of Development of Rulemaking

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Rule No.: RULE TITLE
14-10.0052: Zoning Enacted Primarily to Permit Outdoor Advertising Signs
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The amendments will implement changes to Section 479.01, F.S., relating to the permitting of outdoor advertising signs, as enacted by the 2010 Legislature.
SUBJECT AREA TO BE ADDRESSED: The amendments address the zoning requirements for the permitting of outdoor advertising signs.
SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: 334.044(2), 479.02(7) FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 479.07(10) FS.
A RULE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:
DATE AND TIME: September 9, 2010, 1:30 p.m.
PLACE: Florida Department of Transportation, Haydon Burns Building, Room 479, 605 Suwannee Street, Mail Station 58, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0458
Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this workshop/meeting is asked to advise the agency at least 7 days before the workshop/meeting by contacting: Deanna R. Hurt, Assistant General Counsel and Clerk of Agency Proceedings, Florida Department of Transportation, Office of the General Counsel, 605 Suwannee Street, Mail Station 58, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0458. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida Relay Service, 1(800)955-8771 (TDD) or 1(800)955-8770 (Voice).
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT AND A COPY OF THE PRELIMINARY DRAFT, IF AVAILABLE, IS: Deanna R. Hurt, Assistant General Counsel and Clerk of Agency Proceedings, Florida Department of Transportation, Office of the General Counsel, 605 Suwannee Street, Mail Station 58, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0458

THE PRELIMINARY TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT IS:

14-10.0052 Zoning Enacted Primarily to Permit Outdoor Advertising Signs.

(1) Definitions:

(a) “Comprehensively Enacted Zoning” means ordinances or other laws adopted by the county or municipal government pertaining to and designating the currently allowable uses of property within its jurisdiction, pursuant to and consistent with a comprehensive plan enacted in accordance with Chapter 163, F.S.

(b) “Parcel” means all contiguous lands under a single ownership and having a single zoning category assigned.

(c) The terms “allowable uses,” “commercial use,” “industrial use,” and “zoning category” shall be as defined in Section 479.01, F.S.

(2) Where the sign site is in an area of the Future Land Use Map in which the allowable uses include commercial or industrial land uses, the Land Development Regulations will determine whether the parcel on which the sign is located or proposed to be located is designated for commercial or industrial uses, as follows:

(a) A parcel will be determined to be designated for commercial or industrial uses if the Land Development Regulations indicate the nature of the zoning category to be essentially commercial or industrial. In making this determination the Department will consider:

1. Any statement in the Land Development Regulations indicating the intended nature of the zoning category;

2. The ratio of commercial and industrial uses to non-commercial and non-industrial uses within the allowable uses for the zoning category;

3. Any documentation within the Land Development Regulations indicating the intended extent of commercial and industrial uses to be allowed within the zoning category.

4. Any actual use which may exist on the parcel.

(b) If the Land Development Regulations do not designate the parcel for commercial or industrial uses but the allowable uses within the assigned zoning category include commercial or industrial uses in addition to other uses, the parcel shall be evaluated in accordance with the criteria set forth in Section 479.01(26), F.S., to determine whether the parcel can be considered an unzoned commercial or industrial area. For the purposes of this determination, an existing activity will be considered conforming when it is conforming as to land use. In addition to the activities listed in Section 479.01(26), F.S., the following uses shall not be considered commercial or industrial for the purposes of this rule:

1. Infrastructure, to mean the man-made structures which serve the common needs of the population, such as: sewage collection systems; potable water distribution systems; potable water wells serving a system; retention areas; stormwater systems; utility distribution systems; breakwaters; bulkheads; seawalls; bulwarks; revetments; causeways; navigation channels; bridges; and roadways.

2. Governmental uses to mean a governmental activity that is expressly or impliedly mandated or authorized by constitution, statute, or other law and that is carried out for the benefit of the general public, excluding governmental activities which are commercial or industrial in nature and would be so classified if privately owned and/or operated.

3. Uses which are not included in the allowable uses for the zoning category.

(3) Where a parcel is subject to zoning which is time-limited or the zoning is granted subject to the completion of a specified condition and the time limit or condition has not been satisfied, the zoning category assigned immediately prior to the time-limited or conditional zoning action shall determine whether the parcel is a commercial or industrial zone. The time limit or specified condition referenced herein does not include those conditions which a zoning authority may impose on the permitting of an allowable use within the zoning category, such as conditional uses or uses allowed by special exception.

(4) Even if comprehensively enacted, the following criteria, including public records related thereto, shall be considered in determining whether such zoning is enacted primarily to permit signs:

(a) Whether the size of the property and the public access to the property would be sufficient, given set back requirements, vehicular access requirements, and parking needs, to conduct any of the allowable commercial or industrial uses, other than signs, under the zoning category; The land use or zoning designation provides for limited commercial or industrial activity only as an incident to other primary land uses.

(b) Whether the property shares a common boundary with other properties designated for commercial or industrial uses; The commercial and industrial activities, separately or together, are permitted only by variance or special exceptions.

(c) The physical dimensions or other attributes of the affected parcel would not reasonably accommodate traditional commercial or industrial uses and the area surrounding the affected parcel is not predominantly commercial or industrial.

Rulemaking Specific Authority 334.044(2), 479.02(7) FS. Law Implemented 479.07(10) FS. History–New 3-16-04, Amended 5-5-05,_______.