Outdoor advertising.

The Outdoor Advertising Act regulates placement of advertising displays adjacent to and within specified distances of highways that are part of the national system of interstate and defense highways and federal-aid highways. The act provides that lawfully erected advertising displays include displays that were erected in compliance with state laws and local ordinances in effect at the time of their erection or displays that were subsequently brought into full compliance with state laws and local ordinances. The act provides that an advertising display whose use is modified after erection in a manner that causes it to become illegal is not a lawfully erected display. The act establishes a rebuttable presumption that an advertising display is lawfully erected if it has been in existence for a period of 5 years or longer without the owner having received written notice during that period from a governmental entity indicating that the display was not lawfully erected. The act requires compensation to be paid to the owner of a lawfully erected advertising display if the display is compelled to be removed or its customary maintenance or use is limited, except as specified. This bill would additionally provide that an advertising display whose height, orientation, or size is modified after erection in a manner that causes it to become illegal is not a lawfully erected display. The bill would provide that a lawfully erected advertising display includes displays that were subsequently brought into, and maintained in, full compliance with state laws, local ordinances, and building permits. The bill would delete the provisions establishing the rebuttable presumption regarding an advertising display in existence for a period of 5 years or longer. The bill would instead establish a rebuttable presumption that an advertising display is lawfully erected if it was in existence prior to January 1, 1984. The bill would also authorize advertising displays that are subsequently altered in violation of the terms of a building permit to be removed without compensation. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.