Outdoor advertising displays: publicly owned property.

(1) The Outdoor Advertising Act regulates the placement of advertising signs adjacent to and within specified distances of certain highways. The act prohibits advertising displays from being placed or maintained on property adjacent to a section of a freeway that has been landscaped, with certain exceptions, and defines "landscaped freeway" for these purposes to mean a section or sections of a freeway that is now, or later may be, improved by the planting at least on one side or on the median of the freeway right-of-way of lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers, or other ornamental vegetation requiring reasonable maintenance. This bill would narrow the prohibition of the act to instead prohibit, except as specified, placing or maintaining advertising displays on property adjacent to a 1,000-foot or greater section of a freeway that has been landscaped with at least an average width of 20 feet, as defined, of landscaping or that includes trees on Department of Transportation-owned property at the same or elevated grade of the main-traveled way if the advertising display is designed to be viewed primarily by persons traveling on the main-traveled way of the landscaped freeway. The bill would require the department to determine the average width using a specified formula, would provide that all existing classifications are to remain in effect until the department receives a request for a new classification review in accordance with its regulations, and would authorize the department to charge a fee not to exceed $500, as specified, to conduct a classification review. (2) The Outdoor Advertising Act provides that planting for the purpose of soil erosion control; traffic safety requirements, including light screening; reduction of fire hazards; or traffic noise abatement does not change the character of a freeway to a landscaped freeway. This bill would expand that exemption by including planting for the purposes of covering soundwalls or fences. (3) The Outdoor Advertising Act does not prohibit a governmental entity from entering into a relocation agreement or the Department of Transportation from allowing any legally permitted advertising display to be increased in height at its permitted location or relocated if a noise attenuation barrier has been erected in front of the display or if a building, construction, or structure, as specified, has been or is then being erected by any government entity that obstructs the display's visibility within 500 feet of the display and the relocation of the display or increase in the height of the display would not cause a reduction in federal aid highway funds or an increase in the number of displays within the jurisdiction of a governmental entity that does not conform to the act. This bill would expand that exception by instead providing that the act does not prohibit any governmental entity from entering into a relocation agreement or the department from allowing any lawfully erected display to be increased in height at its permitted location or to be relocated provided the height increase or relocation would not cause a reduction in federal aid highway funds or an increase in the number of displays within the state that does not conform to the act. The bill would authorize a relocated advertising display to be converted to a message center pursuant to a relocation agreement. The bill would require the department to issue a permit, without any additional consideration, for any display that is being placed pursuant to a relocation agreement with another government entity if the relocated display conforms with specified provisions.