STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, )

)

Petitioner, )

) CASE NO. 75-407T

vs. ) DOCKET NO. 75-171-OA

)

MORELAND'S GUN SHOP, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

PURSUANT TO NOTICE, a hearing in this matter was held in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, Florida Statutes Chapter 120, on May 15, 1975, the Right-of-Way Conference Room Department of Transportation, Haydon Burns Building, Tallahassee, Florida, before Francis Bayley, Hearing Examiner.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Jay Hendrickson, Esquire

Counsel for Department of Transportation For Respondent: Respondent did not appear.

ISSUES

Whether Respondent was in violation of Subsection 479.07(1), Florida Statutes, providing for the permitting of outdoor advertising structures.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Respondent maintains an outdoor advertising sign adjacent to U.S. Highway 27 in Gadsden County, Florida. The sign is located approximately 1/2 mile South of the city limits of Havana. This sign has not been permitted in the years 1973 or 1974. No current permit tag was affixed to the sign as of May 12, 1975. Respondent has made no application to the Department of Transportation for a current permit.

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

2. A person must obtain a permit from the Department of Transportation for every outdoor advertising sign he wishes to use or maintain. Florida Statutes, Subsection 479.07(1), 1973. A permit tag must also be affixed to each advertising structure in the manner prescribed by Subsection 479.07(4), Florida Statutes, 1973. This latter Subsection also provides that the maintenance of an advertising structure without a current permit tag is prima facia evidence that the person using the structure is doing so in violation of the provisions of Chapter 479. Furthermore, Subsection 479.07(4), also provides that a sign maintained without a current permit tag is subject to removal by the Department.

3. The Legislature has declared that signs maintained in violation of any provisions of Chapter 479, such as the Respondent's sign, are a public nuisance. Section 479.17, Florida Statutes, 1973, directs the Department to remove such offending signs after the owner has been given thirty days written notice and an opportunity to present evidence as to why his sign is not in violation. This Respondent was given the required thirty day notice and a hearing was scheduled in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, Florida Statutes Chapter 120, 1974. The Respondent chose not to appear.

   
   

4. The Respondent's sign is in violation of Subsection 479.07(1) by not having the required permit. The Department should remove the sign in accordance with the provisions of Subsection 479.07(4) and Section 479.17.

RECOMMENDED ORDER: The Department shall remove the sign thirty (30) days after the Final Order is entered unless a current permit is obtained by the Respondent and attached to the sign.

FRANCIS BAYLEY

Hearing Examiner

Date: JUNE 23, 1975

Docket for Case No: 75-000407

Orders for Case No: 75-000407