February 18, 2015, Introduced by Rep. Farrington and referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
A bill to amend 1972 PA 106, entitled
"Highway advertising act of 1972,"
by amending sections 6 and 19 (MCL 252.306 and 252.319), section 6
as amended by 2014 PA 2 and section 19 as amended by 2006 PA 448.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 6. (1) A sign owner shall apply for an annual permit on a
form prescribed by the department for each sign or sign structure
to be maintained or erected in an adjacent area where the facing of
the sign or sign structure is visible from a regulated route. The
form shall require the name and business address of the applicant,
the name and address of the owner of the property on which the sign
or sign structure is to be located, the date the sign or sign
structure, if currently maintained, was erected, the zoning
classification of the property, a precise description of where the
sign or sign structure is or will be situated and a certification
that the sign or sign structure is not prohibited by section 18(a),
(b), (c), or (d) and that the sign or sign structure does not
violate any provisions of this act. The sign permit application
shall include a statement signed by the owner of the land on which
the sign or sign structure is to be placed, acknowledging that no
trees or shrubs in the adjacent highway right-of-way may be
removed, trimmed, or in any way damaged or destroyed without the
written authorization of the department. The department may require
documentation to verify the zoning, the consent of the land owner,
and any other matter considered essential to the evaluation of
compliance with this act. A sign owner shall apply for a separate
annual permit for each sign or sign structure for each regulated
route subject to this act from which the facing of the sign or sign
structure is visible.
(2) The owner of a sign or sign structure shall apply for an
annual permit for each sign or sign structure that becomes subject
to the permit requirements of this act because of a change in
highway designation or other reason not within the control of the
sign owner within 2 months after receiving notice from the
department that the sign or sign structure is subject to the permit
requirements of this act. Both of the following apply to an annual
permit issued under this subsection:
(a) The annual permit is not subject to section 7a.
(b) The annual permit may not be surrendered for an interim
permit under section 7a(3).
(3)
In Subject to subsection
(4), in addition to an annual
permit under subsection (1), a sign owner shall apply for and the
department shall issue a digital billboard permit for each digital
billboard that is not a nonconforming sign and that meets the
requirements of section 17(3) to be maintained or erected in an
adjacent area where the facing of the sign or sign structure is
visible from a regulated route. The information provided by an
applicant under this subsection shall be on a form prescribed by
the department. A sign owner shall apply for a separate digital
billboard permit for each sign or sign structure allowed under
section 17(3) for each regulated route from which the facing of the
sign or sign structure is visible. The owner of a sign or sign
structure shall apply for a digital billboard permit for each
digital billboard that becomes subject to the permit requirements
of this act because of a change in highway designation or other
reason not within the control of the sign owner within 2 months
after receiving notice from the department that the sign or sign
structure is subject to the permit requirements of this act. Both
of the following apply to a digital billboard permit issued under
this subsection:
(a) The digital billboard permit is not subject to section 7a.
(b) The digital billboard permit may not be surrendered for an
interim permit under section 7a(3).
(4)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, within 90
days
after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this
subsection,
the The owner of a digital billboard that was legally
erected
before the effective date of the amendatory act that added
this
subsection shall apply for, and the department shall issue, a
digital
billboard permit. A digital billboard permitted under this
subsection
or subsection (5) is exempt from section 17(3), and the
department
shall not require any form of consideration for a
digital
billboard permitted under this subsection or subsection (5)
other
than payment of the appropriate application fee and annual
renewal
fees as required under this act.January
30, 2014 is exempt
from subsection (3).
(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, if, on
the
effective date of the amendatory act that added this
subsection,
January 30, 2014, an individual has obtained location
approval from the department and approval from the local unit of
government having jurisdiction of that location to erect a digital
billboard, he or she shall apply for, and the department shall
issue, a digital billboard permit.
(6) Both of the following apply to the owner of a nonstandard
sign:
(a) In addition to an annual permit under subsection (1), the
owner of a nonstandard sign may apply for a digital billboard
permit to erect and maintain a digital billboard on a nonstandard
sign by applying for a digital billboard permit on a form
prescribed by the department, paying the required fee, and
surrendering 3 interim permits to the department. The owner of a
nonstandard sign seeking a digital billboard permit under this
subsection shall apply for a separate digital billboard permit for
each sign or sign structure for each regulated route from which the
facing of the sign or sign structure is visible, but shall not be
required to surrender more than a total of 3 interim permits.
(b)
Beginning on the effective date of the amendatory act that
added
this subdivision January 30,
2014 and ending 1 year after the
effective
date of the amendatory act that added this subdivision,
on January 30, 2015, for the first 8 nonstandard signs for which
the owner applies for a digital billboard permit under subdivision
(a), the owner shall not be required to surrender 3 interim
permits. This subdivision only applies to signs located in a county
having a population of not less than 750,000. The spacing
requirements under section 17(4) apply to the first 8 nonstandard
signs for which the owner applies for a digital billboard permit
under subdivision (a).
Sec.
19. (1) Signs Except as
otherwise provided in subsection
(9), signs and their supporting structures erected or maintained in
violation of this act may be removed by the department in the
manner prescribed in this section.
(2) There shall be mailed to the owner of the sign by
certified mail a notice that the sign or its supporting sign
structure violates stated specified provisions of this act and is
subject to removal. If the owner's address cannot be determined, a
notice shall be posted on the sign. The posted notice shall be
written on red waterproof paper stock of a size not less than 8-1/2
inches by 11 inches. The notice shall be posted in the area
designated by section 12 for the placing of permit numbers, in a
manner so that it is visible from the highway faced by the sign or
sign structure.
(3) If the sign or sign structure is not removed or brought
into compliance with this act within 60 days following the date of
posting or mailing of written notice or within such further time as
the department may allow in writing, the sign or sign structure
shall
be considered to be abandoned.
(4)
The department shall conduct a hearing pursuant to under
the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201
to 24.328, at which it shall confirm that the sign is abandoned,
that due process has been observed, and that the sign may be
removed by the department without payment of compensation and at
the expense of the owner. Signs or sign structures considered
abandoned, and any other sign or sign structure erected or
maintained in violation of this act that is not eligible for
removal compensation as provided in section 22, shall be removed by
the department forthwith or upon the expiration of such further
time as the department allows. The department may recover as a
penalty from the owner of the sign or sign structure or, if he or
she cannot be found, the owner of the real property upon which the
sign or sign structure is located, double the cost of removal or
$500.00, whichever is greater. For frivolous hearings as determined
by the administrative law judge, the department may recover as a
penalty from the owner of the sign or sign structure, or, if the
owner of the sign or sign structure cannot be found, the owner of
the real property upon which the sign or sign structure is located,
double the cost of an administrative hearing incurred by the
department or $500.00, whichever is greater. Any penalty imposed
under this section is subject to de novo review in circuit court.
(5) The department, its agents and employees, and any person
acting under the authority of or by contract with the department
may enter upon private property without liability for so doing in
connection with the posting or the removal of any sign or sign
structure pursuant to this act.
(6) The department may contract on a negotiated basis without
competitive bidding with a permittee under this act for the removal
of
any sign or sign structure pursuant to under this act.
(7) Any repeat violation of this act shall be considered a
continuing violation of this act.
(8) A sign or sign structure erected or maintained in
violation of this act is a nuisance per se. The department, before
or after a hearing is conducted, may apply to the circuit court in
the county in which a sign is located for an order to show cause
why the use of a sign erected or maintained in violation of this
act should not be enjoined pending its removal in accordance with
this section.
(9) The department shall not remove a sign or sign structure
that was erected before January 30, 2014 and meets all of the
following:
(a) The department issued a permit for the sign or sign
structure as provided in section 6.
(b) The department renewed the permit described in subdivision
(a) at least 1 time as provided in section 7.
(c) The sign or sign structure complies with the provisions of
the March 30, 1972 agreement between the United States of America
and this state for carrying out national policy relating to the
control of outdoor advertising in areas adjacent to the national
system of interstate and defense highways and the federal aid
primary system.