Signs erected or maintained without required permit; removal.

(1) A sign that is located adjacent to the right-of-way of any highway on the State Highway System outside an incorporated area or adjacent to the right-of-way on any portion of the interstate or federal-aid primary highway system, which sign was erected, operated, or maintained without the permit required by s. 479.07(1) having been issued by the department, is declared to be a public nuisance and a private nuisance and shall be removed as provided in this section.

(a) Upon a determination by the department that a sign is in violation of s. 479.07(1), the department shall prominently post on the sign, or as close to the sign as possible for a location in which the sign is not easily accessible, a notice stating that the sign is illegal and must be removed within 30 days after the date on which the notice was posted. The department shall, concurrently with and in addition to posting the notice on the sign, provide a written notice to the owner of the sign, the advertiser displayed on the sign, or the owner of the property, stating that the sign is illegal and must be permanently removed within the 30-day period specified on the posted notice. The written notice shall further state that a hearing may be requested and that the request must be filed with the department within 30 days after receipt of the written notice. However, the filing of a request for a hearing will not stay the removal of the sign.

(b) If, pursuant to the notice provided, the sign is not removed by the owner of the sign, the advertiser displayed on the sign, or the owner of the property within the prescribed period, the department shall immediately remove the sign without further notice; and, for that purpose, the employees, agents, or independent contractors of the department may enter upon private property without incurring any liability for so entering.

(c) However, the department may issue a permit for a sign, as a conforming or nonconforming sign, if the sign owner demonstrates to the department one of the following:

1. If the sign meets the current requirements of this chapter for a sign permit, the sign owner may submit the required application package and receive a permit as a conforming sign, upon payment of all applicable fees.

2. If the sign does not meet the current requirements of this chapter for a sign permit and has never been exempt from the requirement that a permit be obtained, the sign owner may receive a permit as a nonconforming sign if the department determines that the sign is not located on state right-of-way and is not a safety hazard, and if the sign owner pays a penalty fee of $300 and all pertinent fees required by this chapter, including annual permit renewal fees payable since the date of the erection of the sign, and attaches to the permit application package documentation that demonstrates that:

a. The sign has been unpermitted, structurally unchanged, and continuously maintained at the same location for 7 years or more;

b. During the initial 7 years in which the sign has been subject to the jurisdiction of the department, the sign would have met the criteria established in this chapter which were in effect at that time for issuance of a permit; and

c. The department has not initiated a notice of violation or taken other action to remove the sign during the initial 7-year period in which the sign has been subject to the jurisdiction of the department.

(d) This subsection does not cause a neighboring sign that is permitted and that is within the spacing requirements under s. 479.07(9)(a) to become nonconforming.

(e) For purposes of this subsection, a notice to the sign owner, when required, constitutes sufficient notice. Notice is not required to be provided to the lessee, advertiser, or the owner of the real property on which the sign is located.

(f) If, after a hearing, it is determined that a sign has been wrongfully or erroneously removed pursuant to this subsection, the department, at the sign owner’s discretion, shall either pay just compensation to the owner of the sign or reerect the sign in kind at the expense of the department.

(2)(a) If a sign is under construction and the department determines that a permit has not been issued for the sign as required under this chapter, the department may require that all work on the sign cease until the sign owner shows that the sign does not violate this chapter. The order to cease work shall be prominently posted on the sign structure, and further notice is not required. The failure of a sign owner or her or his agents to immediately comply with the order subjects the sign to prompt removal by the department.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection only, a sign is under construction when it is in any phase of initial construction before the attachment and display of the advertising message in final position for viewing by the traveling public. A sign that is undergoing routine maintenance or change of the advertising message only is not considered to be under construction for the purposes of this subsection.

(3) The cost of removing a sign by the department or an independent contractor shall be assessed against the owner of the sign by the department.