BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 684|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 684
Author: Hill (D)
Amended: 9/6/13
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 10-0, 4/30/13
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Lara, Liu, Roth, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 34-0, 05/20/13
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller,
Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff,
Jackson, Knight, Leno, Liu, Monning, Nielsen, Padilla,
Steinberg, Torres, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Lara, Lieu, Pavley, Price, Roth, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Outdoor Advertising Act: former redevelopment
agency project areas
SOURCE : California Sign Association
League of California Cities
DIGEST : This bill amends the redevelopment agency (RDA)
exemption to the Outdoor Advertising Act (OAA) to reflect the
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elimination of redevelopment agencies.
Assembly Amendments (1) add language to specify if a federal
agency provides notice that the operation of a display will
result in the reduction of federal aid highway funds, then the
authorization of that display shall cease and the display owner
shall remove all advertising copy from the display within 60
days after the state notifies the display owner of the receipt
of the federal notice or be subject to a civil fine; (2) add
language to require the local jurisdiction annually, by
December 31, certify to the Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) certain information related to the display; (3) add
language to specify that if the local jurisdiction fails to
ensure that the displays remains in conformance after 30 days of
receipt of a written notice from Caltrans, the local
jurisdiction shall hold Caltrans harmless and indemnify it for
all costs incurred for compliance enforcement; and (4) define
"good cause" as specified.
ANALYSIS :
Redevelopment Agencies . Historically, the Community
Redevelopment Law allowed a local government to establish a
redevelopment area and capture all of the increase in property
taxes generated within the area over a period of decades. These
tax revenues were intended to address the blighted nature of a
project area, and if used effectively, therefore, should have
eventually ended the blight and become unnecessary. Because of
this, over time these project areas were given expiration dates,
generally up to 40 years following their inception, until which
they were able to collect tax revenues and pay off debt.
In 2011, the Legislature enacted AB 26X1 (Blumenfield, Chapter
5, Statutes of 2011-12 , First Extraordinary Session). The bill
eliminated redevelopment agencies and established procedures for
winding down the agencies, paying off enforceable obligations,
and disposing of agency assets. In addition, the bill
established successor agencies, typically the city that
established the agency, to take control of all RDA assets,
properties, and other items of value. Successor agencies are to
dispose of an agency's assets as directed by an oversight board,
made up of representatives of local taxing entities, with the
proceeds transferred to the county auditor-controller for
distribution to taxing agencies within each county.
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OAA . The OAA regulates the size, illumination, orientation, and
location of advertising displays adjacent to and within
specified distances of interstate or primary highways, and, with
some exceptions, specifically prohibits any advertising display
from being placed or maintained on property adjacent to a
section of landscaped highway.
The OAA generally does not apply to "on premise" advertising
displays, which include those advertising the sale of the
property upon which it is placed or that advertise the business
conducted, services rendered, or goods produced or sold on the
property. Local government regulates on-premise displays,
except for certain safety requirements.
Existing law includes a number of exceptions to the OAA and
assigns the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) the
responsibility of reviewing and permitting signs which qualify
for these exceptions. Under the OAA, displays advertising those
businesses and activities within the boundaries of an individual
RDA project area are considered on-premise displays for an
initial period of 10 years or until the project area expires,
whichever occurs first. Caltrans may for good cause extend the
permits for these signs beyond the initial 10 years, but not
beyond the life of the redevelopment project.
This bill:
1. Allows an existing advertising display to be considered
on-premise if the display:
A. Advertises those businesses and activities developed
within the former RDA project area boundaries, as those
boundaries existed on December 29, 2011;
B. Is located within the boundary limits of the project;
C. Was constructed before January 1, 2012;
D. Does not cause the reduction in federal aid highway
funds.
2. Authorizes, on and after January 1, 2022, the applicable
city, county, or city and county to request, for good cause,
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from the Caltrans an extension beyond January 1, 2023, not to
exceed the expiration of the redevelopment project area.
3. Defines "good cause" as satisfying all of the following:
A. There has been a finding by the applicable city,
county, or city and county that the advertising display
has had a positive economic impact on the redevelopment
project area and provides a public benefit.
B. There have been no violations by the display owner or
operator of this section or of any applicable illumination
standards in the previous 10 years that have not been
corrected within 30 days of the date of mailing of a
violation notice to the owner or operator by Caltrans.
C. There has been compliance by the owner and operator
with all other standards adopted by the applicable city,
county, or city and county, or by Caltrans.
4. Specifies that the applicable city, county, or city and
county shall be responsible for ensuring these advertising
displays are advertising qualifying businesses, are otherwise
being operated lawfully, and remain in the public's best
interest, but does specify that nothing in this provision
shall be construed to preclude any enforcement authority by
Caltrans.
5. Clarifies that if the United States Department of
Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, or any
other applicable federal agency to the state provide notice
that the operation of that display will result in the
reduction of federal aid highway funds, then the
authorization of that display shall cease and the display
owner shall remove all advertising copy from the display
within 60 days after the state notifies the display owner of
the receipt of the federal notice
6. Specifies that failure to remove the advertising copy, as
specified, shall result in a civil fine of $10,000 per day
until the advertising copy is removed.
7. Specifies that Caltrans shall not assume any liability in
connection with the cessation of operation or removal of an
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advertising display.
8. Clarifies that if the owner or operator of the display is
not indicted on the display, the state is only required to
send the notice to the applicable city, county, or city and
county.
9. Clarifies that an advertising display may remain until
January 1, 2023, after which date the display shall be
removed, unless it otherwise qualifies as a lawful
advertising display, without the payment of any compensation
to the owner or operator.
10.Specifies that the applicable city, county, or city and
county shall annually, by December 31, certify to Caltrans
that the advertising copy of the advertising display is
advertising businesses or activities operating within the
boundaries of the redevelopment project area and that at
least 10% of the advertising copy, up to a maximum of 100
square feet, is used to display the address or location of
the business or activity, or to identify the route to the
business or activity from the nearest freeway off-ramp.
11.Allows Caltrans to independently review certification
compliance.
12.Specifies that that an advertising display shall be removed
if it is in violation more than three times within a 10-year
period and the violation has not been corrected within 30
days of the date of mailing of a violation notice to the
owner or operator by Caltrans.
13.Specifies that the city, county, or city and county fails to
ensure that the displays remain in conformance with all
provisions of the ordinance and this bill after 30 days of
receipt of a written notice from Caltrans, the city, county,
or city and county shall hold the department harmless and
indemnify Caltrans for all costs incurred by Caltrans to
ensure compliance with the ordinance and this bill or to
defend actions challenging the adoption of the ordinance
allowing displays.
Background
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Generally speaking, local governments established RDA project
areas in blighted areas that required some additional investment
to address the blight. In theory, the investment should
eventually turn the neighborhood around and at some point no
longer be necessary. As mentioned earlier, this theory led the
Legislature to assign expiration dates to all redevelopment
areas, expecting them either to achieve success and no longer be
needed or acknowledge the problems are not resolvable through
increased investment alone.
According to proponents, legislation created the redevelopment
exemption to the OAA to allow businesses in these less-desirable
places to advertise for two reasons. First, travelers on the
landscaped freeway who may have been reluctant to frequent the
businesses in the area because of the perceived blight would
consider doing so as redevelopment investment helped address the
blight issues. Second, this new advertising opportunity could
be an additional tool to help a struggling business in the
project area become more successful. In either case, the theory
behind the expiration of the redevelopment areas seems to hold
true with the expiration of the OAA exemption. At some point,
either the blighted area has improved to the point that the
businesses no longer need the unique competitive advantage
provided by the sign or the problems are too large for the signs
to resolve.
Permits in a "post-redevelopment" world . As mentioned earlier,
Caltrans enforces the OAA, which includes activities such as
maintaining a list of landscaped freeways, issuing permits for
signs allowed by statute to exist, and fining owners of
non-compliant signs. Caltrans has issued 95 permits for
advertising displays along landscaped freeways in redevelopment
project areas throughout the state. Many of these signs are
currently or will soon be in existence longer than 10 years and
therefore have permits which need to be extended. With the
elimination of redevelopment agencies, however, Caltrans has
been unsure how to proceed and has not extended any permits.
Neither has Caltrans issued any fines to sign owners with
expired permits. Instead, Caltrans has indicated that it is
waiting for further direction from the Legislature regarding the
state's position on these sign permits.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
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SUPPORT : (Verified 9/10/13)
California Sign Association (co-source)
League of California Cities (co-source)
Avant Outdoor Advertising
California New Car Dealers Association
California Professional Association of Specialty Contractors
California State Association of Counties
Cities of Huntington Beach, Inglewood, and Southgate
OPPOSITION : (Verified 9/10/13)
California State Outdoor Advertising Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, this
bill addresses an issue inadvertently created when the
Legislature eliminated redevelopment agencies. Existing law
allows Caltrans to permit advertising displays as on-premises
displays within redevelopment project areas for a period of 10
years and includes the possibility of extending those permits.
Now that the Legislature eliminated redevelopment agencies,
there is no mechanism to extend the permits for these signs.
This bill amends current law to allow these signs to continue to
function as on-premise displays and remain so as long as was
expected before the elimination of redevelopment.
The League of California Cities states "Prior to the elimination
of redevelopment agencies, advertising displays were exempted
from the Outdoor Advertising Act and considered to be on the
premise anywhere within the limits of the redevelopment area.
The ability of the signs to receive an extension was contingent
upon approval of the redevelopment agency and CalTrans. One of
the unintended consequences of the elimination of redevelopment
is that approval for the extension of these signs is impossible
since there is no redevelopment agency to consent. This bill
simply seeks to clarify that the existing redevelopment signs
can continue with agreement of the designated agency and
CalTrans."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : California State Outdoor Advertising
Association (CSOAA) states this bill allows sign operators
within former RDA projects to evade regulation under the OAA and
compete unfairly against CSOAA member companies. CSOAA states
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this bill could prove disastrous for the State of California.
CSOAA believes this bill promotes the improper use of offsite
advertising displays in RDA projects as purported "on-premises"
signs. In so doing, this bill violates regulations adopted
pursuant to the federal Highway Beautification Act, 23 United
States Code Section 131. Such violations could result in the
loss of 10% of California's federal highway funding.
JA:k 9/10/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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