Florida Administrative Code › 14 - DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › 14 - Departmental › Chapter 14-10 - OUTDOOR ADVERTISING SIGN REGULATION AND HIGHWAY BEAUTIFICATION PROGRAM › Section 14-10.057 - Vegetation Management Application and Permit Insurance

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1)
				Permit Required.
(a) No person or entity may
				remove, cut, or trim trees, shrubs, or herbaceous plants on the Department's
				right of way to make visible or to ensure future visibility of off-premise
				outdoor advertising signs without Department approval of an Application to
				Permit Vegetation Management at Outdoor Advertising Signs, Form 650-050-06,
				Rev. 10/20, which is incorporated herein by reference at
http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12483
and available electronically at http://www.osp.fdot.gov. For purposes of this
				rule, the use of chemical control constitutes removing, cutting, or trimming,
				depending on the impact on the tree, shrub, or herbaceous plant. The
				Application must be submitted to the State Outdoor Advertising Administrator,
				at the address referenced in subsection
				14-10.0011(2),
				F.A.C., of this rule chapter or through the on-line portal. This rule does not
				apply to requests to trim or remove vegetation that screens signs that are not
				permitted by the Department pursuant to Section
				479.07, F.S.
(b) An Application must be submitted by the
				outdoor advertising sign permit holder. A separate application is required for
				each sign facing. The vegetation management plan and mitigation appraisal (if
				required), shall be prepared by a Certified Forestor, an International Society
				of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist® with
				Advanced Training in Roadside Vegetation, or an individual with equivalent
				credentials from a nationally recognized arboricultural organization, or a
				Landscape Architect registered pursuant to Chapter 481, Part II, F.S.
(c) The Application Package shall contain the
				completed application and:
1. The applicant's
				vegetation management plan (plan) for a period of five years. The plan shall
				include a plan for removing vegetation within the view zone, cutting (removing
				or altering more than one quarter of any plant's height, spread, or density of
				branches), or trimming (the shaping or pruning of less than one quarter of any
				plant's height, spread, or density of branches). The plan shall be a graphic
				and written document that describes the removal, cutting, trimming, planting,
				fertilizing, mulching, irrigation, and desired condition and appearance of
				existing and proposed vegetation, including a plan for disposal of debris, and
				a schedule and description of the intended vegetation management method(s). All
				vegetation management proposed in the plan shall be in accordance with this
				rule and Rule 14-40.003, F.A.C.
2. Color photographs of the sign and entire
				view zone taken within six weeks prior to the application being made to the
				Department. The photographs and accompanying drawings must depict a clear
				representative overview of the vegetation to be removed, cut, or
				trimmed.
3. A photocopy of the
				qualifying credentials of the person preparing the vegetation management plan,
				and appraisal for mitigation, if mitigation is required. If herbicides will be
				used, the application must include a photocopy of the applicator's license in
				three categories (core curriculum, right of way, and aquatic) by the Florida
				Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
4. An itemized appraisal of the mitigation
				value of vegetation to be removed, cut, or trimmed, if mitigation is
				required.
5. The application fee is
				$25.00. The application fee shall be a total of $200.00 for more than eight
				applications submitted simultaneously within the same Department District. If
				payment is by check, the fee submitted with an application must be paid
				separately from fees for other types of permits.
6. For a proposed sign or a sign originally
				permitted after July 1, 1996, designation of two permitted non-conforming
				outdoor advertising signs, comparable in size to the sign for which a
				vegetation management permit is sought, for permit cancellation and sign
				removal within 30 days of the Department's issuance of a Notice of Intent to
				Approve Vegetation Management at Outdoor Advertsing Sign.
(d) An approved Application to Permit
				Vegetation Management at Outdoor Advertising Sign will serve as a permit, and
				authorizes the permittee to remove, cut, or trim trees, shrubs, or herbaceous
				plants only as provided in the approved plan, and only within an established
				view zone, which will be determined as follows:
1. In accordance with Section
				479.106(6)(a) and
				(b), F.S., a view zone is established
				beginning at a point on the edge of pavement perpendicular to the edge of the
				sign facing nearest the highway and extending in the direction of approaching
				traffic, unless an alternative view zone is agreed upon in writing between the
				sign permittee and the Department's District (Director of Operations)
				Maintenance Engineer or his/her designee in the District Office.
2. A sign facing shall have only one view
				zone, and only within the Department's right of way of the roadway to which the
				sign is permitted.
a. The view zone for a
				right-view sign (see Figure 2) is a four sided area with the critical
				dimensions of 350 feet for posted speed limits of 35 miles per hour or less, or
				500 feet for posted speed limits over 35 miles per hour measured along the
				right edge of the nearest travel lane on the same side of the highway to which
				the sign is permitted.
b. The view
				zone for a left-view sign (see Figure 3) is a four sided area with the critical
				dimension of 350 feet for posted speed limits of 35 miles per hour or less or
				500 feet for posted speed limits over 35 miles per hour is measured along the
				left edge of the nearest travel lane on the other side of the highway
				centerline.
Click here to view
							 image
c.
				Areas within the median will be approved for vegetation management zone only
				for left-read signs legally erected before January 19, 1999, and only as
				necessary to maintain the view of that sign across the median as it existed
				before January 19, 1999.
(e) An Application will not be approved:
1. For applications that are
				incomplete.
2. For vegetation
				control to enhance the view of an outdoor advertising sign which does not have
				a currently valid state permit.
3.
				For mowing (nonselective mechanical or chemical control of vegetation) of grass
				or other vegetation. Mechanical mowing, to a minimum height of 6 inches, will
				be permitted when no other means of vegetation management is practicable to
				control vegetation that screens or is likely to screen a sign face.
4. To remove, cut, or trim, vegetation that
				has established historic, cultural, economic, environmental, or aesthetic
				significance. Such vegetation would:
a. Form
				an important part of the setting or landscaping for an historic
				structure;
b. Possess historic
				significance through a direct association with an event or person important in
				history;
c. Contribute strongly to
				the historic character as well as visual appeal of an historic structure or
				district;
d. Screen historic
				structures or residential property from traffic congestion;
e. Serve as memorials;
f. Be directly descended from historically
				significant trees or plants;
g. Be
				listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the State Register of
				Historic Sites, or local historical registries;
h. Be the only vegetation in the immediate
				vicinity, such that removal would leave the area barren of any substantial
				trees;
i. Have reached an age,
				size, or shape that it is known to be a local landmark; or
j. Be in the immediate vicinity of a roadway
				that has been lined with trees for a lengthy period of time where removal of
				such vegetation would significantly diminish the "tree lined" character of the
				roadway;
5. To remove,
				cut, or trim trees, shrubs, or herbaceous plants that are protected by state
				law.
6. To remove, cut, or trim
				trees, shrubs, or herbaceous plants, when the Department has determined that
				the proposed vegetation management will significantly disrupt natural systems,
				roadside aesthetics, or have other negative impacts on the operation of the
				highway.
7. To create a new view
				zone by removing, cutting, or trimming existing vegetation for any sign
				originally permitted after July 1, 1996, unless the applicant removes at least
				two approximate comparable size nonconforming signs under valid permits issued
				pursuant to Section 479.07, F.S., and surrender the
				permits to the Department.
8. To
				remove, cut, or trim trees that have a circumference, measured at 4 1/2 feet
				above grade, equal to or greater than 70% of the circumference of the Florida
				Champion of the same species as listed in the Big Trees, The Florida Register,
				Florida Native Plant Society, 1997, which is available at many public libraries
				in Florida, and at on-line bookstores. Posting of this manual for public
				inspection would violate federal copyright law. A copy is available for public
				inspection during regular business hours at the Florida Department of
				Transportation, Program Management Office, 605 Suwannee Street, Tallahassee,
				Florida.
9. To remove, cut, or trim
				trees, shrubs, or herbaceous plants in violation of Section
				479.106(5),
				F.S. This applies to vegetation that is part of a beautification project, when
				the project was approved prior to the permitting of any sign originally
				permitted after July 1, 1996. For the purpose of this rule, beautification
				projects include landscape projects, mitigation projects, and restoration
				projects. For the purpose of this rule, a beautification project is approved
				when it is specifically identified in the Department's five-year work program,
				or is a permitted landscape project, or is part of an executed agreement
				between the Department and a local government, or has been approved in writing
				by the Department for installation at a later date by a local
				government.
10. To remove, cut, or
				trim trees, shrubs, or herbaceous plants within the right of way of a roadway
				section to which a sign is not permitted, or proposed to be permitted, or to
				remove, cut, or trim trees, shrubs, or herbaceous plants within the right of
				way outside of the 1,000 feet view zone parameter in Section
				479.106(6)(b),
				F.S.
(f) Applications
				will be reviewed and approved or denied within 60 days of receipt of a
				completed application. The Department will notify the applicant of any apparent
				errors or omissions and request any additional information within 30 days of
				the receipt of an application. When using the on-line portal, if a Request for
				Additional Information (RAI) is sent to the applicant and not responded to
				within 30 days, the application will become void.
(g) An approved Application (permit) is valid
				for the five year term of the proposed vegetation management plan.
(h) After approval, the permittee must give
				the Local Maintenance Engineer a minimum of two working days notification prior
				to all permitted vegetation management activity on the Department's right of
				way, unless a different time period is listed as a special condition of the
				permit.