Lamar Advertising of Mobile, Inc. v. City of Lakeland

189 F.R.D. 480, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17743, 1999 WL 1051922
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedOctober 7, 1999
DocketNo. 97-721-CIV-T-17A
StatusPublished
Cited by83 cases

This text of 189 F.R.D. 480 (Lamar Advertising of Mobile, Inc. v. City of Lakeland) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lamar Advertising of Mobile, Inc. v. City of Lakeland, 189 F.R.D. 480, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17743, 1999 WL 1051922 (M.D. Fla. 1999).

Opinion

ORDER

KOVACHEVICH, Chief Judge.

This cause comes before the Court on the -following:

1. Defendant City of Lakeland, Florida’s motion for reconsideration (Docket No. 156), Plaintiffs Lamar Advertising of Mobile, Inc. [hereinafter “Lamar”] and TLC Properties, Inc. [hereinafter TLC]’s response and motion to strike (Docket No. 158), and Defendant’s reply and motion to strike (Docket No. 160);
2. Plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration (Docket No. 157) and Defendant’s response (Docket No. 159);
3. Defendant’s motion for leave to file a supplemental motion for summary judgment (Docket No. 161) and Plaintiffs’ response (Docket No. 162); and
4. Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file a third amended complaint and supporting memorandum (Docket Nos. 163— 164) and Defendant’s response.

BACKGROUND

I. Statutory Framework

Section 166.041(c), Florida Statutes, creates particular procedural requirements that must be followed for an ordinance rezoning private property or changing permitted use categories to be validly enacted. Where such a proposed ordinance would affect more than five (5) percent of the total land area of a municipality, notice and a hearing must be provided according to the following procedures:

a. The local governing body shall hold two advertised public hearings on a proposed ordinance. Both hearings shall be held after 5 p.m. on a weekday, and the first shall be held approximately 7 days after the day that the first advertisement is published. The second hearing shall be held approximately 2 weeks after the first hearing and shall be advertised approximately 5 days prior to the public hearing. The day, time, and place at which the [483]*483second public hearing will be held shall be announced at the first public hearing,
b. The required advertisements shall be no less than one-quarter page in a standard size or a tabloid size newspaper, and the headline in the advertisement shall be in type no smaller than 18 point. The advertisement shall not be placed in that portion of the newspaper where legal notices and classified advertisements appear. The advertisement shall be published in a newspaper of general paid circulation in the municipality and of general interest and readership in the community, not one of limited subject matter, pursuant to chapter 50. It is the legislative intent that, whenever possible, the advertisement appear in a newspaper that is published at least 5 days a week unless the only newspaper in the municipality is published less than 5 days a week. The advertisement shall be in substantially the following form:
NOTICE OF (TYPE OF) CHANGE
The ... (name of local governmental unit) ... proposes to adopt the following ordinance: ... (title of the ordinance) .... A public hearing on th.e ordinance will be held on ... (date and time) ... at ... (meeting place)....
Except for amendments which change the actual list of permitted, conditional, or prohibited uses within a zoning category, the advertisement shall contain a geographic location map which clearly indicates the area covered by the proposed ordinance. The map shall include major street names as a means of identification of the general area.

§ 166.041(c)2.

“Under Florida law, strict compliance with the notice requirements of the state statute is a jurisdictional and mandatory prerequisite to the valid enactment of a zoning measure.” Southern Entertainment Co. of Florida, Inc. v. City of Boynton Beach, 736 F.Supp. 1094, 1102 (S.D.Fla.1990). “Failure to follow the state statutory notice requirements render[s] a zoning ordinance void.” Id. “Florida’s statement of the general rule in terms of jurisdiction dictates the conclusion that there are no circumstances under which noncompliance with the statute may be excused so as to result in the passage of a valid zoning ordinance.” Id.

II. Statement of Facts

This case arises out of several sign ordinances enacted' by Defendant, the City of Lakeland, Florida. The first of the ordinances relevant to this case were two ordinances passed in 1990. The provisions of these two ordinances were originally contained in one proposed ordinance, Proposed Ordinance 90-29. The original Proposed Ordinance 90-29 included amendments to the sign ordinance concerning both “billboards” and “other signs.”

With regard to billboards, the original Proposed Ordinance 90-29 prohibited the construction of any new billboards within the City of Lakeland. It required further that all billboards already existing in the City of Lakeland, except for billboards along Interstate 4, be removed within seven (7) years of the date of adoption of the ordinance. It provided that a billboard that became damaged or was destroyed could not be rebuilt if the expense of reconstruction exceeded fifty (50) percent of the cost of the reproduction and installation cost of the billboard.

On March 12, 1990, Defendant published the following advertisement in a Lakeland newspaper:

NOTICE OF PROPOSED USE CHANGE

THE CITA OF LAKELAND proposes to change the permitted use of the land within the corporate limits of Lakeland, as shown on the map included with this advertisement. The City proposes to amend various provisions of the City of Lakeland Sign Ordinance as it generally relates to permitted signage, including but not limited to providing conditions related to billboards and on-premises signs, signs erected or projecting over public right-of-way, temporary point of purchase signs, illuminated signs, abandoned non-conforming and abandoned conforming signs, non-conforming signs, prohibited signs, and motor vehicle service stations and convenience [484]*484stores- which dispense motor vehicle fuels from pumps. Additionally, the City may consider an alternative proposal to extend the present moratorium on issuance of permits for off-premises advertising signs (billboards), presently scheduled to expire on April 3,1990.
The Public Hearing on the permitted use change will be held on March 19,1990, commencing at 5:01 P.M. or as soon thereafter as possible in the City Commission Room at City Hall, 228 South Massachusetts Avenue, Lakeland, Florida.
Any person who may appeal a decision made at this meeting should see there is a record made of the proceedings. A verbatim record may be necessary.

The advertisement included a map showing which areas would be affected by the proposed changes.

On the morning of March 19, 1990, the City Commission decided, at its regularly scheduled meeting, to divide Proposed Ordinance 90-29 into two separate ordinances. What had been Proposed Ordinance 90-29 was split into what became the new Proposed Ordinance 90-29 and Proposed Ordinance 90-30. The new Proposed Ordinance 90-29 concerned only “other signs,” and Proposed Ordinance 90-30 contained all of the provisions regarding billboards.

The City Commission took comments on the new Proposed Ordinance 90-29 and Proposed Ordinance 90-30 at the public hearing on the evening of March 19, 1990. At that meeting, the vote on Proposed Ordinance 90-29, was four in favor, two against, and one abstention.

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Bluebook (online)
189 F.R.D. 480, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17743, 1999 WL 1051922, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lamar-advertising-of-mobile-inc-v-city-of-lakeland-flmd-1999.