Whiteco Metrocom Corp. v. Commonwealth Transportation Cabinet, Department of Highways

14 S.W.3d 24, 1999 Ky. App. LEXIS 89, 1999 WL 550541
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedJuly 30, 1999
DocketNo. 1998-CA-001356-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 14 S.W.3d 24 (Whiteco Metrocom Corp. v. Commonwealth Transportation Cabinet, Department of Highways) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Whiteco Metrocom Corp. v. Commonwealth Transportation Cabinet, Department of Highways, 14 S.W.3d 24, 1999 Ky. App. LEXIS 89, 1999 WL 550541 (Ky. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinions

[26]*26 OPINION

EMBERTON, Judge.

This appeal challenges the propriety of the summary determination that the appel-lee, Transportation Cabinet, was entitled to an injunction ordering removal of a billboard owned by appellant, "Whiteco Metrocom Corporation. The basis of the judgment was that it lost its nonconforming use status upon being destroyed, substantially changed or replaced as a result of storm damage. We affirm.

The facts are neither complex nor in dispute. The billboard is located on property owned by appellants, James and Ruth Brown, near the Pennyrile Parkway in Hopkins County and has been in place at that location since 1967. The billboard was operated legally from 1967 until 1990 when a statutory change altered its status to that of a nonconforming advertising device. It continued in that status until 1995 when it was damaged in a storm. Subsequent repair of the substantial storm damage forms the basis for the Cabinet’s contention that the reconstruction exceeded the scope of “routine maintenance” permitted under Kentucky regulations. With anything more than routine maintenance, such as repairs or component replacement, the nonconforming status is lost and the billboard becomes illegal. After citing Whiteco for violation of the advertising device regulations, the Cabinet sought an injunction in the circuit court requiring removal of the billboard. The trial judge subsequently granted the Cabinet’s motion for summary judgment and issued a permanent injunction requiring Whiteco to correct and abate the violation by removal of the billboard.

Whiteco makes five arguments in its appeal: (1) that the regulations upon which the Cabinet relies are unenforceable because they were adopted without proper statutory authority; (2) that the regulations are unenforceable because they are more stringent than federal law and regulations on the subject; (3) that the regulations are void for vagueness; (4) that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to consider the matter; and (5) that the summary judgment was improvidently granted.

As background for our discussion of Whiteco’s various contentions we cite Diemer v. Commonwealth, Transportation Cabinet, Ky., 786 S.W.2d 861 (1990), for its overview of Kentucky billboard legislation; Southeastern Displays, Inc. v. Ward, Ky., 414 S.W.2d 573 (1967), which settled the question of the highway department’s authority to adopt such regulations against the challenge that Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) 177.860, in conferring such authority, unconstitutionally delegated legislative power to the executive branch; and Moore v. Ward, Ky., 377 S.W.2d 881 (1964), which confirmed the constitutionality of the Kentucky Billboard Act, as well as the relationship between the federal government and the state agency in the area of billboard enforcement. Whiteco’s initial complaint, however, is that KRS 177.860 is the only portion of the Kentucky Billboard Act (KRS 177.830 — KRS 177.890) that authorizes adoption of regulations and that that section makes no mention of regulations regarding nonconforming billboards. The Cabinet responds that KRS 177.890, which authorizes the commissioner of highways to enter into agreements with the United States for purposes of carrying out the national policy with regard to highways within the Commonwealth, is ample authority for the adoption of regulations relating to nonconforming billboards. We agree.

While it is true that KRS 177.860 does not specifically reference nonconforming billboards, it is also clear that that section is but one part of a comprehensive scheme of legislation directed at regulating advertising devices. As noted by the trial judge, Kentucky has entered into agreements with the federal government under the authority of KRS 177.890 that require the Cabinet to control billboard advertising “in accordance with the provisions of Title 23 of the U.S.Code.” We are con-[27]*27vineed that inherent in the Cabinet’s authority to enter into these agreements is the authority to prescribe through appropriate regulation reasonable standards for implementing the agreements. Southeastern Displays, supra. However, as noted by the Supreme Court in Flying J Travel Plaza v. Commonwealth, Transportation Cabinet, Ky., 928 S.W.2d 344 (1996), such regulations are valid only when found to be within the framework of the policy defined by the legislation. Our primary task in this appeal is to determine whether the regulations governing nonconforming billboards fall within that basic principle.

In Diemer, supra, we find guidance in ascertaining not only the purpose for the legislature’s enactment of the Kentucky Billboard Act but also the role of the courts in interpreting it:

Because we recognize that one of the primary purposes of the Kentucky statute was to conform to the federal statute and thus qualify for the maximum available in federal funds, we can look to the federal statute for historical perspective .... It is our responsibility to read the statutes of the General Assembly so as to save their constitutionality whenever such can be done consistent with reason and common sense.

786 S.W.2d at 863. Thus, our analysis focuses upon federal legislation as an aid in determining whether the regulations fit within the framework of stated Kentucky policy on billboards.

23 C.F.R. § 750.707(d)(5) sets out the following federal regulations as to termination of the nonconforming status of a sign:

The sign must remain substantially the same as it was on the effective date of the State law or regulations. Reasonable repair and maintenance of the sign, including a change of advertising message, is not a change which would terminate nonconforming rights. Each State shall develop its own criteria to determine when customary maintenance ceases and a substantial change has occurred which would terminate nonconforming rights. (Emphasis added).

Subsection (e) of the same regulation provides the federal policy as to compensation:

(e) Just compensation. The States are required to pay just compensation for the removal of nonconforming lawfully existing signs in accordance with the terms of 23 U.S.C. 131 and the provisions of Subpart D, Part 750, Chapter I, 23 CFR.

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Related

Clear Channel Outdoors v. Tennessee Department of Transportation
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29 S.W.3d 26 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2000)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
14 S.W.3d 24, 1999 Ky. App. LEXIS 89, 1999 WL 550541, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whiteco-metrocom-corp-v-commonwealth-transportation-cabinet-department-kyctapp-1999.