§ 43-1-414 — Removal of nonconforming devices

Colorado § 43-1-414

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 43: Transportation
• Art.: General and Administrative

Text

(1) The department may
remove any nonconforming advertising device and may acquire all real and
personal property rights pertaining to the nonconforming advertising device by gift,
purchase, agreement, exchange, or eminent domain. All proceedings in eminent
domain shall be conducted as may be provided by law. The department may adopt
appraisal concepts and acquisition procedures which are appropriate to the
evaluation and removal of nonconforming advertising devices.

(2) Just compensation shall be paid for each lawfully permitted
nonconforming advertising device. Where the nonconforming advertising device has
been modified with approval of the department, just compensation shall be
determined as if no changes had been made, unless the changes shall have
resulted in a decrease in value. Just compensation shall be paid for the taking, from
the owner of such advertising device, of all right, title, leasehold, and interest in
such advertising device and for the taking from the owner of real property on which
such advertising device is located and of the right to maintain such advertising
device.

(3) No advertising device shall be required to be removed until the federal
share of the compensation required to be paid upon acquisition of such device
becomes available to the state. Nothing in this subsection (3) shall be construed to
prevent the department from acquiring any advertising device when the federal
share of the compensation required to be paid for such device becomes available to
the state, and no state funds shall be used to pay just compensation for any
advertising device located along a secondary highway in this state until the federal
share of such compensation becomes available to the state.

(4) The department shall promulgate reasonable rules and regulations
governing acquisition procedures for the advertising devices, appraisal of
advertising devices, and the administration and enforcement of this section. Rules
for the appraisal of advertising devices shall take into account normal depreciation.

(5) Tourist-related advertising devices which comply with the rules and
regulations adopted by the department may be exempted from removal under the
following conditions:

(a) Upon receipt of a declaration, resolution, certified copy of an ordinance,
or other clear direction from a state agency, board of county commissioners, city
and county, municipality, or other governmental agency, which includes or has
attached, on forms provided by the department, an analysis of negative economic
impacts provided by such entity and which follows the criteria and method of
economic analysis established by the department that removal of tourist-related
advertising devices in a defined area would work a substantial economic hardship
on that defined area, the department shall review the entity's economic analysis
and such defined area. If the department finds that the entity has used the method
of economic analysis as prescribed and the entity has determined that the defined
area would suffer substantial economic hardship by such removal and that the
declaration complies with all applicable rules and regulations, the department shall
forward such declaration, resolution, or document and economic analysis with its
recommendations to the United States secretary of transportation pursuant to 23
U.S.C. sec. 131(o). Any such declaration, resolution, or document submitted to the
department shall further find that such tourist-related advertising devices provide
directional information about goods and services in the interest of the traveling
public and request the retention by the state in such defined areas of such tourist-related advertising devices.

(b) Each exempted tourist-related advertising device must comply with
requirements of the department concerning the directional contents of the device.

(c) The department will review and evaluate each defined area at least every
three years to determine if each exemption continues to be warranted.

(6) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to affect the
application of any of the provisions of this part 4 to any advertising device until
such date as the advertising device is required to be removed under this section.
This section is enacted to comply with the requirements of the federal Highway
Beautification Act of 1965.

Legislative History

Source: L. 81: Entire part R&RE, p. 2015, � 1, effective July 1.