“Can the Government Take Down Signs and Billboards in Florida?”

– The Highway Beautification Act of 1965 allows the federal government and states to control and restrict the construction of new billboards along interstates.
– Florida has its own laws to limit new billboard construction and protect the rights of existing billboard owners.
– If a statutory limitation terminates vested rights to a pre-existing billboard, it is deemed a compensable taking. However, illegally constructed billboards can be lawfully removed by the government without compensation to the owner.
– Florida law requires the Department of Transportation to pay for any acquisition of lawful and conforming signs. Destruction of a billboard structure by a condemning authority constitutes a compensable taking, and leasehold interests in billboards are protected and compensable upon a taking. 1. In determining the value of a taking of an interest in a billboard, a jury typically decides the compensation, and the court may apportion the award among all parties with an interest in the property.
2. The value of a billboard can be determined using standard appraisal methods, such as the Gross Income Multiplier method, which measures the comparable sales prices over the annual gross revenues.
3. Owners of an interest in a billboard may also receive compensation for the loss of obstruction of the view of the billboard if there is construction of a sound wall or noise-barrier along a highway.
4. In the case of a taking of property involving billboards, many parties can be affected, including the owners of the property, owners of the easement for use and access to the billboard, and leasehold interests.

https://www.jimersonfirm.com/blog/2018/07/florida-billboards-eminent-domain/