People ex rel. Department of Public Works v. Golden Rule Church Ass'n

Opinion

KEANE, J.* Plaintiff, acting by and through its Department of Public Works, now known as the Department of Transportation, filed a complaint against defendant Golden Rule Church Association for injunctive relief to compel removal of an advertising billboard allegedly displayed in violation of the Outdoor Advertising Act (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 5200 et seq.) and for declaratoiy relief. The trial court found that the sign was lawfully in place prior to the effective date of the Outdoor Advertising Act and entered judgment for the Golden Rule Church Association. Plaintiff appeals from the judgment.

Defendant owns a billboard located adjacent to State Route 101, a primary highway. The billboard is within 660 feet from the edge of the right-of-way of Route 101, and its advertising message is visible from the highway. The sign was erected prior to October 22, 1965. It is not in a “business area” as that term is defined in Business and Professions Code section 5205. The County of Mendocino issued a permit for the advertising display, but a state outdoor advertising permit was not obtained by defendant until May 4, 1966.

Plaintiff contends that the billboard does not conform to the provisions of the Outdoor Advertising Act which makes it subject to removal at any time after July 1, 1970.

[776]In response to the federal Highway Beautification Act of 1965 (23 U.S.C. § 131), the California Legislature enacted various amendments and additions to the Outdoor Advertising Act. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 5200 et seq.; Stats. 1967, ch. 1408, p. 3306.) Subject to certain exceptions inapplicable here (see, e.g., Bus. & Prof. Code, §§ 5405, 5408), the act applies to displays erected within 660 feet of the edge of a right-of-way of, and the copy of which is visible from, a primary highway. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 5271.) Business and Professions Code section 5410 states that any such display which “was lawfully maintained in existence on the effective date of this section but which was not on that date in conformity with the provisions of this article, may be maintained, and shall not be required to be removed until July 1, 1970.”1

The evidence clearly establishes that on November 8, 1967, the advertising display on the billboard was visible from Route 101, that the sign was within 660 feet of the right-of-way of the highway, and that no statutory exceptions were applicable. Consequently, it is manifest that the sign was not in conformity with the Outdoor Advertising Act, and such noncompliance subjects the billboard to removal at any time after July 1, 1970. (See People ex rel. Dept. Pub. Wks. v. Adco Advertisers (1973) 35 Cal.App.3d 507, 510-511 [110 Cal.Rptr. 849].) The failure of defendant’s appellate brief to deal with this issue virtually concedes that such is the case.