(a) With the exception of Article 4 (commencing with Section 5300) and Sections 5400 and 5404, inclusive, nothing contained in this chapter applies to any advertising display that is exclusively on public property upon which is located a multimodal transit facility.
(b) This section applies to advertising displays only if the multimodal transit facility meets the following requirements:
(1) It is publicly owned and operated and is located on public land.
(2) It is identified as a critical component in the region’s sustainable communities strategy, as described in Section 65080 of the Government Code.
(3) One of the modes of transportation served at the multimodal transit facility is passenger rail.
(4) It is a current or future station for the high-speed train system in the corridor identified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 2704.04 of the Streets and Highways Code.
(c) To advertise any products, goods, or services on an advertising display pursuant to this section, all of the following shall apply:
(1) The advertising display shall be on the same side of the highway and within 1,000 feet of an entrance to a multimodal transit facility that meets the requirements of subdivision (b).
(2) The advertising display shall not advertise products, goods, or services related to tobacco, firearms, or sexually explicit material.
(3) Beyond the cost of erection, revenues from the advertising display shall be used to support the construction, operations, and maintenance of the multimodal transit facility.
(4) The advertising display shall not cause a reduction in federal aid highway funds as provided in Section 131 of Title 23 of the United States Code. If an advertising display authorized under this section is subject to a notice from the United States Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, or any other applicable federal agency to the state that the operation of that display will result in the reduction of federal aid highway funds as provided in Section 131 of Title 23 of the United States Code, the display owner shall remove all advertising copy from the display within 60 days after the state notifies the display owner of the receipt of the federal notice. Failure to remove the advertising copy pursuant to this paragraph shall result in a civil fine, imposed by the California Department of Transportation, of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per day until the advertising copy is removed. The department shall not assume any liability in connection with cessation of operation or removal of an advertising display or advertising copy pursuant to this paragraph.
(d) Any advertising display erected pursuant to this section shall be lawful only if authorized by, or in accordance with, an ordinance, including, but not limited to, a specific plan or sign district, adopted by the city, county, or city and county, as applicable, that regulates advertising displays by either identifying the specific displays or by establishing regulations that include, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) The number of signs and total signage area allowed.
(2) The maximum individual signage area.
(3) Minimum sign separation.
(4) Illumination restrictions and regulations, including signage refresh rate, scrolling, and brightness.
(5) Illuminated sign hours of operation.
(e) Authorization of an advertising display under this section shall also be subject to the owner of the display submitting, to the High-Speed Rail Authority, a copy of the ordinance authorizing the display that has been adopted by the applicable city, county, or city and county pursuant to subdivision (d). The High-Speed Rail Authority shall review and certify that the proposed display and the ordinance meet the minimum requirements of this section, including that the multimodal transit facility is or will be a current or future station for the high-speed train system pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (b).
(f) The city, county, or city and county adopting the ordinance authorizing the displays erected pursuant to this section shall have the primary responsibility for ensuring that the displays remain in conformance with all provisions of the ordinance and of this section. If the city, county, or city and county fails to ensure that the displays are in conformance and shall remain in conformance with all provisions of the ordinance and of this section within 30 days of receipt of a written notice from the department, that one or more displays are out of conformance the city, county, or city and county shall hold the department harmless and indemnify the department for all costs incurred by the department to ensure compliance with the ordinance and this section or to defend actions challenging the adoption of the ordinance allowing the displays.
(g) Nothing in this section limits a city or county from adopting an ordinance prohibiting or further restricting the size, number, or types of advertising displays authorized by this section.
(h) Any law that applies to advertising displays authorized pursuant to Section 5272 shall also apply to this section.
(Added by Stats. 2013, Ch. 545, Sec. 1. (SB 694) Effective January 1, 2014.)