1998 Florida Code
TITLE XXVI PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Chapter 337 Contracting; Acquisition, Disposal, And Use Of Property  
337.27   Exercise of power of eminent domain by department; procedure; title; cost.

337.27  Exercise of power of eminent domain by department; procedure; title; cost.--

(1)  The power of eminent domain is vested in the department to condemn all necessary lands and property, including rights of access, air, view, and light, whether public or private, for the purpose of securing and utilizing transportation rights-of-way, including, but not limited to, any lands reasonably necessary for securing applicable permits, areas necessary for management of access, borrow pits, drainage ditches, water retention areas, rest areas, replacement access for landowners whose access is impaired due to the construction of a facility, and replacement rights-of-way for relocated rail and utility facilities; for existing, proposed, or anticipated transportation facilities on the State Highway System or State Park Road System; or in a transportation corridor designated by the department; or for the purposes of screening, relocation, removal, or disposal of junkyards and scrap metal processing facilities. The department shall also have the power to condemn any material and property necessary for such purposes. The secretary of the Department of Transportation may delegate the authority to execute eminent domain resolutions to the department's chief administrative officer of the district in which the property is located, or to the chief administrative officer of the Office of Florida Turnpike if the property is to be acquired for a turnpike system project.

(2)  In the acquisition of lands and property, the department may acquire an entire lot, block, or tract of land if, by doing so, the acquisition costs to the department will be equal to or less than the cost of acquiring a portion of the property. This subsection shall be construed as a specific recognition by the Legislature that this means of limiting the rising costs to the state of property acquisition is a public purpose and that, without this limitation, the viability of many public projects will be threatened.

(3)  Title to any land acquired in the name of the department vests in the state.

(4)  The department is authorized to pay the judgment or compensation, including deposits required, awarded in any such proceedings out of any funds available to the department for the maintenance or construction of any transportation facility on the State Highway System, on the State Park Road System, or in a transportation corridor designated by the department.

(5)  When the department acquires property for a transportation facility or in a transportation corridor through the exercise of eminent domain authority, or by purchase or donation, it is not subject to any liability imposed by chapter 376 or chapter 403 for preexisting soil or groundwater contamination due solely to its ownership. This section does not affect the rights or liabilities of any past or future owners of the acquired property nor does it affect the liability of any governmental entity for the results of its actions which create or exacerbate a pollution source. The department and the Department of Environmental Protection may enter into interagency agreements for the performance, funding, and reimbursement of the investigative and remedial acts necessary for property acquired by the department.

History.--s. 106, ch. 29965, 1955; s. 18, ch. 57-318; ss. 23, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 80-312; s. 165, ch. 84-309; s. 2, ch. 84-319; s. 3, ch. 87-164; s. 1, ch. 87-242; s. 18, ch. 88-168; s. 6, ch. 89-232; s. 132, ch. 92-152; s. 166, ch. 94-356.