Traffic Control Jurisdiction Agreement

Florida law bars CDDs from setting up their own police departments but allows them to provide for their own security.

It even provides specific examples of acceptable measures, such as guardhouses, fences, gates and electronic intrusion-detection systems.

Here is the catch: Another section of state law makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to obstruct a “public road or established highway.”

Traffic Control Jurisdiction Agreement

All of the roads in the Harbor Bay Community Development District (CDD) are owned by the District. Therefore, we call them “private roads”.   However we must allow public access.  In order for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office to enforce traffic laws on the main roads and neighborhood roads, there must be a Traffic Control Jurisdiction Agreement (TCJA) between the county and the CDD. This is required by Florida Statute 316.006 which states:

“A municipality may exercise jurisdiction over any private road or roads, or over any limited access road or roads owned or controlled by a special district, located within its boundaries if the municipality and party or parties owning or controlling such road or roads provide, by written agreement approved by the governing body of the municipality, for municipal traffic control jurisdiction over the road or roads encompassed by such agreement.”

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0316/0316.html

However: In order to do that all the Signage within the community must meet standards of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

Other CDD’s in Florida have gone down this road before and faced many issues; here are some examples of corrections/additions we may run into that were reported by these CDD’s

• Improper Speed Limit Signs
• Signs/posts that did not meet height compliance.
• Stop signs had to be relocated.
• Striping that had to be painted.
• Stop bars had to be installed along all stop signs within the subdivision roads
• Some signs removed altogether
• Other types of signs added
• Other road painting

This all comes at a cost:  A study by an Engineering firm would have to be done, we would then have to approve and fund all those deficient measures. Once it is all installed then  all the traffic signage of all types in the District would have to be inspected by a certified engineer and that report sent into Hillsborough County to be able to get there approval that we are in compliance.

What has our CDD done?

The Harbor Bay CDD previously commissioned a traffic study that recommended certain changes to signage and speed limits. Once those issues are remedied and signed off on by the county, we could enter into such an agreement.

Before entering into a TCJA with the District, the County is going to want the Engineer to certify that all roads, streets, and highways within the District are property signed and marked in conformance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices adopted by FDOT.

My understanding is that to date, few if any of the Engineers 2015 recommendations have been implemented. The District Needs get that done first, then approach the County.