Chapter 10.02
NEWSRACK REGULATIONS1
Sections:
10.02.020 Applicability of chapter.
10.02.050 Time for issuance of permits.
10.02.060 Design and placement standards.
10.02.080 Removal of newsracks.
10.02.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to establish a comprehensive set of regulations applicable to newsracks in the public right-of-way. These regulations do not restrict the rights of freedom of the press or distribution of information but ensure the protection of the public health, safety and welfare. [Ord. 2010-126 § 1 (Exh. A)].
10.02.020 Applicability of chapter.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all newsracks, whether installed and maintained prior to or after the effective date of any of its provisions. Those newsracks installed prior to the effective date of any provision enacted hereunder shall be brought into compliance with this chapter within 120 days of the effective date thereof. [Ord. 2010-126 § 1 (Exh. A)].
10.02.030 Definitions.
The following definitions shall apply for the purposes of this chapter:
“Director” means the public works director and his or her designees. The director is hereby designated as the administrative enforcement official for this chapter and may issue an order to correct, a notice of relocation, or a notice of removal pursuant to this chapter.
“Newsrack” means any self-service or coin-operated box, container, storage unit or other dispenser installed, used or maintained for the display and sale of any printed material, including, but not limited to, newspapers, news periodicals, magazines, books, pictures, photographs and records.
“Parkway” means that area between the sidewalk and the curb of any street, and where there is no sidewalk, that area between the edge of the roadway and the property line adjacent thereto. Parkway also includes any area within a roadway which is not open to vehicular travel.
“Person” means any individual, company, corporation, association, business or other legal entity.
“Right-of-way” means any land which by deed, conveyance, agreement, easement, dedication, usage or process of law is reserved for and dedicated to the general public for street, highway, alley, sidewalk, parkway, pedestrian walkway, storm drainage, bicycle path or other purposes.
“Roadway” means that portion of a street improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel.
“Sidewalk” means any surface provided for the exclusive use of pedestrians.
“Street” means an area dedicated to public use for public street purposes and includes, but is not limited to, roadways, parkways, alleys and sidewalks. [Ord. 2010-126 § 1 (Exh. A)].
Cross-reference: definitions generally, AVMC 1.02.010.
10.02.040 Permit required.
A. No person shall install, place, use or maintain any newsrack which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any portion of the public right-of-way without first obtaining a permit from the director pursuant to this chapter. A single permit may be issued to cover all newsracks in the city owned by the same person if the location of each newsrack is specified in the application. An amended application for the permit shall be filed with the director in the event that additional newsracks are installed in the city or removed from the city by the applicant subsequent to the issuing of the original permit by the city. The application shall contain the following information:
1. The name, address and telephone number of the applicant;
2. The name, address and telephone number of a responsible person whom the city may notify or contact at any time concerning the applicant’s newsrack;
3. The number of newsracks and the exact proposed location of each shown on an eight-and-one-half-inch by 11-inch diagram and identifying all items in the public right-of-way such as but not limited to: bus benches, street poles and posts, driveways, wheelchair ramps, other newsracks, fire hydrants, crosswalks, curb returns, fire call boxes, buildings, landscaping, bus shelters, bus stops, trash containers, mailboxes and any other public or private improvement within a 20-foot radius; and
4. The names of the newspapers, new periodicals, magazines, books, pictures, photographs or records contained in each newsrack.
B. The applicant shall pay a separate permit fee for each newsrack installed in the city in an amount established by resolution of the city council.
C. Newsrack applications shall be reviewed on a first come, first serve basis. All applications shall be date and time stamped upon the city’s receipt, and in the event that applications are received simultaneously and the applicants seek to place their newsrack in the same location, a lottery shall be conducted by the director to determine in a purely random, unbiased manner which application shall receive priority for the location sought.
D. The owner of the newsrack or his agent shall file a written statement with the city clerk, approved as to form by the city attorney, agreeing to hold the city, its officers, employees and agents, free and harmless from any claim, demand or judgment in favor of any person, arising out of the location of any newsrack located in the public right-of-way and deposit with the city clerk a certificate of insurance evidencing that a liability insurance policy in minimum amounts set by the city council has been issued, naming the city as an additional insured, and containing a provision that the policy cannot be canceled except upon 20 days’ written notice to the city of the fact of such cancellation. If such insurance is canceled at any time during the time the newsrack is installed in the public right-of-way, the newsrack shall be removed in accordance with the provisions of AVMC 10.02.080.
E. Any nonprofit entity, whose purpose or object in its distribution of noncommercial publications is to spread knowledge and ideas, with no request or expectation of commercial gain, is exempt from the payment of the fees specified in subsection (B) of this section, but is required to comply with all other provisions of this chapter and shall provide proof of nonprofit status to the satisfaction of the director.
F. Permits will not be granted for geographic locations that are unavailable due to current or planned construction activity at the requested location. [Ord. 2010-126 § 1 (Exh. A)].
10.02.050 Time for issuance of permits.
A permit shall be granted, conditionally granted, or denied by the director within 20 business days of receipt of a completed application. The director shall provide written notice to the applicant of his or her decision at the address provided by the applicant pursuant to AVMC 10.02.040(A)(2), providing the specific cause for denial, if applicable. A permit may be denied or conditionally granted if the proposed newsrack(s) does not comply with any provision of this chapter. [Ord. 2010-126 § 1 (Exh. A)].
10.02.060 Design and placement standards.
A. No person shall install, use or maintain any newsrack which projects onto, into or over any part of the roadway of any public street.
B. No person shall install, use or maintain any newsrack which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any sidewalk or parkway, when such installation, use or maintenance endangers the safety of persons or property, or when such site or location is used for public utility purposes, public transportation purposes or other government use, or when such newsrack interferes with or impedes the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, the ingress into or egress from any residence, place of business, or any legally parked or stopped vehicle, or the use of poles, posts, traffic signs or signals, hydrants, mailboxes or other objects near the location, or when such newsrack interferes with the cleaning of any sidewalk by the use of mechanical sidewalk cleaning machinery.
C. Any newsrack which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any sidewalk or parkway shall comply with the following standards:
1. No newsrack shall exceed five feet in height, 30 inches in width, or two feet in depth.
2. Newsracks shall be placed only near a curb or adjacent to the wall of a building. Newsracks placed near the curb shall be placed no less than 18 inches nor more than 24 inches from the edge of the curb. Newsracks placed adjacent to the wall of a building shall be placed parallel to such wall and not more than six inches from the wall.
3. No newsrack shall be placed or maintained on a sidewalk or parkway within 10 feet of a newsstand.
4. No newsrack shall be chained, bolted or otherwise attached to any property or to any permanently fixed object not owned by the owner of the newsrack unless the consent of the owner of such property or object is obtained in writing and presented with the permit application.
5. Newsracks may be placed next to each other; provided, that no more than six newsracks shall be placed immediately adjacent to each other, no group of newsracks shall extend more than 13 feet along a curb or wall, and no more than 12 newsracks shall be allowed on any one city block. No newsrack or group of attached newsracks allowed under this subsection shall weigh, in the aggregate, in excess of 125 pounds when empty.
6. Newsracks shall have gloss black pedestals, “wood grain” brown sides and doors, and brown coin box. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, newsracks may have up to four side portions of the newsrack which are made of Plexiglas or other transparent, nonshattering material, which contain the newspaper or periodical; provided, however, that all other standards, including, without limitation, any required blinders as provided in AVMC Title 4, or any other applicable standard(s) herein, are complied with in their entirety.
7. Every newsrack shall be installed on a single pedestal or multiple posts which shall be securely anchored to the ground and shall be constructed, installed and maintained in a safe and secure condition, approved by the director.
D. No newsrack shall be placed, installed, used or maintained:
1. Within three feet of any marked crosswalk;
2. Within 15 feet of the curb return of any unmarked crosswalk;
3. Within 15 feet of any fire hydrant, fire call box, police call box or other emergency facility;
4. Within three feet of any driveway;
5. Within 15 feet of any sign marking a designated bus stop;
6. Within three feet of any bus bench or bus shelter;
7. At any location whereby the clear space for the passageway of pedestrians is reduced to less than six feet;
8. Within three feet of any display window of any building abutting the sidewalk or parkway or in such a manner as to impede or interfere with the reasonable use of such window for display purposes;
9. So that the front face of the newsrack is within three feet of any lawn, flowers, shrubs or trees; or
10. Within five feet of any bicycle rack.
E. The placement of all newsracks in the city shall comply with all local and state handicapped accessibility regulations.
F. No newsrack shall be used for advertising signs or publicity purposes other than reference to the name of the newspaper or periodical being dispensed.
G. Each newsrack shall be maintained in a clean, neat, attractive and mechanically operable condition and shall remain reasonably free of dirt and grease, chipped, faded, peeling and/or cracked paint, graffiti, rust or corrosion, torn, peeling or faded paper or cardboard parts and/or insertions, broken or damaged structural parts, cracked and/or discolored and/or blemished parts, including but not limited to the Plexiglas or other transparent casing.
H. Every person who places or maintains a newsrack in the public right-of-way shall permanently affix to each newsrack the permittee’s name, address, telephone number and permit number in a place where such information may be easily seen. [Ord. 2010-126 § 1 (Exh. A)].
Cross-reference: graffiti removal, Chapter 8.14 AVMC.
10.02.070 Offensive material.
A. No person shall sell, offer for sale, or keep or maintain any written, photographic or printed material including, but not limited to, newspapers or news periodicals in any newsrack or in any portion of the right-of-way in such a manner as to expose to the public view any of the following:
1. Any statements or words describing explicit sexual acts, sexual organs or excrement, where such statements or words have as their purpose or effect sexual arousal, gratification or affront;
2. Any picture or illustration of genitals, pubic hair, perineums, anuses or anal regions of any person or female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areola; or
3. Any picture or illustration depicting explicit sexual acts.
B. “Explicit sexual acts,” as used in this chapter, means depictions of sexual intercourse, oral copulation, anal intercourse, oral-anal copulation, bestiality, sadism, masochism, excretory functions in conjunction with sexual activity, masturbation or lewd exhibition of the genitals, whether any of the above conduct is depicted or described as being performed alone or between members of the same or opposite sex or between humans and animals, or other acts of sexual arousal involving any physical contact with a person’s genital, pubic region, pubic hair, perineum, anus or anal region or female breast. [Ord. 2010-126 § 1 (Exh. A)].
10.02.080 Removal of newsracks.
A. Any newsrack installed, used or maintained in violation of this chapter may be removed pursuant to the provisions of this section and stored in any convenient place by the director. Prior to removal, the director shall notify the owner of the newsrack of such violation. Such notice shall state the nature of the violation, the intent to remove the newsrack if the violation is not corrected or a hearing is not requested before the director within 10 days of the date indicated on the notice, and the procedure for requesting such a hearing. A timely request for a hearing shall stay removal of a newsrack. If a violation of this chapter is not corrected within 10 days of the date indicated on the notice of violation or within five days after notice of the director’s decision at a hearing requested pursuant to this section, the director may summarily remove the newsrack.
B. Any newsrack in violation of the provisions of this chapter, which violation creates an immediate danger to the health or safety of the public, may be summarily removed and stored in a convenient location so as to eliminate the danger to the health or safety of the public. The director shall notify the owner of the newsrack of such removal by mailing a notice of removal. Such notice shall state the date the newsrack was removed, the reasons therefor, the location and procedure for claiming the newsrack and the procedure for obtaining a post-removal hearing before the director.
C. Within 10 days of the date of mailing a notice of violation pursuant to subsection (A) of this section, or notice of removal pursuant to subsection (B) of this section, the person in whose name the newsrack is permitted or other person who provides satisfactory proof of ownership may request a hearing before the director. The request shall be in writing, shall state the basis thereof and shall be filed with the director. The hearing shall be held within 10 working days of the filing of the request, unless continued for good cause. At the hearing, any person may present evidence or argument as to whether the use of the newsrack has violated this chapter. Within five working days after the close of the hearing, the director shall render a decision in writing. Notice of the decision shall be given to the person who requested the hearing. The director’s decision shall be final.
D. All notices required by this section shall be attached to the newsrack and sent by certified mail to the person and address shown on the permit pursuant to AVMC 10.02.040(A)(2) or other address designated by the permittee.
E. If no permit has been obtained for a newsrack located in a public right-of-way or the name and address of the owner does not appear on the newsrack as required by AVMC 10.02.060(H), the director may summarily remove the newsrack pursuant to the procedures set forth in this section.
F. Any newsrack removed and stored pursuant to this section shall be released to its owner if claimed within 30 days of removal and upon the payment of any fees established by city council resolution to cover the city’s cost of removal and storage. Upon failure of the owner to claim the newsrack and pay the fees within 30 days of removal, such newsrack shall be deemed to be unclaimed property and may be disposed of as such. [Ord. 2010-126 § 1 (Exh. A)].
10.02.090 Abandonment.
A. If any newsrack installed pursuant to this chapter is not serviced with the publication it is designed to disseminate for a period of seven days, the city may remove the newsrack pursuant to the procedure set forth in AVMC 10.02.080. For purposes of this section, abandonment shall include, but is not limited to, circumstances where no publication is in the rack for a period of seven days.
B. In the event a permittee of a newsrack desires to voluntarily abandon a newsrack location, such permittee shall completely remove the newsrack and mount and restore the public right-of-way to a safe condition, leaving no hole or projection in the pavement. [Ord. 2010-126 § 1 (Exh. A)].
Cross-reference: violations and penalties generally, Chapter 1.06 AVMC.