Chapter 7.20
DISTRIBUTION OF HANDBILLS AND OTHER PAPERS
Sections:
7.20.030 Obedience to refusal of consent filed with city clerk.
7.20.050 Method of distribution.
7.20.070 Aiding and abetting prohibited.
7.20.090 Use of receptacles provided for the receipt of United States mail.
7.20.010 Purpose and intent.
The council of the city does find, determine and declare that:
A. Consent. The practice of distributing, casting, throwing, and otherwise placing, newspapers, magazines, handbills and other papers on private residential property against the express wishes of the owner, or of an adult occupant, thereof, or of a person authorized by such owner or occupant to deny such consent, creates a serious police problem and a threat to the public safety and welfare in that, against the wishes of the owner or occupant, such property will be cluttered with an accumulation of such material and the absence of the owner or occupant will be thereby inadvertently advertised to persons of dissolute or criminal propensities and the probability of criminal activities on such property will be thereby increased so that more intensified police patrolling of such property will then be necessary, all of which is detrimental to the peace, safety and welfare of the public.
B. Vehicles and Public Places. The practice of distributing and depositing, placing, throwing, scattering and casting newspapers, magazines, handbills and other papers in or upon motor vehicles and in and upon the public streets and in public places, except to persons who are willing to receive the same, creates a serious police problem and a threat to the public safety in that such material is permitted to fall, and is thrown, upon parking areas, public streets and public places and is blown about and accumulates as trash and creates fire hazards and an unsightly condition and requires extra expense to remove such trash.
C. Aiding and Abetting. The practice of causing and permitting the practices outlined in subsections A and B of this section by employees, agents and contractors creates serious problems and threats to the public safety and welfare in that such causing and permitting of the said practices provides the inducement and consideration for the continuance thereof and constitutes the source thereof.
D. Need of Law. That the public interest, convenience and necessity require the removal of, and this chapter is enacted to remove, said police problems and threat to the public health, safety and welfare and require the protection of, and this chapter is enacted to protect the people against the nuisance of, and incident to, the promiscuous distribution of newspapers, magazines, handbills and circulars on private residential property, on vehicles and in public places. (Ord. 342, § 1; 1976 Code § 7-4.01; 1966 Code § 5300).
7.20.020 Obedience to signs.
It is unlawful for any person to distribute, cast, throw, scatter, deposit, or otherwise place, any newspaper, magazine, handbill, pamphlet, circular, dodger, announcement, or any other paper, for which no charge is made to the recipient thereof, and which is not a discarded, used, or leftover substance, at any place on the grounds, yards, lawns, driveways, steps, porches, or in front of, or upon, the front entry door, or doorknob, of any single-family residential building, or of any residential building having more than one dwelling unit, or in any entry or hallway or on any stairs, or at, or upon, the front entry door, or doorknob, of any dwelling unit, in any such multiple unit residential building in the city, at any time there is a rectangular sign of an overall dimension of not less than two inches by four inches affixed on the outside and within one foot of the front entry door, of any such building, or in the case of a dwelling unit in such a multiple unit residential building, within two inches of the front entry door of such dwelling unit, containing the words “No Circulars,” “No Handbills,” “No Papers,” or any other words, in letters no less than three-eighths inch wide and one-half inch high, indicating that the owner, manager or occupant of such dwelling unit or building desires to have no such newspapers, magazines, handbills, pamphlets, circulars, dodgers, announcements, or other papers, left upon such premises. Such a sign on such a multiple unit residential building shall not apply to the front entry door of any dwelling unit in such a building. Such a sign at the front entry door of any dwelling unit in such a building shall apply only to the dwelling unit thereof at which such a sign is affixed. Such signs are permitted notwithstanding, and without compliance with, any other provision of the Millbrae Municipal Code. Any such sign larger than three inches by six inches is prohibited. (Ord. 383, § 2; Ord. 342, § 1; 1976 Code § 7-4.02; 1966 Code § 5302).
7.20.030 Obedience to refusal of consent filed with city clerk.
A. It is unlawful for any person to distribute, cast, throw, scatter, deposit or otherwise place any newspaper, magazine, handbill, pamphlet, circular, dodger, announcement, or any other paper, for which no charge is made to the recipient thereof, and which is not a discarded, used, or leftover substance, at any place on the grounds, yards, lawns, driveways, steps, porches, or in front of, or upon the front entry door, or doorknob, of any single-family residential building, or of any residential building having more than one dwelling unit, or in any entry or hallway or on any stairs, or at, or upon, the front entry door, or doorknob, of any dwelling unit, in any such multiple unit residential building, in the city, at any time there is on file in the office of the city clerk an affidavit or a declaration under the penalty of perjury that the person subscribing the same is an owner, manager or occupant of such building or dwelling unit described therein and stating that such person refuses consent for any of said items to be left at the place so described. Such an affidavit or declaration may be filed with the city clerk without charge at any time and upon the filing thereof the same shall be open to inspection by the public and effective at midnight of the day after such filing. It may be revoked by filing with the city clerk, a written statement signed by such person or by an affidavit or declaration under the penalty of perjury that such person is no longer an owner, manager, or occupant, of the building or dwelling unit described therein. Such revocation may be filed with the city clerk at any time without charge and shall be effective upon such filing.
B. Any such refusal of consent filed with the signature of an owner or manager of, and any such revocation pertaining to, such a multiple unit residential building shall not apply to the front entry door of any dwelling unit in such a building. Any such refusal of consent filed with the signature of an owner or occupant of, and any such revocation pertaining to, a dwelling unit in such a building shall apply only to the dwelling unit owned or occupied by such person or to which such revocation pertains. No such refusal of consent shall be effective after the person who signed it has ceased to be an owner, manager or occupant of the premises described in such refusal of consent.
C. No person shall leave any such an item at any such a place in the city, unless such person has examined within twenty-four hours prior thereto all refusals of consent filed with the city clerk. (Ord. 383, § 2; Ord. 342, § 1; 1976 Code § 7-4.03; 1966 Code § 5303).
7.20.040 Obedience to notice.
It is unlawful for any person to distribute, cast, throw, scatter, deposit, or otherwise place, any newspaper, magazine, handbill, pamphlet, circular, dodger, announcement, or any other paper, not a discarded, used or leftover substance, at any place on the grounds, yards, lawns, driveways, steps, porches, or in front of, or upon, the front entry door, or doorknob, of any single-family residential building, or of any residential building having more than one dwelling unit, or in any entry or hallway, or on any stairs, or at, or upon, the front entry door, or doorknob, of any dwelling unit in any such multiple unit residential building, in the city, after having received a notice orally or in writing that an owner, manager, or occupant of such property or dwelling unit refuses to consent that any such item be left upon such property or at such dwelling unit. Any such notice given by an owner or manager of such a multiple unit residential building shall not apply to the front entry door of any dwelling unit in such a building. Any such notice given by an owner or occupant of a dwelling unit in such a building shall apply only to the dwelling unit owned or occupied by such person. No such notice shall be effective after the person who gave it has ceased to be an owner, manager or occupant of the premises for which such notice was given. (Ord. 383, § 2; Ord. 342, § 1; 1976 Code § 7-4.04; 1966 Code § 5304).
7.20.050 Method of distribution.
A. Any newspaper, magazine, handbill, pamphlet, circular, dodger, announcement, or any other paper, for which no charge is made to the recipient thereof and which is not a discarded, used, or leftover substance and which may be distributed pursuant to this chapter, shall be placed into the hand of the intended recipient, or placed through a slot or opening in a front entry door or within a receptacle for such items located upon the property, or placed neatly on the front porch next to the front entry door; provided, however, the item being distributed first shall have been rolled up and secured with a rubber band or in some other manner so as to prevent the item from blowing or drifting about the property.
B. As used in this section, “receptacle” means a container made of a stiff material containing the words “For Papers,” or similar words. (Ord. 383, § 2, Amended by Ord. 437, § 1; 1976 Code § 7-4.05).
7.20.060 Littering.
It is unlawful for any person to cast, throw, scatter, deposit or otherwise place, any newspaper, magazine, handbill, pamphlet, circular, dodger, announcement, or any other paper, for which no charge is made to the recipient thereof, and which is not a discarded, used, or leftover substance, upon the ground or other surface of any public street or sidewalk, or upon any ground or grass between any street and any sidewalk, or upon the ground of any vacant land, or park, in the city, or upon the ground, lawn, floor, cement, or other surface, of any parking lot, steps, porch, vestibule, foyer, hall, waiting room, or restroom, of any building, in the city, owned, or in the possession of, the city, or any other governmental entity, or of any railroad station, bus depot, store, food market, drugstore, office building, or other building, parking lot, or place, in the city, into, or upon, which the public is admitted by easement or license, without the payment of an entry fee or charge. No portion of this section shall be construed to restrict a private owner in the use of his own property or a person in lawful possession of property from his own use thereof. (Ord. 342, § 1; 1976 Code § 7-4.06; 1966 Code § 5305).
7.20.070 Aiding and abetting prohibited.
It is unlawful for any person to enter into any conspiracy or into any employment, advertising, or other contract, which promotes the performance in the city of any act prohibited or declared unlawful by this chapter, or that can reasonably be anticipated to result in the performance in the city, of any act prohibited or declared unlawful, by this chapter, or that can reasonably be anticipated to result in the performance, in the city, of any such act or to enter into any contract with any person for such person to distribute, cast, throw, scatter, deposit, or otherwise place, any newspaper, magazine, handbill, pamphlet, circular, dodger, announcement, or any other paper, for which no charge is made to the recipient thereof and which is not a discarded, used, or leftover substance, on any single-family or multiple unit residential property, in the city, unless the person contracting to leave any such item at any such place acknowledges in writing that he has received and read a copy of this chapter or as hereafter amended by any ordinance, and such writing is kept and held subject to inspection by the public for one year by the other party to such a contract and exhibited to any police officer upon request. (Ord. 342, § 1; 1976 Code § 7-4.07; 1966 Code § 5306).
7.20.080 Exemptions.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the distribution of mail by the United States Government or to any notice of any lien, foreclosure, or sale of the real property on which such notice is placed, or to any governmental or court notice or process or to any telephone directory or to the distribution or delivery of any newspaper determined to be a newspaper of general circulation by a decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, magazine, pamphlet, or other paper, to any person pursuant to his oral or written order or consent therefor, or to any hotel, inn, motel or other such public residential premises, or to any littering inside a theater, or to any circus or tent show or to any place where food is sold for immediate consumption at open-air tables or on the parking lot of any such eating places. (Ord. 342, § 1; 1976 Code § 7-4.08; 1966 Code § 5307).
7.20.090 Use of receptacles provided for the receipt of United States mail.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall authorize any use of, or the distribution of, any matter without postage prepaid thereon into any mailbox, any attachment to a mail box, or any other receptacle or into or through any slot in any door, which has been provided for the receipt or deposit therein, or the delivery through any such slot, of mail by the United States Postal Service and which is prohibited by any rule, regulation or law of the United States, or of the said Postal Service, to be used for any purpose other than for the receipt of mail. (Ord. 342, § 1; 1976 Code § 7-4.09; 1966 Code § 5308).