Hawthorne Municipal Code Art. III Permit Conditions—News Rack Regulations

Permits issued pursuant to this chapter have the following general conditions:

A. Permittees are exempt from business license fees pursuant to Section 5.78.020.

B. Permittees must pay all fees required by this chapter.

C. Except as otherwise provided, this chapter only applies to news racks placed within the public right-at-way.

D. During the period such news rack is installed and maintained in the city, each permittee shall file with the city and maintain in full force and effect at all times, a surety bond, or in lieu thereof a policy of insurance, approved by the city attorney. Each permittee shall also file a written statement with the director of licensing and code enforcement/director of general services that permittee shall defend, protect, indemnify and save harmless the city, its officers, agents, attorneys and employees, from any and all loss, costs, damages, expenses or liability which may result from or arise out of the granting of the permit, or the installation and maintenance of the news rack authorized thereby, and requiring further that the permittee will pay any and all loss or damage that may be sustained by any person as a result of, or which may be caused by or arise out of, the installation or maintenance of such news rack. Each bond or policy of insurance shall be of such type that its coverage shall be automatically restored immediately from and after any accident from which liability may thereafter accrue and shall provide the following minimum limits: (1) Bodily injury – two hundred fifty thousand dollars each person, five hundred thousand dollars each occurrence; (2) Property damage—one hundred thousand dollars each occurrence; (3) A combined single limit policy with aggregate limits in the amount of five hundred thousand dollars will be considered equivalent to the required minimum limits.

E. Permits are not transferable to another person or to another location.

F. The name, address, and telephone number of the permittee must be permanently affixed to news racks as well as evidence that the city has issued a permit for the subject news rack.

G. Each news rack must have affixed to it in a readily visible place a notice setting forth the name and address of the person responsible for maintaining the news rack and a working telephone number to call to report a malfunction, a facsimile number/email address to obtain a refund in the event of a malfunction of the coin-return mechanism.

H. Each news rack must be maintained in accordance with this code.

(Ord. 1797 § 2, 2004)

Each news rack must comply with each of the following requirements:

A. Size. No news rack may exceed four feet in height, thirty inches in width, or two feet in depth.

B. Placement. News racks may only be placed in a public right-of-way near a curb or adjacent to a wall of a building. The rear of news racks placed near a curb must be placed not less than Eighteen inches nor more than twenty-four inches from the face of the curb. The rear of news racks placed parallel to a wall or building must be placed not more than six inches from the wall or building. No news rack may be placed or maintained in a public right-of-way opposite one or more news racks.

C. Groups of News Racks. News racks may be placed next to each other; provided, that no group of news racks must extend more than ten feet six inches along a curb or wall and a space of no more or less than three feet must separate each group of news racks from another group of news racks. There may be no more than three of the above described groups of news racks located on a public right-of-way within a block.

D. Anchoring. Each news rack must be securely anchored to the ground or sidewalk.

E. Each news rack must be equipped with a working coin-return mechanism to permit a person using the machine to obtain an immediate refund in the event a person is unable to receive the publication paid for. The coin-return mechanisms must be maintained in good working order.

(Ord. 1797 § 2, 2004)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no news rack may be placed, installed, used or maintained as follows:

A. Within any R-1, R-2, R-3 or R-4 zone.

B. Within one foot of any area improved with lawn, flowers, shrubs or trees.

C. Within three feet of:

1. The entrance or exit to any building;

2. Any display window in any building abutting a sidewalk or public right-of-way. No news rack may be located directly in front of any display window of any building abutting a public right-of-way without the written consent of the person or entity legally in occupancy or otherwise in control of the premises on which the display window is located. Proof of such consent must be included in the permit application. If such consent is withdrawn, any news rack placed in front of a display window must be removed within fourteen days of the date of written notice from the city to the owner of such news rack.

D. Within five feet of:

1. Any marked crosswalk;

2. Any designated outdoor patio of restaurant, café or other eating establishment;

3. Any fire hydrant, fire call box, police call box or any other emergency facility;

4. Any designated bus stop area or any sign marking a designated bus stop;

5. Bus bench;

6. Any curb painted blue, pursuant to the provisions of California Vehicle Code Section 21458;

7. Any mailbox or utility cabinet/equipment.

E. Within ten feet of any driveway.

F. Within fifteen feet of the curb return of any intersecting public streets.

G. In any location whereby the clear passage on a sidewalk for pedestrian traffic is reduced to less than five feet.

H. Within one hundred feet of a news rack containing the same edition of the same publication, except where bulk of a particular edition is such that more than one rack is required, in which case such news racks must be placed side-by-side.

I. Within three hundred feet of a uniform news rack location, except for any period, not to exceed thirty days, during which a uniform news rack permit has been granted at the location but the applicant has been unable to obtain a uniform news rack.

J. All news racks must be permanently affixed to the pavement or otherwise anchored to a concrete base. News racks anchored to concrete bases must have a minimum weight of one hundred pounds empty. Uniform news racks which have been established and permitted pursuant to this chapter may be permanently affixed to the pavement or authorized support structures as established by city council resolution. No news rack shall be chained or otherwise attached to any fixture.

K. Be used for advertising, selling or storing material other than that dealing with the display, sale or purchase of the publication sold therein.

L. No news rack may remain empty for a period of thirty consecutive days.

M. In locations on the public right-of-way that impede the opening of car doors of cars parking along city streets.

N. In locations on private property where the newsrack structure nonetheless encroaches on the public right-of-way.

(Ord. 1797 § 2, 2004; Ord. 1871 § 1, 2007; Ord. 1891 §§ 1, 2, 2007)

Each news rack must be maintained in a clean and attractive condition and in good repair at all times, and no issue or edition of any publication may be allowed to remain in any such news rack for a period exceeding the publication period of the material offered for sale therein or thirty consecutive calendar days after the date of the initial issuance or publication of such material, whichever is lesser. Specifically, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, each news rack must be reasonably free of dirt and grease; be reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling and cracked paint; be reasonably free of rust and corrosion; have no broken cracked, dented, blemished or discolored plastic or glass parts; have no torn, peeling or fading paper or cardboard parts or inserts; and have no broken or misshapen structural parts. Furthermore, each news rack shall comply with the provisions of Section 8.22.030 (B) which states that "[i]t is unlawful for the owner of any private property to permit graffiti to remain so as to be capable of being viewed by a person utilizing any public right-of-way in the city such as a road, parking or alley."

(Ord. 1797 § 2, 2004)

Pursuant to California Penal Code Section 313.1(d), the front page of any harmful matter displayed in a public place from which minors are not excluded must be concealed with blinder racks, so that the front page of the lower two-thirds of the material is not exposed to view. The blinder requirement only applies in instances where the front page fits within the definitional prohibition of Penal Code Section 313.1(d).

(Ord. 1797 § 2, 2004)