Huntington Park Municipal Code Ch. 36 Outdoor Telephone Permits

Publicly accessible telephones ("PATs") installed in accordance with Article 38 of Chapter 3 of Title 9 of the Huntington Park Municipal Code shall be required to have a valid outdoor telephone permit in accordance with this chapter.

(§ 2, Ord. 617-NS, eff. July 6, 1999)

(a) An application for an outdoor telephone permit shall be filed in compliance with this chapter on forms supplied by the Community Development Department. A nonrefundable application fee shall be paid. The fee shall be established by a resolution of the City Council.

The application filed by the applicant shall include:

(1) Name; address, and phone number of the applicant;

(2) A site plan showing the location of the proposed phone and other private or public improvements as necessary;

(3) Property owner approval of the proposed outdoor telephone permit and signature affirming same;

(4) Other information as may be required by the Director.

(b) Outdoor telephone permit applications shall be considered for approval, approval with conditions, denial, or modification by the Director of Community Development, or his or her designee, at an administrative public hearing at which all relevant information to the application may be heard.

(c) Upon filing of a complete application, required notices of the public hearing shall be completed as follows:

(1) A public notice of the application and hearing date shall be posted upon the premises at the proposed location of the "PAT" for not less than 15 days prior to the hearing.

(§ 2, Ord. 617-NS, eff. July 6, 1999)

An outdoor telephone permit may be authorized by the Director, or his or her designee, only upon their making the following findings:

(a) That the applicant has not been in violation of any law with respect to publicly accessible telephone operations anywhere in the City (except for the prohibition of publicly accessible telephones in the downtown area which was effective under the previous Section of this code) including, but not limited to, having owned or operated a publicly accessible telephone which is or was:

(1) Located illegally in or encroaching over any public right-of-way; or

(2) Without a valid business license; or

(3) In non-compliance with a previously issued outdoor telephone permit; or

(4) Installed or maintained in violation of this chapter.

(b) That both the physical site and building conditions as well as established uses of the property, on which the "PAT" is to be located shall be in compliance with all Huntington Park Municipal Codes and any other laws or regulations as determined by Director, but that any violation on the property not related to pay telephones shall not cause the disqualification of Outdoor Telephone Permit applicants as provided in Section 5-36.03(a);

(c) That the proposed "PAT" will be maintained at all times in compliance with all usage control measures as required by this chapter or as included in the conditions of approval of the outdoor telephone permit or as otherwise required by the Director;

(d) That the granting of such outdoor telephone permit will not adversely affect the established or planned character and land uses of the surrounding area nor be injurious to the property or improvements in such vicinity and zone in which the property is located;

(e) That the granting of such permit will not adversely affect the General Plan of the City; and

(f) That the design, location, establishment, maintenance, or operation of the use for which the outdoor telephone permit is sought will not, under the particular case, be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, morals, comfort, convenience, or welfare of persons or other permitted uses operating nearby.

(§ 2, Ord. 617-NS, eff. July 6, 1999)

An outdoor telephone permit granted in compliance with the provisions of this chapter may be conditioned to impose a specified time limit for which it may be valid and which shall in no case exceed three years from the date of approval of the outdoor telephone permit. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to apply for any subsequent outdoor telephone permit sufficiently in advance of the expiration of any outdoor telephone permit unless another valid outdoor telephone permit has been obtained.

(§ 2, Ord. 617-NS, eff. July 6, 1999)

Installation, operation and maintenance of publicly accessible telephones shall be in accordance with all applicable codes, laws, rules and regulations, and statutes and the following minimum standards:

(a) The applicant/"PAT" operator shall have a valid city business license.

(b) A "PAT" shall not be located closer than five feet from any public right-of-way for vehicles, any driveway, or any other vehicle pathway.

(c) A "PAT" shall not be located within a required landscape area and access to such "PAT" shall not require walking in or standing on any landscaped area. A "PAT" may be installed in a landscaped area if the concrete pad area used for the foundation and user access does not cover more than 5% of the planter area in which located or as determined by the Director.

(d) A "PAT" shall not encroach over or upon any public right-of-way.

(e) The location of a "PAT" shall allow a minimum of four feet clearance adjacent to any pedestrian passage or similar access area as determined by the Director.

(f) No "PAT" shall be installed which utilizes electrical supply exceeding 48 volts unless an electrical permit is first obtained.

(g) All publicly accessible telephones shall have the following operating restrictions:

(1) Blocking of incoming calls at all times;

(2) Replacing the telephone number with an identification number at all times;

(h) Upon findings of reasonable cause, the Director may require any or all of the following restrictions:

These operating restrictions shall be installed in not less than five calendar days after the issuing of notice as provided for in Section 5-36.07:

(1) Deadening the keypad after outputting the digits dialed to initiate a call;

(2) Blocking pager prefixes;

These operating restrictions shall be installed in no less than 14 calendar days after the issuing of notice as provided for in Section 5-36.07:

(3) Limiting the hours of operation of the "PAT" except that 911 service shall be operable at all times;

(4) Relocating the "PAT" to a different location on the property as approved by the Director;

(5) Render the "PAT" inoperable for a period to be determined by the Director;

(6) Other operating restrictions or modifications to the above may be required by the Director as necessary to address regulatory or technological changes or other public nuisance issues that may develop.

(i) All publicly accessible telephones shall be capable of dialing emergency, phone repair, and information numbers such as "911", "211", "411", etc., and any other toll free numbers for such services.

(j) All publicly accessible telephones shall be maintained in a clean, neat, damage-free, and unless otherwise required, an operable manner at all times.

(k) Publicly accessible telephones shall not be located such that its installation or use interferes with any operation of the legally established use of the property or other land use requirements such as emergency fire exits, parking, etc.

(l) Installation and operation of publicly accessible telephones shall be maintained in accordance with all requirements of the California Public Utilities Commission and the Federal Communications Commission at all times.

(m) Other measures may not be required by the Director as deemed necessary to maintain the public health, safety and welfare of the City.

(n) Lighting shall be provided and permanently maintained for all "PATs" to ensure that any use of the "PAT" can be clearly visible to nearby traffic, pedestrians or public areas and that the level of light will allow easy readability of telephone numbers or signage during all evening hours. Such lighting shall be directed away or screened from any adjacent residential uses.

(o) All publicly accessible telephones shall, at all times, have posted on the payphone a clearly visible telephone number to call for consumer rights information, complaints and other information related to consumer protection or as otherwise required by law or other regulatory agencies, or as required by the Director.

(§ 2, Ord. 617-NS, eff. July 6, 1999)

The granting or denial of an outdoor telephone permit or the imposition of any operating standards or restrictions by the Director, or his or her designee, may be appealed to the Planning Commission by any person, providing such appeal is filed in writing with the Community Development Department within 10 calendar days of the Director's or his or her designee's action. The decision of the Planning Commission on the appeal shall be final. Any person appealing an outdoor telephone permit decision of the Director, or his or her designee, to the Planning Commission shall pay to the Community Development Department at the time of filing the written notice of appeal an appeal fee in an amount as set by a resolution of the City Council.

(§ 2, Ord. 617-NS, eff. July 6, 1999)

The Director, or his or her designee, may hold a hearing to revoke or modify an outdoor telephone permit upon the giving of notice of not less than 10 calendar days prior to the hearing. The notice shall be in writing and mailed to the permittee and/or owner of the property as shown on the current tax rolls of the County of Los Angeles and/or the project applicant as shown on the outdoor telephone permit application. Failure to receive the notice shall not affect the validity of any proceedings.

An outdoor telephone permit may be revoked or modified by the imposition of conditions or operating restrictions by the Director if any one of the following findings can be made:

(a) That circumstances have changed so that one or more of the findings outlined in Section 9-3.3804 can no longer be made, including any violation where the operator has been found in non-compliance with Section 9-3.3804(a) during the time period of any approved permit or during the 12 months preceding the date of application of any outdoor telephone permit;

(b) That the outdoor telephone permit was obtained by misrepresentation or fraud;

(c) That the use upon the premises for which the outdoor telephone permit was granted had ceased or was suspended for six or more months;

(d) That one or more of the conditions of approval of the outdoor telephone permit or minimum standards for publicly accessible telephones in this chapter have not been met;

(e) That the use is in violation of any statute, ordinance, law or regulation; or

(f) That the use permitted by the outdoor telephone permit is detrimental to the public health, safety or welfare or constitutes a public nuisance.

(§ 2, Ord. 617-NS, eff. July 6, 1999)

The decision of the Director, or his or her designee, to grant or deny revocation of an outdoor telephone permit may be appealed as set forth in Section 5-36.05.

(§ 2, Ord. 617-NS, eff. July 6, 1999)