Laguna Beach Municipal Code Ch. 11.28 Newsracks

Note: Prior ordinance history: Ord. 804.

The purpose of this chapter is to establish a comprehensive set of regulations applicable to newsracks on the public right-of-way and other public property. The purpose of this chapter is to advance and improve safety and aesthetics by controlling the number, size, construction, placement and appearance of newsracks without restricting the free dispersal of information guaranteed by the Constitutions of the United States and the state of California.

More specifically, the purpose of this chapter is to promote the public peace, morals, health, safety and general welfare by regulating the placement, appearance, servicing and insuring of newsracks so as to protect against the dangers of impairing or distracting the vision of motorists and pedestrians; the hazards of unreasonably interfering with or impeding the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including ingress into or egress from any residence or place of business, or from the street to the sidewalk by persons exiting or entering parked or standing vehicles; unreasonably interfering with the use of public property for its intended purpose; unduly restricting access to the use of poles, posts, traffic signs or signals, hydrants, mailboxes or locations used for transportation purposes; unsightly structures inconsistent with the intent and purpose of the city's design review regulations (Chapter 25.40); neglectful servicing of newsracks resulting in visual blight on public rights-of-way and other public property and detracting from the aesthetics of store window displays, adjacent landscaping and other improvements; reduction in value of surrounding property; unnecessary exposure of the city to personal injury or property damage claims or suits; and public display of harmful or offensive matters.

The city council finds and determines that the strong and competing interests of the public and of newspapers require a reasonable accommodation which can only be satisfactorily achieved through the means of this chapter which is designed to accommodate such interests by regulating the time, place and manner of using newsracks. It is not the intent of this chapter to in any way discriminate against, regulate or interfere with the publication, circulation, distribution or dissemination of any newspapers.

(Ord. 1050 § 1, 1983)

For the purposes of this chapter, the words set out in this section shall have the following meanings:

"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 newspapers or news periodicals.

"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.

"Public property"

means parks, squares, plazas and any and all other real property owned by the city.

"Right-of-way"

means 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, 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 all that area dedicated to public use for public street purposes and includes, but is not limited to, roadways, parkways, alleys and sidewalks.

(Ord. 1050 § 1, 1983)

(a) No person shall install or maintain any newsrack which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any public right-of-way or other public property without first obtaining a permit therefor from the director of municipal services. An amended application for said permit shall be filed with the director of municipal services 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.

(b) Applications for permits required by this chapter shall be filed with the director of municipal services upon printed forms to be prescribed and supplied by him. The application shall be signed by the applicant and shall state the following:

(1) The name and address of the applicant;

(2) The location(s) of the proposed installation or maintenance of the newsrack(s);

(3) The time that said newsrack(s) is (are) proposed to be installed or maintained;

(4) The nature, type and model of the newsrack(s) proposed to be installed or maintained;

(5) That the applicant agrees, upon expiration or revocation of the permit, to immediately restore the public right-of-way or other public property to its condition prior to the installation or maintenance of the newsrack(s);

(6) Any additional information which the director of municipal services may deem necessary for the proper disposition of the application.

(c) Not more than one permit shall be required for each applicant regardless of the number of newsracks proposed to be installed or maintained.

(d) Prior to the issuance of the permit, the applicant shall pay all fees provided by resolution of the city council.

(e) In addition to the permit application, each applicant shall also execute a document, 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 upon, in or over a public right-of-way or other public property 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 twenty 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 or maintained on public property, said newsrack shall be removed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(f) Each permit shall be valid for a period of five years, and shall be renewed in the same manner set forth in this section for original applications.

(g) Each permit shall be issued only to the person making the application and may not be assigned to another person by the permittee. If any permittee assigns his permit to another, the permit will be deemed revoked as of the time of the attempted assignment.

(Ord. 1050 § 1, 1983)

(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, or which rests, wholly or in part, upon, along or over any portion of a roadway.

(b) No person shall install, use or maintain any newsrack which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any public right-of-way or other public property, 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 permitted at or near said location, when such newsrack interferes with the cleaning of any sidewalk by the use of mechanical sidewalk cleaning machinery, or when such newsrack interferes with the ordinary use of public property.

(c) Any newsrack which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any public right-of-way or other public property, shall comply with the following standards:

(1) All newsracks shall have a woodgrain panel finish. in depth.

(2) No newsracks shall exceed forty-six inches in height, twenty-seven inches in width, or eighteen inches

(3) Newsracks shall only be placed near a curb or adjacent to the wall of a building. Newsracks placed near the curb shall be placed no less than eighteen inches nor more than twenty-four 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. The provisions of subsection (c)(8) (H) of this section shall prevail over the foregoing.

(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, chained or otherwise attached to one another; however, no more than three newsracks may be joined or placed together in this matter, and a space of no less than eighteen inches shall separate each group of three newsracks so attached.

(6) No newsrack, or group of attached newsracks allowed under subsection (c)(5) of this section shall weigh, in the aggregate, in excess of one hundred twenty-five pounds when empty.

(7) Every newsrack shall be installed on a single pedestal or a multiple post 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 of municipal services.

(8) No newsrack shall be placed, installed, used or maintained:

(A) Within three feet of any marked crosswalk;

(B) Within fifteen feet of the curb return of any unmarked crosswalk;

(C) Within three feet of any fire hydrant, fire callbox or other emergency facility;

(D) Within three feet of any driveway;

(E) Within fifteen feet of any sign marking a designated bus stop;

(F) Within three feet of any bus bench or bus shelter;

(G) At any location whereby the clear space for the passageway of pedestrians is reduced to less than six feet;

(H) Within three feet of any display window of any building abutting the sidewalk or parkway or in such manner as to impede or interfere with the reasonable use of such window for display purposes;

(I) So that the front face or display window of the newsrack is within three feet of any lawn, flowers, shrubs or trees;

(J) Within five feet of any bicycle rack.

(9) The placement of all newsracks in the city shall comply with all local and state handicapped accessibility regulations.

(10) No newsrack shall be used for advertising signs or publicity purposes other than to state the name of the newspaper or news periodical sold therein on the display window only of the newsrack.

(11) Each newsrack shall be maintained in a clean, neat and attractive condition and in good repair at all times.

(d) No more than eight newsracks shall be located upon, in or over any public right-of-way or other public property within a space of two hundred feet in any direction within the same block of the same street. In determining which newsracks shall be permitted, the director of municipal services shall be guided solely by the following criteria:

(1) First priority shall be given to newsracks used for the sale of publications which have been adjudicated to be newspapers of general circulation for Orange County pursuant to the procedure set forth in the California Government Code.

(2) Second priority shall be given to newsracks used for the sale of daily publications (those published on five or more days in a calendar week) which have not been adjudicated to be newspapers of general circulation for Orange County.

(3) Third priority shall be given to newsracks used for the sale of weekly publications (those published on at least one but less than five days in a calendar week) which have not been adjudicated to be newspapers of general circulation for Orange County.

(4) Fourth priority shall be given to all other newspapers and periodicals.

(e) Every person who places or maintains a newsrack upon, in or over any public right-of-way or other public property 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.

(f) No person shall sell, offer for sale, or keep or maintain any newspaper or news periodical in any newsrack on any sidewalk in such manner as to expose to the public view any photograph, cartoon or drawing, contained within such publication, displaying any of the following:

(1) The genitals, pubic hair, buttocks, natal cleft, perineum, anal region or pubic hair region of any person other than a child under the age of puberty;

(2) Any portion of any breast, at or below the areola thereof, of any female person, other than a child under the age of puberty.

(Ord. 1050 § 1, 1983)

(a) Any newsrack installed, used or maintained in violation of the provisions of this chapter may be, after ten working days' notice to the person designated pursuant to subsection (b)(1) of Section 11.28.030, removed and stored in any convenient place by the director of municipal services or any person designated by same. Said notice shall give the permittee the opportunity to first cure the violation or to be heard at an informal hearing in reference to such violation. After removal of the newsracks, the permittee shall be noticed thereof. Upon failure of the permittee, following such notice, to claim the newsrack and pay the expenses of removal and storage within thirty days after notice, the newsrack shall be deemed unclaimed property in possession of the city and may be disposed of pursuant to law.

(b) In the case of violation of this chapter relative to restrictions upon attachment of newsracks to property or fixed objects other than that owned by the owner of the newsracks and restrictions upon location of newsracks, the director of municipal services or any person designated by same, may, as an alternative to removal, remove such attachment and/or move such newsrack in order to restore it to a legal condition, and thereafter the permittee shall be notified of such corrective action and shall pay the cost thereof.

(c) The director of municipal services, or any person designated by same, may summarily remove any news-rack where its installation, use or maintenance poses a danger to pedestrians or vehicles, creates a health or safety hazard for pedestrians or vehicles, or otherwise unreasonably interferes with the safe use of any public right-of-way or other public property. After the removal of the newsrack, the permittee shall be notified thereof. Upon failure of the permittee, following such notice, to claim the newsrack and pay the expenses of removal and storage within thirty days after notice, the newsrack shall be deemed unclaimed property in possession of the city and may be disposed of pursuant to law.

(Ord. 1050 § 1, 1983)