Lomita Municipal Code Ch. 5 Publication Vending Machines

The city council of the City of Lomita finds and declares that:

(a) The uncontrolled placement of publication vending machines in the public rights-of-ways represents an inconvenience and danger to the safety and welfare of persons using such rights-of-ways, including pedestrians, persons with disabilities, persons entering and leaving vehicles and buildings, and persons performing essential utility, traffic control and emergency services.

(b) Publication vending machines located so as to cause an inconvenience or danger to persons using public rights-of ways and unsightly public vending machines located thereon constitute public nuisances.

(c) The uncontrolled proliferation of publication vending machines detracts from the appearance of streets, sidewalks and adjacent businesses.

(d) The uncontrolled placement of publication vending machines inhibits safe entry and departure from vehicles.

(e) The uncontrolled placement of publication vending machines impairs the vision and distracts the attention of motorists and pedestrians, especially small children, and may cause injury to the person or property of such persons.

(f) The placement of publication vending machines in the public rights-of-ways adjacent to residential streets detracts from and reduces neighborhood aesthetics and increases the exposure of residents to noise, traffic volume, hazards and congestion.

(g) The provisions and prohibitions contained and enacted in this chapter are in pursuit of and for the purpose of securing and promoting the public safety and general welfare of persons in the City in their use of public rights-of-way through the regulation of placement, appearance, number, size and servicing of publication vending machines on the public rights-of-ways.

(h) 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 printed material that is constitutionally protected.

(Ord. No. 214, § 1, 2-2-76; Ord. No. 603, § 1, 4-19-99)

For the purpose of this chapter, certain words and phrases shall be construed as set forth in this section, unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended:

(1) Publication vending machines. As used in this chapter, "publication vending machines" shall mean any self-service or coin-operated box, container, storage unit, newsrack or other dispenser installed, used or maintained for the display, sale or distribution of publications.

(2) Parking lot. As used in this chapter, "parking lot" shall mean an area owned or operated by the city, or the city's parking authority, for the parking of motor vehicles but shall not include a public street.

(3) Street. As used in this chapter, "street" shall mean that area dedicated to public use for public street purposes and shall include, but not be limited to, roadways, parkways, alleys and sidewalks.

(4) Roadway. As used in this chapter, "roadway" shall mean that portion of a street improved, designed and ordinarily used for vehicular travel.

(5) Parkway. As used in this chapter, "parkway" shall mean 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 shall also include any area within a roadway which is not open to vehicular travel.

(6) Sidewalk. As used in this chapter, "sidewalk" shall mean any surface provided for the exclusive use of pedestrians.

(Ord. No. 214, § 1, 2-2-76; Ord. No. 603, § 2, 4-19-99)

(a) No person shall install, use or maintain any publication vending machine or other structure 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 the roadway of any public street.

(b) No person shall install, use or maintain any publication vending machine which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any public 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 use, or when such publication vending machine unreasonably interferes with or impedes the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including any legally parked or stopped vehicle, the ingress into or egress from any residence or place of business, or the use of poles, posts, traffic signs or signals, hydrants, mailboxes or other objects permitted at or near said location, or when such publication vending machine interferes with the cleaning of any sidewalk by the use of mechanical sidewalk cleaning machinery. No publication vending machine shall be placed in or on any public sidewalk if the placement of the same leaves six (6) feet or less of an unobstructed passage way for persons with disabilities to pass through.

(c) No person shall install, use or maintain any publication vending machine in any parking lot except in a location to be determined by the city manager, said location to be a location that will not interfere with or impede the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic or interfere with the cleaning of any parking lot; provided, however, that any publication vending machine installed in a parking lot shall conform to the requirements of section 4-5.05 of this chapter and such other regulations as the city manager may impose to assure that said publication vending machine will not unreasonably interfere with the use of the property as a parking lot.

(Ord. No. 214, § 1, 2-2-76; Ord. No. 603, § 3, 4-19-99; Ord. No. 699, § 1, 4-2-07)

Any publication vending machine which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any public sidewalk or parkway shall comply with the following requirements:

(1) No publication vending machine shall exceed four (4) feet in height, thirty (30) inches in width, or two (2) feet in thickness. Publication vending machines shall not be stacked or affixed on top of another publication vending machine if the height thereof exceeds four (4) feet. Any newspaper publisher who demonstrates to the city manager that there is insufficient capacity in one (1) publication vending machine may apply for and receive a second vending machine beside the first machine within the same priority.

(2) Publication vending machines shall only be placed near a curb or adjacent to the wall of a building. Publication vending machines placed near the curb shall be placed no less than eighteen (18) inches nor more than twenty-four (24) inches from the edge of the curb. Publication vending machines placed adjacent to the wall of a building shall be placed parallel to such wall and not more than six (6) inches from the wall. No publication vending machine shall be placed or maintained on the sidewalk or parkway opposite a newsstand or another publication vending machine. All publication vending machines must be level.

(3) No publication vending machine shall be bolted or otherwise permanently attached to any private property not owned by the owner of the publication vending machine or to any permanently fixed object on private property without the written consent of the property owner. All placements of publication vending machines shall be permanently affixed, and not chained.

(4) Publication vending machines may be attached to one another; however, no more than three (3) publication vending machines may be joined together in this manner, and a space of no less than eighteen (18) inches shall separate each group of three (3) publication vending machines so attached.

(5) No publication vending machine or group of attached publication vending machines allowed under paragraph (4) above shall weigh, in the aggregate, in excess of one hundred twenty-five (125) pounds when empty.

(6) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (b) of section 4-5.03, no publication vending machine shall be placed, installed, used or maintained:

(a) Within three (3) feet of any marked crosswalk.

(b) Within fifteen (15) feet of the curb return of any unmarked crosswalk.

(c) Within three (3) feet of any fire hydrant, fire call box, police call box, telephone or other emergency facility.

(d) Within three (3) feet of any driveway.

(e) Within three (3) feet ahead of, and fifteen (15) feet to the rear of any sign marking a designated bus stop.

(f) Within three (3) feet of any bus bench.

(g) At any location whereby the clear space for the passageway of pedestrians is reduced to less than six (6) feet.

(h) Within three (3) feet of any area improved with lawn, flowers, shrubs or trees or within three (3) 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) In any public right-of-way adjoining land zoned for residential use.

(7) Publication vending machines shall have a uniform appearance with the mount and structure painted glossy black and have wood grain panels.

(8) Publication vending machines on city or city's parking authority property shall be permanently affixed by bolting to the pavement or other approved method. The city manager is directed to develop approved methods of affixing publication vending machines to city or city's parking authority property. Such approved methods shall apply equally to all publications seeking to place a publication vending machine within the city.

(Ord. No. 214, § 1, 2-2-76; Ord. No. 603, §§ 4—9, 4-19-99; Ord. No. 614, § 1, 2-7-00; Ord. No. 699, § 1, 4-2-07)

On the following described streets, highways and public rights-of-way within the city limits of the City of Lomita:

(1) Pacific Coast Highway;

(2) Lomita Boulevard;

(3) Narbonne Avenue;

(4) Western Avenue;

(5) Crenshaw Boulevard;

any publication vending machine, which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any public sidewalk or parkway, must be permanently mounted in accordance with the following specifications:

(1) A publication vending machine shall have:

(a) A plastic display window;

(b) A horizontal spring-loaded display shelf;

(c) An automatic coin return;

(d) Wood grain panels;

(e) The mount painted gloss black; and

(f) Each individual case shall be placed on a mount; (a mount with more than five (5) cases shall not be allowed on the public right-of-way).

(2) Dimensions for a publication vending machine shall be:

(a) Street tube pedestal—Sixteen and one-half inches by three (16½ × 3) inches.

(b) Individual mount tray—Twenty and three-fourths (20¾) inches by sixteen and one-fourth (16¼) inches.

(c) Overall height, including case and mount—Forty-eight (48) inches.

(Ord. No. 214, § 1, 2-2-76)

In addition to the standards specified in section 4-5.04, any publication vending machine which rests in whole or in part upon, in or on any portion of a public right-of-way or which projects onto, into or over any part of a public right-of-way shall comply with the standards set forth in this section.

(a) No advertising signs or materials, other than those dealing with the name of the publication contained within the publication vending machine, shall be displayed on the outside of the publication vending machine.

(b) Each publication vending machine shall be equipped with a coin-return mechanism to permit a person using the machine to secure an immediate refund in the event the person is unable to receive the publication paid for. The coin-return mechanisms shall be maintained in good working order.

(c) Each publication vending machine shall have affixed to it in a readily visible place so as to be seen by anyone using the publication vending device a notice setting forth the name and address of the distributor and the telephone number of a working telephone service to: call to report a malfunction; secure a refund in the event of a malfunction of the coin-return mechanism; and give the notices provided for in this chapter.

(d) Each publication vending machine shall be maintained in a neat and clean condition and in good repair at all times. Specifically, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, each publication vending machine shall be serviced and maintained so that:

(1) It is reasonably free of dirt and grease;

(2) It is reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling or cracked paint in the visible painted areas of the publication vending machine;

(3) It is reasonably free of rust and corrosion in the visible unpainted metal areas;

(4) The clear plastic or glass parts thereof, if any, through which the publications are viewed are unbroken and reasonably free of cracks, dents, blemishes or discoloration;

(5) The paper or cardboard parts or inserts are reasonably free of tears, peeling or fading; and

(6) The structural parts are not broken or unduly misshapen.

(e) All publication vending machines installed on or after the effective date of this section shall be in compliance with the provisions of this section 4-5.06 on the date of their installation and at all times thereafter. All publication vending machines in existence before the effective date of this section shall comply with section 4-5.06 by no later than September 1, 1999. All publication vending machines in existence before the effective date of this section shall comply with section 4-5.04, subsection (6) (i) by no later than May 31, 2000.

(Ord. No. 214, § 1, 2-2-76; Ord. No. 603, § 10, 4-19-99)

No more than six (6) publication vending machines shall be located on any public right-of-way within a space of two hundred (200) feet in any direction within the same block of the same street.

In determining which publication vending machines shall be permitted to be installed or remain, the city manager shall be guided solely by the following criteria.

(1) First priority shall be given to publication vending machines used for the sale of publications which have been adjudicated to be newspapers of general circulation for Los Angeles County, pursuant to the procedure set forth in title I, division 7, chapter 1, article 2 of the State Government Code commencing with section 6020.

(2) Second priority shall be given to publication vending machines used for the sale of daily publications (those published on five (5) or more days in a calendar week) which have not been adjudicated to be newspapers of general circulation for Los Angeles County.

(3) Third priority shall be given to publication vending machines used for the sale of weekly publications (those published less than five (5) days in a calendar week) which have not be adjudicated to be newspapers of general circulation for Los Angeles County.

(Ord. No. 214, § 1, 2-2-76; Ord. No. 603, § 11, 4-19-99; Ord. No. 699, § 1, 4-2-07)

Upon a determination by the city manager that a publication vending machine has been installed, used or maintained in violation of any provisions of this chapter, the city manager shall cause an order to be issued to the distributor to correct the offending situation, which order shall be deemed final. The order shall be mailed to the distributor by certified mail, return receipt requested to the distributor at the address shown on the notice required by section 4-5.06. The order shall specifically describe the offending condition(s). The order shall specifically describe the offending condition and specify actions necessary to correct it. If the distributor fails to correct the offending condition with ten (10) business days after receipt of the order, the city manager shall cause the offending publication vending machine to be removed and processed as unclaimed property under the applicable provisions of law. If the distributor of the offending publication vending machine cannot be identified under applicable provisions of law, then the City shall treat the publication vending machine as unclaimed property. The foregoing provisions are not exclusive, and are in addition to any other penalty or remedy provided by law.

(Ord. No. 214, § 1, 2-2-76; Ord. No. 603, § 12, 4-19-99; Ord. No. 699, § 1, 4-2-07)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 603, § 13, adopted April 19, 1999, repealed § 4-5.09, which pertained to indemnification and derived from Ord. No. 214, § 1, adopted Feb. 2, 1976.

In the event any publication vending machine installed pursuant to this chapter is not serviced with the publication it is designed to disseminate for a period of over seven (7) days, the city reserves the right to remove same pursuant to the procedure set out in section 4-5.07. For purposes of this section, abandonment shall include, but is not limited to, circumstances where no publication is in the vending machine for a period of over seven (7) days.

(Ord. No. 214, § 1, 2-2-76)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 603, § 14, adopted April 19, 1999, repealed § 4-5.11, which pertained to time for compliance and derived from Ord. No. 214, § 1, adopted Feb. 2, 1976.

No newspaper or similar publication which is prohibited by the laws of the state from sale or distribution to minors may be offered for sale to the public unless such offer of sale is made or maintained in the presence of an attendant with the ability to prevent the purchase of such newspaper or similar publication by a minor or otherwise in compliance with Penal Code section 313.1.

(Ord. No. 214, § 1, 2-2-76; Ord. No. 603, § 15, 4-19-99)

No newspaper or similar publication may be offered for sale to the public on any public right-of-way by means of any mechanical sales device in such a manner as to expose to the public view any photograph or drawing contained within such newspaper or similar publication displaying any of the following:

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

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

(Ord. No. 214, § 1, 2-2-76)

Every person is guilty of a misdemeanor who causes, permits, procures, counsels or assists in an offer of sale of any newspaper or similar publication in violation of sections 4-5.12 and 4-5.13.

(Ord. No. 214, § 1, 2-2-76)

Any newspaper or similar publication offered for sale in violation of sections 4-5.12 and 4-5.13 constitutes a public nuisance.

(Ord. No. 214, § 1, 2-2-76)