Los Banos Municipal Code Ch. 9 Regulation of Newsracks and Establishment of Blinder Racks

The City Council of the City of Los Banos finds that the unrestricted display, and/or maintenance of materials that is harmful to minors as defined in this chapter, in a public place, other than a public place from which minors are excluded, interferes with the public's general welfare and is especially inappropriate to minors. The City Council intends by this chapter to restrict the display and/or maintenance of materials containing harmful matter where minors are not allowed, and to cause concealment of harmful matters in areas where minors are allowed.

(§ 1, Ord. 930, eff. August 15, 1997, as amended by § 11, Ord. 1161, eff. February 17, 2018)

"Newsrack"

shall mean any self-service or coin-operated box, container, storage unit or other dispenser installed, used, or maintained for the display or distribution or sale of publications.

"Public right-of-way"

shall mean any place of any nature which is dedicated to use by the public for pedestrian travel, and includes, but is not limited to, a sidewalk, curb, parkway, lane, mall, court, park, square, and any other similar public way.

"Roadway"

shall mean that part of a public right-of-way that is designated and used primarily for vehicular traffic.

"Blinder rack"

for the purposes of this chapter, blinder rack means a display or merchandise rack which covers or conceals portions of the merchandise so as to prevent the casual observer from viewing portions of the merchandise.

(§ 1, Ord. 930, eff. August 15, 1997, as amended by § 11, Ord. 1161, eff. February 17, 2018)

Publications offered for sale from newsracks placed or maintained on a public right-of-way shall not be displayed or exhibited in a manner which exposes to public view from the public right-of-way or roadway any of the following:

(a) Any statements or words described in explicit sexual acts, sexual organs, or excrement where such statements or words have their purpose or effect sexual arousal, gratification or affront;

(b) Any picture or illustration of genitals, pubic hair, perineum, anuses or anal regions of any person where such picture or illustration has had its purpose or effects sexual arousal, gratification or affront; and

(c) Any picture or illustration depicting explicit sexual acts where such picture illustration has its purpose or effect sexual arousal, gratification or affront.

"Explicit sexual act" as used in this section means depictions of sexual intercourse, oral copulation, anal intercourse, or oral-anal copulation, bestiality, sadism, masochism, or lewd exhibition of genitals, whether any of the above conduct is depicted or described as being performed above or between members of the same or opposite sex or between humans and animals, or other act of sexual arousal, involving any physical contact with a person's genitals, pubic region, pubic hair, perineum, anus or anal region.

(§ 1, Ord. 930, eff. August 15, 1997, as amended by § 11, Ord. 1161, eff. February 17, 2018)

No persons shall knowingly display or cause to be displayed, on a public right-of-way or any other place opened to the public where minors are not excluded, any harmful matter as defined in Section 313 of the Penal Code and in Section 11-9.03 above unless such matter is displayed in newsracks equipped with the devices commonly known as "blinder racks" affixed in such a manner that the lower two-thirds of the matter is not exposed to view.

(§ 1, Ord. 930, eff. August 15, 1997, as amended by § 11, Ord. 1161, eff. February 17, 2018)

A violation of this chapter with a misdemeanor offense as more particularly described in Los Banos Municipal Code Section 1-2.01.

(§ 1, Ord. 930, eff. August 15, 1997, as amended by § 11, Ord. 1161, eff. February 17, 2018)