Monrovia Municipal Code Ch. 8.32 Vending Goods or Distributing Handbills on Streets, Parking Lots, Or…

(A) The City Council does hereby find and determine that the city is confronted with serious and unique traffic problems.

(B) The city is primarily a residential community, surrounded by other residential, business, manufacturing and recreational centers. This fact, coupled with the presence of large centers of entertainment in the midst of and in close proximity to the city causes vehicular traffic to, from, through and within the city at times to attain dimensions totally disproportionate to the size and population of the city. On frequent occasions thousands of motor vehicles enter or pass through portions of the city within an hour, with the result that abnormal traffic problems result which can not be met or solved by the mere increase in law enforcement personnel. Any hindrance of the flow of such vehicular traffic causes delay, traffic congestion, accidents and imminent peril to both life and property within the city. The sale of any commodity from a vehicle or to a person in a vehicle on any major traffic artery in the city peculiarly adds to the local traffic congestion, delay and hazard to life and property. Strict enforcement of traffic laws alone is insufficient to cope with the situation. It is not possible to employ sufficient police officers adequately to control such unique traffic problems, not only because of the present manpower shortage, but particularly because of the fluctuating volume of such vehicular traffic.

(C) The City Council further finds and determines that there is an increasingly severe problem of litter in public and private parking lots caused by the indiscriminate and uncontrolled distribution of handbills, primarily those affixed to unattended motor vehicles parked in such lots. The litter resulting from such distribution is both unsightly and annoying to adjacent business owners and the general public. Although the Council intends by this chapter to prohibit placement of handbills and other similar materials on unattended vehicles parked in public or private parking lots, the Council finds that there is an abundance of alternative methods of distributing such materials available to those who wish to do so.

(D) It is therefore necessary to remove and prevent, so far as is possible, all factors which contribute to or cause any interference with or retardation of the movement of vast numbers of motor vehicles in the city.

(`83 Code, § 8.32.010) (Ord. 87-23 § 2, 1987)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words are hereby defined, and wherever used in this chapter, such words shall have the following meanings:

ADVERTISING MATTER. Any broadside, booklet, card, circular, dodger, handbill, poster, newspaper, or other advertising medium of similar nature advertising, offering, proposing or soliciting the sale or transfer for consideration of any product, merchandise, commodity, property, business or service, excluding, however, advertising matter included with mail delivery and any newspaper eligible for entry as second-class matter under the provisions of the United States Post Office regulations, and other regulations and statutes of the United States.

PRIVATE PROPERTY. Any parcel of real property within the City of Monrovia, including any improvements thereon, and not dedicated to use by the public.

STREET. Any and every public thoroughfare, way, street, alley, highway, curb, sidewalk and parkway, if any, adjacent thereto, and any public property bordering upon such thoroughfare, way, street, alley and highway.

TO PARK. To place or leave a motor vehicle in a street, in strict compliance with all applicable laws of the state and city, and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, controlling or regulating the parking of vehicles in streets, and at a location and in a manner where vehicles may be lawfully left unattended for any period of time. The term shall not include:

(1) The standing or leaving of any vehicle in a street pursuant to the order or demand of any law enforcement officer;

(2) The standing or leaving of any vehicle in a street pursuant to any traffic-control signal or device;

(3) The temporary standing or stopping of a vehicle at locations where such standing or stopping is lawful for the sole purpose of receiving or discharging passengers or merchandise;

(4) The temporary standing or leaving of a vehicle in the customary traveled portion of any street.

(`83 Code, § 8.32.020) (Ord. 94-19 § 2, 1994)

(A) No person shall engage or participate in the business or practice of distributing, passing out, giving out, handing out, selling, offering for sale or soliciting for the sale of any goods, wares, merchandise or commodity of any kind whatsoever from any vehicle on a public street unless such vehicle is lawfully parked as provided in the Cal. Vehicle Code and this code.

(B) No person shall engage or participate in the business or practice of disseminating, distributing, passing out, giving out, handing out, selling, offering for sale or soliciting for the sale of any goods, wares, merchandise or commodity of any kind whatsoever to any person within or upon any vehicle on a public street.

(C) No person shall engage or participate in the business or practice of disseminating, distributing, passing out, giving out, handing out, selling, offering for sale or soliciting for the sale of any handbill, sheet, dodger, circular, flyer, letter, booklet or any other similar printed, typewritten, mimeographed or written matter of any kind, from any vehicle in a public street, unless such vehicle is lawfully parked as provided for in the Cal. Vehicle Code and this code, or to any person within or upon any vehicle in a public street.

(D) No person may throw, distribute or place in or on any automobile that is parked in a public or private parking lot any handbill, flyer, sheet, dodger, circular, letter, booklet or other similar printed, typewritten, mimeographed or written matter of any kind.

(`83 Code, § 8.32.030) (Ord. 87-23 § 3, 1987)

No person shall distribute or cause to be distributed any advertising matter in or upon private property when:

(A) There is erected a printed sign in a conspicuous place upon the property containing the words “No Advertising Matter - No Soliciting”, or words substantially similar thereto. Such sign or notice shall be maintained in a place on such property where it is unobstructed from view and located as near the main entrance thereof as possible. The language in said sign shall be at least two inches high and composed of letters printed in the English language so as to be clearly visible; provided, however, that advertising matter may be distributed in, or upon, private property even though the sign above referred to is so maintained when the person distributing such advertising matter has first obtained the written consent of the person in charge or possession of the property upon which such advertising matter is distributed; or

(B) It is apparent that the property is unoccupied; or

(C) It is apparent that a previous day's distribution of advertising matter has not been removed.

(`83 Code, § 8.32.035) (Ord. 94-19 § 2, 1994)

All permittees and licensees holding permits or licenses heretofore or hereafter issued shall comply with the terms of this chapter.

(`83 Code, § 8.32.040)

(A) No person shall engage or participate in the business or practice of selling, offering for sale or soliciting for the sale of any goods, wares, merchandise, food products, or commodity of any kind to any person on any street on the days and during the times described in division (C) of this section, unless authorized by or pursuant to a permit, license or agreement approved by the City Council.

(B) For purposes of this section, the MONROVIA DAYS FESTIVAL is that traditional five-day community- wide celebration held in May of each year, ending on that Sunday which either falls on the seventeenth day of the month or is the first Sunday following the seventeenth day of the month, and beginning on the Wednesday preceding said Sunday.

(C) The prohibition in division (A) of this section applies during the Monrovia Days Festival, as follows:

(1) From 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, on Myrtle Avenue from Foothill Boulevard to Huntington Drive;

(2) From 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday through 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, inclusive, on Myrtle Avenue and Primrose Avenue from Lime Avenue to Palm Avenue, and on Lime Avenue and Palm Avenue from Myrtle Avenue to Primrose Avenue;

(3) From 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, on Foothill Boulevard from Ivy Avenue to Mayflower Avenue, and on Myrtle Avenue from Foothill Boulevard to Huntington Drive.

(`83 Code, § 8.32.050) (Ord. 89-10 § 1, 1989)

(A) No person shall engage or participate in the business or practice of selling, offering for sale or soliciting for the sale of any goods, wares, merchandise, food products, or commodity of any kind to any person on the streets, days, and during the times described in division (C) of this section, unless authorized by or pursuant to a permit, license or agreement approved by the City Council.

(B) For purposes of this section, the MONROVIA FAMILY FESTIVAL is that traditional event which provides entertainment, farmer's market services and the sale of goods by participating merchants on Fridays as publicly advertised between the months of March and December of each year.

(C) The prohibition in division (A) of this section applies during the Monrovia Family Festival, on said Friday evenings between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on the following streets:

(1) Myrtle Avenue between Chestnut Avenue and Foothill Boulevard; and

(2) On the 100 block east and 100 block west of the following streets, between Ivy and Primrose Avenues: Chestnut, Olive, Colorado, Lemon, Lime, and Palm Avenues.

(`83 Code, § 8.32.060) (Ord. 94-19 § 3, 1994)