Oceanside Municipal Code Art. IX Regulation of Pay Telephones

(a) No pay telephones shall be installed, located, or maintained on unimproved property.

(b) Any existing pay telephone which is located or maintained in violation of subsection (a) shall be removed within ninety (90) days after the effective date of this article. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, any pay telephone which is the subject of a written contract authorizing its installation which was entered into prior to the enactment of this article and which contains provisions for termination shall be removed by the first date after enactment of this article of which permissive termination of the written contract by either party could take effect, if either party elected to terminate, or within ninety (90) days after the effective date of this article, whichever occurs later.

(c) Any pay telephone which is installed, located, maintained, or operated in violation of this section is hereby declared to be a public nuisance.

(Ord. No. 98-02, § 1, 1-7-98)

Any pay telephone which is used as an instrumentality for, or contributes substantially by its presence, to any of the following conditions is hereby declared to be a public nuisance:

(1) Selling or giving away controlled substances (as defined in Division 10 of the California Health and Safety Code);

(2) Soliciting, agreeing to engage in, or engaging in any act of prostitution; or other criminal activities;

(3) Consumption of alcoholic beverages on nearby outdoor public or private property except where outdoor consumption of alcoholic beverages is specifically authorized pursuant to a license issued by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control;

(4) Loitering on nearby public or private property;

(5) Loitering for purposes of selling drugs or narcotics as defined in section 20.12 of this Code.

As used in this section, "loitering" shall mean standing, sitting, lying or remaining on any property under such circumstances that a reasonable person would conclude that the person who remains on the property does not have a purpose connected with the usual and ordinary use to which such property is put, does not have an intent to exercise a constitutional right, and/or is causing public obstruction or inconvenience.

(Ord. No. 98-02, § 1, 1-7-98)

(a) Whenever the chief of police determines that any pay telephone constitutes a public nuisance as defined in section 7.82, the chief of police, or his designate, may commence proceedings to abate the nuisance. The abatement proceedings shall conform to Article I of Chapter 17, except as specified in this article.

(b) No proceedings to abate a public nuisance as defined in section 7.82 shall be commenced unless the chief of police first has made a reasonable effort to work with the property owner where the pay telephone is located or the pay telephone vendor to eliminate the conditions described in section 7.82 by voluntary measures, such as:

(1) Blocking incoming calls;

(2) Adding lighting;

(3) Adding private security guards;

(4) Changing the telephone's location on the parcel;

(5) Making the telephone inoperative;

(6) Temporarily removing the telephone;

(7) Changing the type of enclosure of the telephone, or

(8) Removing one or all of the telephones.

(Ord. No. 98-02, § 1, 1-7-98)

If the public nuisance to be abated is one defined in section 7.82:

(1) The hearing notice required by section 17.4 shall specify that abatement shall consist of removal of the pay telephone, and that no pay telephone shall be installed on the same parcel, or on any contiguous parcel owned by the same property owner, to replace the removed telephone for a period of one year from the date of removal; and,

(2) Any decision of the city council ordering abatement shall specify that no pay telephone shall be installed on the same parcel, or on any contiguous parcel owned by the same property owner, to replace the removed telephone for a period of one year from the date of removal.

(Ord. No. 98-02, § 1, 1-7-98)

All notices shall also be sent to any vendor of the pay telephone, if known, and to the police department.

(Ord. No. 98-02, § 1, 1-7-98)

The police department shall maintain, and make available upon request, a list of locations where installation of pay telephones is prohibited pursuant to section 7.84.

(Ord. No. 98-02, § 1, 1-7-98)

Whenever the term chief of police is used in this article, the term shall be construed to include any employee of the city designated and authorized by the chief of police to administer the provisions of this article.

(Ord. No. 98-02, § 1, 1-7-98)