Orange County Municipal Code Art. 4 News Rack Regulations

As used in this article:

News rack 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 sidewalks 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.

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. No. 2845, § 1, 6-10-75)

(a) No person shall install, use or maintain any news rack 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 news rack 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 news rack 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 the location, or when such news rack interferes with the cleaning of any sidewalk by the use of mechanical sidewalk cleaning machinery.

(Ord. No. 2845, § 1, 6-10-75)

Any news rack which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any public sidewalk or parkway shall comply with the following standards:

(a) No news rack shall exceed five (5) feet in height, thirty (30) inches in width or two (2) feet in thickness.

(b) News racks 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 (18) inches nor more than twenty-four (24) inches from the edge of the curb. News racks 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 news rack shall be placed or maintained on the sidewalk or parkway opposite a newsstand or another news rack.

(c) No news rack shall be chained, bolted or otherwise attached to any property not owned by the owner of the news rack or to any permanently fixed object.

(d) News racks may be chained or otherwise attached to one another; however, no more than three (3) news racks may be jointed together in this manner, and a space of no less than eighteen (18) inches shall separate each group of three (3) news racks so attached.

(e) No news rack or group of attached news racks allowed under subsection (d) of this section shall weigh, in aggregate, in excess of one hundred twenty-five (125) pounds when empty.

(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of section 6-1-91, no news rack shall be placed, installed, used or maintained:

(1) Within three (3) feet of any marked crosswalk;

(2) Within fifteen (15) feet of the curb return of any unmarked crosswalk;

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

(4) Within three (3) feet of any driveway;

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

(6) Within three (3) feet of any bus bench;

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

(8) 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.

(g) No news rack shall be used for advertising signs or publicity purposes other than that dealing with the display, sale or purchase of the newspaper or news periodical sold therein.

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

(Ord. No. 2845, § 1, 6-10-75)

Within thirty (30) days after the article becomes effective, every person or other entity which places or maintains a news rack on the streets of the County shall have his or its name, address and telephone number affixed thereto in a place where such information may be easily seen.

(Ord. No. 2845, § 1, 6-10-75)

(a) Any news rack installed, used or maintained in violation of the provisions of this article may be summarily removed and stored in any convenient place by the Sheriff. The Sheriff shall, prior to removal, take reasonable steps to notify the owner thereof. Upon failure of the owner, following notice, to claim such news rack and pay the expenses of removal and storage within thirty (30) days after such removal, such news rack shall be deemed to be unclaimed property in possession of the Sheriff's Department and may be disposed of pursuant to law.

(b) In the case of violations of this article relative to restrictions upon attachments of news racks to property other than that owned by the owner of the news rack, to fixed objects or each other, and upon location of news racks, the Sheriff may, as an alternative to removal under subsection (a) of this section, remove such attachment and/or move such rack or racks in order to restore them to a legal condition.

(Ord. No. 2845, § 1, 6-10-75)

In the event any news rack installed pursuant to this article is not serviced with the publication it is designed to disseminate for a period of over seven (7) days, the County reserves the right to remove same pursuant to the procedure set out in section 6-1-94. For purposes of this section, abandonment shall include, but is not limited to, circumstances where no publication is in the rack for a period of over seven (7) days.

(Ord. No. 2845, § 1, 6-10-75)