Rohnert Park Municipal Code Ch. 9.60 Placement of Advertising Materials

The Rohnert Park city council finds:

A. The unsolicited placement of advertising material, political advertising, religious material and any other printed matter upon motor vehicles and other private property without the knowledge and consent of the owner, constitutes a nuisance and is a source of substantial litter and debris within the community.

B. A substantial amount of such printed matter is not wanted by the owner of the motor vehicle or of the private property and, when the property owner returns to his or her motor vehicle or property, the printed material is removed from the motor vehicle or private property and cast aside upon either public or private property. The additional debris on public or private property is a source of public and private annoyance, costs, additional funds to supervise and police, is a source of refuse for rodents, insects and other vermin, and is not aesthetically pleasing or compatible with surrounding property, especially in instances where the adjacent property owner is attempting to police his or her property.

C. The city is attempting to control costs of public street-sweeping and other costs incidental to the control of waste and debris, and is also attempting to educate and encourage private citizens to participate in waste management.

D. The city has no intention or desire to interfere with rights of a citizen to petition the government, or to freely advocate ideas and proposals under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The city council finds that First Amendment rights can be exercised in a manner consistent with this chapter, in that no restriction is placed on the distribution of printed material that is personally handed or personally delivered to the public so that the recipient of the material personally accepts it from the distributor. Under such circumstances, the city council finds that less litter and debris will result in the city, since some members of the public, not interested in the material, will refuse it and other members of the public who accept the material personally, presumably will do so because they desire to read it and will later dispose of it in a proper receptacle.

(Ord. 384 § l (part), 1981)

The placement of printed matter upon motor vehicles or other private property located in public streets, public parks, public or private parking lots, private shopping centers and other public or private sites of public congregation is prohibited.

(Ord. 384 § l (part), 1981)

Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the distribution of printed matter by personal delivery or by handing the material directly to the recipient thereof.

(Ord. 384 § 1 (part), 1981)

Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the personal solicitation of signatures to a petition to redress grievances addressed to any governmental agency nor the distribution of any printed material which accompanies the solicitation provided the solicitations are made in person and the printed material that is given is personally handed to the person whose signature or whose support is being solicited.

(Ord. 384 § 1 (part), 1981)