San Leandro Municipal Code Art. 6 Abatement of Violations

(Legislative History: Ordinance No. 2005-004, 6/6/05 (Sections 5-6-600—5-6-635))

A newsrack in violation of this Chapter may be removed, repaired or maintained by the City at the direction of the Director in accordance with the provisions of this Article. A violation of this Chapter, including any continuing violation as set forth in Section 1-12-140 of this Code, is hereby declared to be a public nuisance. In addition to the remedies for nuisance abatement provided in Chapter 1-12 of this Code, the City expressly reserves the right to utilize other enforcement remedies found within specific chapters of this Code, remedies available under any applicable state or federal statute or pursuant to any other lawful power the City may possess. All such remedies shall be alternative to or in conjunction with, and not exclusive of, one another. The election of remedies provided by this Chapter shall be at the sole discretion of the City and its officials.

Except as otherwise provided in this Article, before the City takes action to remove, repair or maintain a newsrack, the City shall notify the newsrack operator by written notice sent to the newsrack operator's last known address and posted on the newsrack, providing 10 days to remedy the violation and/or to contest removal. Both forms of notice shall provide information necessary to request a hearing to contest repair, maintenance or removal of the newsrack. If no identification is shown on the newsrack and no newsrack permit has been issued, posting of the notice on the newsrack alone shall be sufficient.

A newsrack may be removed or relocated immediately and without prior notice required by Section 5-6-605 of this Article if the violation poses a danger to pedestrians or vehicles. The City will make a good faith effort to promptly notify the newsrack operator of such removal or relocation.

To contest removal, repair or maintenance, a newsrack operator in receipt of a Notice of Violation pursuant to Section 5-6-605 of this Article may submit a written request for a hearing before the Director (or designee), which hearing shall be held within 10 days after the request is received. The hearing shall be informal, but oral and written evidence may be offered by either side. Action to remove the newsrack shall be stayed pending the decision of the Director (or designee) following the hearing. The newsrack operator will be sent written notice of the decision of the Director (or designee) within 10 days of the conclusion of the hearing. Such decision may be appealed in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 5-6-715 of this Chapter, and an action to remove a newsrack shall be stayed while such appeal, if timely filed, is pending.

The City may repair, maintain or remove a newsrack from public property or the public right-of-way pursuant to Sections 5-6-610 or 5-6-630 of this Article, or if:

(a) The newsrack operator responsible for such newsrack has neither requested a hearing pursuant to Section 5-6-615 of this Article nor remedied the violation within 10 days following the date of notice; or

(b) Following a hearing pursuant to Section 5-6-615 of this Article in which the Director (or designee) finds the newsrack in violation of this Chapter and orders its removal, repair or maintenance, the newsrack operator responsible for such newsrack fails to remedy the violation or to appeal the decision within 10 days after receiving notice of such decision.

If the City repairs, maintains or removes a newsrack pursuant to this Article 6, the City may use the deposit in order to pay for such repairs, maintenance, or removal of the newsrack, including the cleaning of any debris or discarded material in the immediate vicinity of the newsrack and which the Director determines, in his/her reasonable discretion, is attributable to that newsrack. If the City uses the deposit or any portion thereof for the above purposes, the newsrack operator shall be required to replenish the deposit to the full amount within 30 days upon written notice thereof from the City. Failure to replenish the deposit as required by this section will constitute a violation of this Chapter, and may result in nonrenewal or revocation of the newsrack operator's permit, and/or removal of the newsrack.

Any newsrack which has been left empty for a period of 30 days shall be deemed abandoned, except a newsrack remaining empty due to a labor strike or other extraordinary interruption of distribution of the publication distributed from that newsrack. If the abandoned newsrack is in the Special Newsrack Districts, the City may remove any remaining materials from the newsrack, following 30 days after the City has sent written notice to the newsrack operator's last known address and posted notice on the newsrack that the newsrack has been deemed abandoned and the permit is subject to cancellation pursuant to this section. If the abandoned newsrack is outside of the Special Newsrack Districts, the City may remove the abandoned newsrack from public property or a public right-of-way following 30 days after the City has sent written notice to the newsrack operator's last known address and posted notice on the newsrack that the newsrack has been deemed abandoned and is subject to removal pursuant to this section.

Newsracks removed by the City shall be retained by the City for 30 days, subject to recovery by the newsrack operator. Newsracks which are not claimed by the newsrack operator within 30 days following removal shall be deemed permanently abandoned and may be disposed of by the City.