Chapter 11.32 — PAY TELEPHONE REGULATION

This chapter shall be known as the "Pay Telephone Regulation Ordinance" of the City of West Hollywood.

(Prior code § 3900; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)

The purpose of this chapter is to protect the public health, safety and welfare by:

• a. Prohibiting the placement of pay telephones on unimproved property so as to prevent their use for and/or contribution to illegal activity;

• b. Providing for nuisance abatement procedures if the City Manager determines that any pay telephone is being used for illegal purposes; and

c. Maintaining and protecting the peace, comfort and values of surrounding properties. (Prior code § 3901; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)

"Controlled substance" shall mean any drug or substance, listed on any schedule of the California Health and Safety Code, including but not limited to, Sections 11054, 11055, 11056, 11057, 11058, or the successor statutes thereto.

"Director" shall mean the Director of Community Development of the City of West Hollywood or the Director's designee.

"Pay telephone" shall mean a telephone into which money may be deposited, or through which a credit card or telephone calling card number may be entered, for purposes of obtaining a telecommunications link to communicate with another who receives the communication by any telephone or pager.

"Pay telephone vendor" shall mean any person or entity authorized to sell, lease, install or otherwise contract for the sale, use, maintenance or installation of a "pay telephone."

"Prohibited noise" shall mean any sounds or vibrations which are physically annoying to reasonable persons of ordinary sensitivity or which are so harsh or so prolonged or unnatural or unusual as to their use, time, or place as to occasion discomfort to any persons from which said noises emanate or which interfere with the peace and comfort of the residents or their guests, or the operators or customers in places of business in the vicinity, or which may detrimentally or adversely affect such residences or places of business.

"Public property" shall mean any public highway, public street, public way or public parcel either owned by the city or dedicated to the public for the purpose of travel. The term includes all or any part of the entire width of a right-of-way, and above and below the same, whether or not such entire area is actually used for highway purposes.

"Unimproved property" shall mean any vacant lot, land or other real property that lacks any building, structure or object constituting a physical feature of real property, or that lacks any part of such feature.

(Prior code § 3902; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)

Downloaded from https://ecode360.com/WE5031 on 2026-07-07

City of West Hollywood, CA

STREETS, SIDEWALKS, PUBLIC PLACES AND

§ 11.32.040

§ 11.32.060

No pay telephone shall be installed, located. or maintained on unimproved property. (Prior code § 3903; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 93-388 §§ 1 – 3, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)

Any pay telephone used as an instrumentality for, which contributes to, facilitates or furthers any of the following activities is declared to be a public nuisance and unlawful:

• a. The transportation, delivery, sale, consumption or transfer of any controlled substance.

• b. The commission of an act of prostitution or any other illegal activity.

• c. The outdoor consumption of alcoholic beverages on adjoining or nearby public or private property except where specifically authorized pursuant to a valid license issued by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

• d. The creation or maintenance of prohibited noise.

• e. Any violation of this chapter or of any other provision of this code.

• f. The maintenance of a pay telephone in disrepair or in an inoperative condition for any thirty-day period after the effective date of this chapter.

• g. The use of the pay telephone in any manner which adversely affects or otherwise endangers the public health, safety or welfare.

(Prior code § 3904; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 93-388 § 4, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)

• a. Whenever the Director determines that a particular pay telephone constitutes a public nuisance as defined in Section 11.32.050, the Director may, in addition to the exercise of any other criminal or civil remedies which may exist for a violation of this chapter, commence proceedings to abate the nuisance. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the abatement proceedings shall conform to the abatement procedures as outlined in Section 1.32.010 of this code.

• b. No proceedings to abate a public nuisance as defined in Section 11.32.050 shall commence unless the Director first makes a reasonable effort to work with the property owner on whose property the pay telephone is located, if applicable, and the pay telephone vendor to eliminate the conditions described in Section 11.32.050 by voluntary measures, including, but not limited to:

  1. Blocking incoming calls;

  2. Only authorizing 911 emergency calls;

  3. Adding lighting;

  4. Changing the telephone's location on the parcel;

  5. Disconnecting the telephone so as to make it inoperative;

Downloaded from https://ecode360.com/WE5031 on 2026-07-07

City of West Hollywood, CA

WEST HOLLYWOOD CODE

§ 11.32.060

§ 11.32.080

6. Temporarily removing the telephone;

7. Changing the type of enclosure of the telephone;

8. Removing one or more of the telephones if there are several in the vicinity.

(Prior code § 3905; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)

If the public nuisance to be abated is one defined in Section 11.32.050:

• a. The contents of the notice shall conform to the requirements set forth in Sections 19.56.030 and 19.56.040 of this code, and shall also be sent to the property owner, if applicable, and pay telephone vendor, if known or ascertainable by visual inspection of the pay telephone;

• b. The hearing notice required by subsection (a) of this section, and Sections 19.56.030 and 19.56.040 of this code shall also specify that abatement consists of removal of the pay telephone, as well as a one-year ban against installation of a pay telephone on the parcel, or on any contiguous parcel owned by the same property owner, commencing from the date of removal; and

• c. Any decision of the hearing officer ordering abatement shall specify that a one-year ban, commencing from the date of removal, is imposed against installation of any pay telephone on the same parcel, or on any contiguous parcel owned by the same property owner.

• (Prior code § 3906; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)

The Director shall maintain, and make available upon request, a list of locations where installation of pay telephones is temporarily prohibited pursuant to Section 11.32.070. (Prior code § 3907; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)

Downloaded from https://ecode360.com/WE5031 on 2026-07-07

City of West Hollywood, CA

STREETS, SIDEWALKS, PUBLIC PLACES AND

§ 11.36.010

§ 11.36.040