Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutNS-1241ORDINANCE NO. NS-1241 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA ADDING ARTICLE IV CONSISTING OF SECTIONS 10-221 THROUGH 10-238 TO CHAPTER 10 OF THE SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL CODE REGULATING THE INSTALLATION, USE AND MAINTENANCE OF PUBLICATION VENDING MACHINES (NEWSRACKS) ON CITY STREETS WHEREAS, large numbers of privately-owned publication vending machines (newsracks) are located on public sidewalks throughout the City; and WHEREAS, the unregulated placement of such publication vending machines impairs the vision of motorists and pedestrians, particularly small children; and WHEREAS, the unregulated placement of such publication vending machines intereferes with and impedes the normal flow pedestrian traffic, and constitutes a potential hazard to pedestrian, especially during the period of diminished street lighting; and of WHEREAS, the unregulated placement of such publication vending machines restricts access from the streets to the sidewalk by pedestrians and persons exiting or entering vehicles; and WHEREAS, neglect in servicing publication vending machines results in the unsightly appearance thereof .and thereby detracts from the appearance of the streets, sidewalks, store window displays and adjacent landscaping; and WHEREAS, numerous citizens within the community are gravely distressed by the placement of these machines and are urging ~ immediate action to eliminate their unsightliness, the dangers they present to vehicular and pedestrian traffic, their dis- tracting nature, the reduction in val~es of property surrounding them, and their interference with the public peace, health and safety. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY' COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1: That the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended' by adding an Article to be numbered IV to Chapter 10 thereof, said Article to consist of sections numbered 10-221 through 10-238, inclusive, and to read as follows: ARTICLE IV. Publication Vending Machines on the Public Right of Way Sec. 10-221. Definitions (1) Publication Vending Machine, means any self service or coin-operated box, container, storage unit or other dispenser installed, used or maintained for the display or sale of any written or printed material, including but not limited to, nq)vspapers and news periodicals, ORDINANCE NO. NS-1241 PAGE TWO (2) Person means any individual, partnership, firm,' association, corporation or other legal entity. (3) Custodian means any person or persons who have the responsibility of placing, servicing or maintaining a publica- tion vending machine by depositing and/or removing material from said machine and/or by collecting monies from said machine. (4) Block shall mean an area of land enclosed by public roadways other than alleys. (5) Public right-of-way shall include, but not be limited to the following: street, roadway, parkway and sidewalk, as these terms are hereinafter defined. (a) "Street" shall mean all that area dedicated to public use for public street purposes and shall include, but not be limited to, road~ays, parkways, alleys and sidewalks; (b) "Roadway" shall mean that portion of a street which is improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel; (c) "Parkway" shall mean that area between the sidewalk and the curb of any street and, where there is not sidewalk, that area between the edge of the roadway and the property line adjacent thereto. "Parkway" shall also include any.area within a roadway which is not open to vehicular travel; (d) "Sidewalk" shall mean any surface provided for the exclusive or primary use of pedestrians. Sec. 10-222. Projec.tion Onto Roadway No person shall install, use ~r maintain any publication vending machine which projects onto, ~.nto 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. Sec. 10-223. Dangerous Condition or Obstruction No person shall install, use or maintain any publication vending machine which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any public sidewalk or parkway, when: (1) Such installation, use or maintenance endangers the safety ~f persons or property; or (2) Such site or location is used for public utility purposes or pu.blic transportation purposes; or (3) Such publication vending machine unreasonably intereferes 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 or mailboxes. Sec. 10-224. Placement, Publication vending machines shall only be placed near a curb or adjacent to a wall or a building. Such machines placed ORDINANCE NO. NS-1241 PAGE THREE near the curb shall be placed so that the portion or projec- tion thereof which is closest to the edge of the curb or its vertical extension shall be more than eighteen (18) inches but less than twenty four (24) inches from said edge or its verticle extension. Those machines placed adjacent to the wall of a building shall be placed parallel to such wall with no portion or projection more than six (6) inches from the wall. No such machine shall be placed or maintained opposite another publication vending machine or group of such machines that are located on the same sidewalk or parkway in the same block. Sec. 10-225. Location Standards Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, no publication vending machine shall be placed, installed or maintained: (1) Within five (5)feet of any marked crosswalk; (2) Within fifteen (15) feet of the curb return of any unmarked crosswalk; (3) Within five (5) feet of any fire hydrant, fire call box, or police call box; (4) Within fifteen (15) feet of any driveway; (5) Within five (5) receptacles, traffic signal legal parking space; feet of light standards, trash control boxes, mail boxes, or (6) Within six (6) feet of any bus bench; (7) Within three (3) feet of any water meters, gas meters, electrical pull boxes, catch basin manhole covers, or end of red curbing; (8) In any ~ passageway of pedes feet; ocation whereby the cross space or the trians is reduced to less than four (4) (9) Within five (5) feet of any area improved with lawn, flowers, shrubs or trees, or within five (5) 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. (10) Within four hundred (400) lineal feet measured around the perimeter of a block from any other such machine within the same block containing the same edition of the same publication. Sec. 10-226. Moving of Machines In the case of violations of the sections I0-152 to 10-155 inclusive, the director of public works as an alternative to removal under the provisions of section 10-166, may move such machines in order to restore them to a legal condition. Sec. 10-227. Chaining and Bolting (a) Public vending machines may 'be chain~or otherwise attached to one another, provided no more than three (3) such ORDINANCE NO. NS-1241 PAGE FOUR machines may be joined together in this manner and a space of no less than three (3) feet shall separate each group of three (3) such machines so attached. (2) No publication vending machine shall be chained, bolted or otherwise attached to property not owned by the owner of said machine or to any permanently fixed object, unless the custodian of said machine shall have first obtained the written permission of the owner of the object to which the machine is affixed. (3) Publication vending machines may be placed next to each other, provided that no group of said machines shall extend more than eight (8) feet along a curb or wall and a space of no less than three (3) feet shall separate each such group of machines. (4) In the case of any violation of subsections (1), (2) or (3) above of this section 10-227, the director of public works may remove such attachments in order to restore such machines to a legal condition. The violator may also be cited. Sec. 10-228. Dimensions 1) No publication vending machine shall exceed six (6) feet in height, thirty (30) inches in width, or two (2) feet in thickness. 2) All publication vending machines that are placed on the sidewalk or parkway within twenty (20) feet of any display window or any area improved with lawn, flowers, shrubs, or trees shall be located on a frame and casing that meets the standards on file in the office of the director of public works. The frames shall, with the attached public vending machine, be placed in accordance with all the provisions of this ordinance. Sec. 10-229. Advertising Uses No publication vending machine shall be used for advertising signs or publicity purposes other than for signs or purposes dealing with the display, sale, or purchase of the publications sold therein. Sec. 10-230. Maintenance, Abandonment and Removal 1) Each publication vending machine shall be maintained so as not to have cracked or broken coverings or casings and shall be painted or covered with a protective coating so as to eliminate rust. 2) No issue or edition of any publication shall be allowed to remain in any such machine for a period in excess of one day past the date the next issue is printed. Any issue or edition remaining in a publication vending machine for more than one day after the date of the next issue shall be summarily removed and stored in a convenience location by the director of public works. ORDINANCE NO. NS-1241 PAGE FIVE 3) In the event any publication vending machine installed pursuant to this chapter is not serviced with the publication it is designed to disseminate for a period of five (5) days, it shall be deemed abandoned and summarily abated. Thereafter, the custodian shall be notified by certified mail and given thirty (30) days to pay the expenses of removal and storage. If he failes to pay these expenses within thirty (30) days of the date notification is sent the machine shall be processed as unclaimed property and disposed of pursuant to the provisions of law. For purposes of this section, "is not serviced" shall mean that no issue is in the machine for a period of five (5) days or longer; or an'issue that has been followed by a more recent issue, remains in the rack for a period of five (5) days or longer. 4) The director of public works.shall notify the custodian of such publication vending machine of such removal and storage as soon thereafter as practicable, but in any event no later than four (4) days thereafter. Sec. 10-231. Identification Required Within thirty days after this ordinance becomes effective, every person or custodian who places or maintains a publication vending machine on a public sidewalk or parkway in the city shall have his name, address and telephone number affixed thereto in a place where such information may be easily seen. If the person or custodian is a corporation, then the name, address, and telephone number of the distributor, o~ an individual who can tell us the name of the distributor, must be affixed in a place where such information can be easily seen. Sec. 10-232. Indemnification Every person or custodian who places or maintains a publication vending machine on a public sidewalk or parkway in the city shall file a written statement with the clerk of the council staisfactory to the city attorney, whereby he agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the city, its officers, directors or employees from any loss or liability or damages, including expenses and costs, for bodily or personal injury and for property damage sustained by any person as a result of the location, installation, use, maintenance, removal or storage of such a machine within the city. Sec. 10-233. Removal of Publication Vendin9 Machines 1) Within thirty (30) days after this ordinance becomes effective if any publication vending machine is not properly identified as to the owner or custodian thereof, a copy of Section 10-231 (the identification requirement) shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the publisher of the publication sold in the machine, and a copy of said section will be posted on said machine. 2) If any publication vending machine is properly identified but in the opinion of the director of public works ORDINANCE NO. NS-1241 PAGE SIX is installed, used or maintained in violation of any other provisions of this Article, an order to correct the offending condition shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner or custodian of said machine. Such order shall specificall'y describe the offending, condition and recommend actions necessary to correct it. 3) If within five (5) working days after the mailing of notice, a machine is not properly identified or the offending condition ~ not correct, or the owner or custodian has not re- quested a hearing before the director of public works or his designated representative, the offending publication vending machine and its contents shall be removed and stored in a convenient location by the director 0% public works. (a) Upon failure of the owner or custodian to claim his publication vending ~chine and pay the expenses of removal and storage or appeal to the city council pursuant to section 10-237 within thirty (30) days after such removal, said machine and its contents shall be processed as unclaimed prop- erty and disposed of pursuant to the applicable provisions of law. When a publication vending machine has been removed and processed as unclaimed property, the owner or custodian shall be charged a processing fee of $25.00, in addition to any other charges, before the machine may be released. (b) The availability or exercise of such power of removal shall be in addition to any other civil remedies at law or in equity or any criminal remedies available to the city. Sec. 10~234. Authority of Director of Public Works to Adopt Re§ulations The director of publ~ works is hereby empowered to adopt reasonable standards and regulations to implement the provisions and purposes of this chapter, based upon street and pedestrian traffic requirements, access to parking places and facilities, and public health, safety and welfare. In adopting and apply{ng such standards, the director of public works shall be uniform, non-discriminatory and consistent in administering this'ordinance and any regulations adopted pursuant hereto. Sec. 10-235. Business License Required It shall be unlawful for any person or custodian, whether as a principal or agent, clemk or employee, either for himself or for any other person or body corporate or as an officer of any corporation or otherwise, to place or permit the placement of any publication in a publication vending machine within the city unless either the publisher or the distributor has a valid business license with the city. Sec. 10-236. Delegation of Duties The city manager may authorize to any person or department in the employ of the city to assist or take over any of the duties ORDINANCE NO. NS-1241 PAGE SEVEN or responsibilities assigned to the director of public works by this ordinance. Sec. 10-237. Appeals Any person or entity aggrieved by a finding, notice, or action taken under the provisions of this ordinance, may appeal pursuant to the procedures of Chapter 3 of this code, and shall be apprised of his right to appeal. Sec. 10-238. Violation Penalty Any person violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be guilty of an infraction, and upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine not to exceed fifty dollars ($50) for a first violation; a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year; a fine not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year. Each day that such violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such hereunder. SECTION 2: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the valid- ity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, clauses, phrases or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 3: Neither the adoption of this ordinance nor the repeal hereby of any ordinance shall in any manner affect the prosecution for violation of ordinances, which violations were committed prior to the effective date hereof, nor be construed as affecting any of the provisions of such ordinance relating to the collection of any such license or penalty or the penal provisions applicable to any violation thereof, nor to affect the validity of any bond or case deposit in lieu thereof, required to be posted, filed or deposited pursuant to any ordinance and all rights and obligations thereunder appertaining shall continue in full force and effect. SECTION 4: The Clerk of the Council shall certify to passage of this ordinance and cause the same to be published in some daily newspaper printed and published in the City of Santa Ana. the SECTION 5: This ordinance shall take effect upon post±n§ or publication whichever comes first. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana at its regular meeting held on the ORDINANCE NO. NS-1241 PAGE EIGHT 1Otb day of ATTEST: December , 1974. CLERK OF THE COUNCIL STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss.: CITY OF SANTA ANA ) I, FLORENCE I. MALONE, do hereby certify that I am the Clerk of the Council of the City of Santa Ana; that the fore- going Ordinance was introduced to said Council at its adjourned regular meeting held on the 9th day of December , 1974, and was again considered by said Council at its regular meeting held on the 16th day of December , 1974, and was at said meeting passed and adopted by the following vote, to wit: AYES, COUNCILMEN: Griset, Evans, Garthe, Yamamoto, Patterson NOES, COUNCILMEN: Markej, Ward ABSENT, COUNCILMEN: None CLERK OF THE ~APZD AS TO FORM: