[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Highland Park 9-16-2003 by Ord. No. 1617 (§ 4-14
of the 1987 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meaning indicated:
A unit that has assembled together two or more newsrack boxes
in a housing that is supported by one or more pedestals. The modular
newsrack box assembly is then permanently attached to a sidewalk or
concrete pad by bolts or other such fasteners. Newspapers are distributed
by placing such newspapers in the various newsrack boxes by various
newspaper vendors. Two or more newspaper vendors may distribute newspapers
from a MNBA.
Any person or other legal entity distributing publications
by the use of a newsrack box in the Borough of Highland Park.
A rectangular cube-type box that has a windowed door on its
front for the purposes of viewing inside the cube-shaped box and also
to gain access to the box. Newspapers or other news periodicals are
placed in the newsrack box for the purposes of distribution. One gains
access to the interior of the newsrack box by opening the front windowed
door. The newsrack box may be, but need not be, accessed by inserting
coined money to unlock the access door.
The Mayor and Council find and declare that:
A.
The uncontrolled placement of newsracks or MNBAs in
public rights-of-way and semipublic rights-of-way presents an inconvenience
and danger to the safety and welfare of persons using such rights-of-way,
including pedestrians, persons entering and leaving vehicles and buildings,
and persons performing essential utility, traffic control and emergency
services.
B.
Newsracks or MNBAs so located as to cause an inconvenience
or danger to persons using public rights-of-way and semipublic rights-of-way,
and unsightly newsracks or MNBAs located therein, constitute public
nuisances.
C.
These factors constitute an unreasonable interference
with and obstruction of the use of public rights-of-way and semipublic
rights-of-way, are injurious to health, offensive to the senses, and
constitute such an obstruction of the free use of property as to interfere
in the comfortable enjoyment of life and property by the entire community.
D.
The Borough Council recognizes, however, that the
use of such rights-of-way is so historically associated with the sale
and distribution of newspapers and publications that access to the
areas for such purposes should not be absolutely denied. The Borough
Council further finds that these strong and competing interests require
a reasonable accommodation which can only be satisfactorily achieved
through the means of this chapter which is designed to accommodate
such interest regulating the time, place and manner of using such
newsracks or MNBAs and intends to provide for national, regional,
local and nonprofit publications.
E.
The provisions and prohibitions hereinafter continued
and enacted are in pursuance of securing and promoting the general
welfare of persons in the Borough in their use of public rights-of-way
and semipublic rights-of-way through the regulation of placement,
appearance, number, size, and servicing of newsracks or MNBAs on such
rights-of-way so as to:
(1)
Provide for pedestrian and driving safety and convenience;
(2)
Ensure no unreasonable interference with the flow
of pedestrian or vehicular traffic including ingress to, or egress
from, any place of business from the street to the sidewalk;
(3)
Provide reasonable access for the use and maintenance
of sidewalks, poles, traffic signs and signals, hydrants, mailboxes,
and similar appurtenances, and access to locations used for public
transportation purposes;
(4)
Reduce visual blight on the public rights-of-way and
semipublic rights-of-way, protect the aesthetics and value of surrounding
properties, and protect the quiet of residential areas; and
(5)
Reduce exposure of the Borough to personal injury
or property damage claims and litigation.
No person shall install, use or maintain any
newsrack or MNBAs within the Borough except as specifically provided
in this chapter.
A.
Only newsracks or MNBAs shall only be permitted to
be installed on the public sidewalks, public property, and on the
exterior of any building on private property in the Borough within
the zones identified as the CBD Central Business District, Woodbridge
Avenue and the residential districts. No other newsrack or MNBA shall
be permitted to be placed anywhere in the Borough, except as is provided
in this chapter.
B.
The newspaper vendors will be obligated to purchase
at its expense its own newsracks or MNBAs. In the event the Borough
purchases either the newsracks or MNBAs for and on behalf of a newspaper
vendor(s), such newspaper vendors(s) shall reimburse the Borough its
out-of-pocket expense for such purchases wherein each vendor shall
pay its proportionate share of such out-of-pocket expenses. The Borough
shall not receive any additional money above and beyond that which
it expended for the newsracks or MNBAs. The Borough prefers that the
newspaper vendors purchase the newsracks and MNBAs.
C.
Maintenance, repair, and service of each newsrack
and MNBA shall be the obligation of the newspaper vendors. In the
event the Borough expends any moneys for such, the Borough shall be
reimbursed its expenditures by the newspaper vendors who were obligated
to make such expenditures. Prior to the Borough performing any maintenance,
repairs or service to the newsracks or MNBAs, the Borough will take
reasonable steps and efforts to cause the responsible newspaper vendors
to perform such maintenance, repair and/or service.
D.
The style, color, size, material, and design of the
newsrack shall be a Black K80 Kaspar Sho-Rack Newsrack or such design
alternative as both the Design Committee of Main Street Highland Park
and the Mayor may approve within 30 days of passage of this chapter,
and the MNBA shall be a Black "Arlington" Modular Kaspar, also known
as the Concourse 97 or 98, or such design alternative as both the
Design Committee of Main Street Highland Park and the Mayor may approve
within 30 days of passage of this chapter.
E.
The installation locations of the newsracks or MNBAs
within the Borough shall be selected by the Borough as described in
more detail herein. The newspaper vendors shall be obligated to arrange
for the installation work for each newsrack or MNBA installed on the
public sidewalks or public property, at the newspaper vendor's own
expense.
F.
In the event that a MNBA is authorized by the Borough,
there is no limit to the reasonable number of newsracks that a particular
newspaper vendor can utilize, except that a newspaper vendor is permitted
to have only one newsrack box per MNBA unit whenever other newspaper
vendors wish to utilize a newsrack box in such MNBA unit. For the
purposes of this chapter, a double newsrack box is considered as one
newsrack.
G.
There are no time restrictions as to when the public
may access the newsracks to obtain newspapers, that is, such access
may occur 24 hours per day, seven days per week, since the newsracks
or MNBAs are not located in the residential districts.
The Borough, in its discretion, shall determine
the specific location of each newsrack or MNBA. At each location there
shall be no more than five newsracks or MNBAs. The determination of
the place and manner of installation of such newsracks or MNBAs shall
be made by the Borough in its discretion, wherein its discretion shall
not be exercised unreasonably, capriciously or arbitrarily, and shall
be made in accordance with the criteria of this chapter, as governed
by federal and state law.
[Added by Ord. No. 1299]
The newsracks or MNBAs located within the Borough shall be installed in accordance with §§ 261-4, 261-5 and 261-7 herein; however, in the event the Borough seeks to add additional locations, it will do so based on the following criteria:
A.
No newsrack or MNBA shall be installed wherein it
impedes the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
B.
No newsrack or MNBA shall be installed wherein it
endangers the public safety of persons or property.
C.
No newsrack or MNBA shall be installed wherein it
interferes with the ingress and egress from any residence or place
of business.
D.
No newsrack or MNBA shall be located wherein its location
interferes with the use of traffic signs, traffic signals, fire hydrants,
utility poles, mailboxes, and other such police, fire, and/or traffic
control devices.
E.
The content of the newspaper publication shall not
be considered in determining the manner of and place of location of
the newsrack or MNBA.
F.
The newsrack or MNBA shall be placed in a location
in keeping with the character and zoning in the Borough so as to minimize
the visual appearance and clutter of newsracks, but not at the expense
of the newspaper vendor's First Amendment Right to distribute its
newspaper.
G.
No newsrack or MNBA shall be installed above, or within
a proximity to interfere with the use, maintenance, and/or repair
of any gas line, water line, sewer line or other such utility line.
H.
No newsrack or MNBA shall be located so as to impede
the lawful use of any buildings or access thereto.
I.
No newsrack or MNBA shall be located as to interfere
with the growth of any municipally owned shade trees, plants, and
shrubs existing in the right-of-way sidewalk area.
J.
No newsrack or MNBA shall be located to interfere
with the use of municipally installed public benches and seating.
The Borough has selected the locations for the
newsracks or MNBAs to be installed in accordance with this chapter.
The locations listed on Schedule A[1] are exhaustive and exclusive. Others may be added by the
Borough on its own request by resolution without the need to amend
this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: Schedule A is on file in the Borough offices.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any newspaper vendor to erect,
place, maintain or operate on any street or sidewalk or in any other
public way or place in the Borough any newsrack or MNBA without first
having obtained a special permit from the Borough Clerk, approved
by the Director of Code Enforcement and Superintendent of the Department
of Public Works, and the Mayor and Council in accordance with the
standards and time period set forth below.
[Amended 10-4-2011 by Ord. No. 11-1823]
B.
Any newspaper vendor who desires to install and maintain
a newsrack or MNBA on public property along the streets and sidewalks
within the Borough shall make an application for a permit, in writing,
to the Borough Clerk on such forms as shall be provided by the Office
of the Borough Clerk. Said application shall specify the name, address
and telephone number of the applicant; the proposed specific location
of the newsrack(s) or MNBA(s); the location of any existing newsracks
or MNBAs within the Borough belonging to said applicant, including
the date each was installed; and shall be signed by the applicant
or the applicant's authorized representative. Before an application
may be submitted to the Borough Clerk, said application must contain
the signature of both the Director of Code Enforcement and Superintendent
of the Department of Public Works, or their authorized agent(s), indicating
that each, respectively, approves of the application.
[Amended 10-4-2011 by Ord. No. 11-1823]
C.
Any newspaper vendor having a newsrack or MNBA which
is already located or installed in whole or in part on any public
sidewalk or public right-of-way within the Borough on the effective
date of this chapter shall, within 30 days from the effective date
hereof, file an application for a special permit, unless said newspaper
vendor has already obtained similar approval from the Mayor and Council
for the installation and use of a newsrack or MNBA at a specified
location in the Borough.
D.
Each newspaper vendor shall have a duty to promptly
notify the Borough Clerk of any changes in the information provided
in its application.
F.
The Mayor and Council shall either grant or deny an application for a special permit to install and maintain a newsrack or MNBA at the location specified in the application at a regular meeting held no later than 30 days from receipt of a completed application by the Borough Clerk. At that meeting, the Mayor and Council shall state with particularity the reasons for its decision to grant or deny the application, including, in the case of a denial, the specific provisions of §§ 261-4, 261-5 and 261-7 herein, which the application fails to meet.
G.
The Mayor and Council shall grant or deny applications
for a special permit in the order from which a completed application
is received by the Borough Clerk.
H.
A permit fee in the amount of $100 for the first newsrack
or MNBA installed by a newspaper vendor and $75 for each additional
newsrack or MNBA shall be paid upon submission of an application for
a special permit. No application shall be deemed complete unless it
is accompanied by the required permit fee.
I.
Any permit issued hereunder shall be valid for a period
of one year from the date of issuance thereof and shall be renewable
upon the payment of an annual fee in the amount of $100, which shall
be accompanied by written confirmation that the location of the newsrack
or MNBA has not been changed.
J.
The purpose of the initial permit fee and the annual
renewal fee required above is to offset the costs of administration,
inspection and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.
Any newsrack or MNBA which in whole or in part
rests upon, in or over any public sidewalk or public right-of-way
or which projects onto, into or over any part of a public right-of-way
within the Borough shall comply with the following standards:
A.
No newsrack or MNBA shall be used for commercial advertising
or commercial publicity purposes other than to display, promote or
advertise the sale of the newspaper, news periodical or magazine sold
therein.
B.
Each newsrack or MNBA shall be equipped with a coin-return
mechanism to permit a person using the machine to secure an immediate
refund that he/she is unable to receive the publication paid for.
The coin-return mechanism shall at all times be maintained in good
working order.
C.
Each newsrack or MNBA shall have affixed thereto,
in a readily visible place so as to be seen by anyone using the newsrack
or MNBA unit, a notice setting forth the name and address of the newspaper
vendor and the telephone number of a working telephone service to
call to report a malfunction or to secure a refund in the event of
a malfunction of the coin-return mechanism or to give notice to the
Borough Clerk.
D.
Each newsrack or MNBA shall be maintained in a neat
and clean condition and in good repair at all times. Specifically,
but without limiting generality of the foregoing, each newsrack or
MNBA shall be serviced and maintained so that:
(1)
It is reasonably free of loose, chipped, peeling and
cracked paint in the visible painted areas thereof;
(2)
It is reasonably free of rust and corrosion, in the
visible metal areas thereon;
(3)
The clear plastic or glass parts thereof, if any,
through which the publications therein are viewed, are not broken
and reasonably free of cracks, dents, blemishes and discoloration;
(4)
The paper or cardboard parts or inserts thereof, if
any, are reasonably free of tears, peelings, or fading; and
(5)
The structural parts thereof are not broken, cracked
or otherwise dangerous to users thereof.
E.
The newspaper vendor shall be responsible for properly
disposing of unsold newspapers by bundling them for recycling and
depositing them in a receptacle designated by law for such purposes.
Failure to do so shall subject the newspaper vendor to punishment
under this and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations, including
but not limited to the forfeiture of any license(s) obtained pursuant
to this chapter.
A.
Any person or entity who violates any provision of
this chapter shall be notified in writing of such violation and have
15 days from the date of the notice to correct the violation.
B.
Any person or entity who violates any provision of this chapter and continues such violation for more than 15 days after having received the above notice, shall, upon conviction, be subject to the penalties in Chapter 1, Article III, General Penalty; each day may be considered a separate offense.[1]
C.
If a newspaper vendor is convicted of a violation
of this chapter by the Municipal Court and if such newspaper vendor
thereafter refuses to remedy or correct the violation within 10 days
from the date of conviction, then the Borough Clerk shall be empowered
to remove the newsrack or MNBA which is the basis for such conviction
from the public sidewalk or public right-of-way or other place and
return such newsrack or MNBA to the newspaper vendor.
