[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Town
of Dover 2-24-1993 as Ord. No. 6-1993.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 337.
A.
No person may place or maintain any outdoor public telephone
on or above any public street or sidewalk without having first obtained a
permit as required by this chapter. Permits shall be issued subject to the
approval of the location and means of installation of the telephone
by the Construction Official.
B.
Prior to installation, a plan or sketch of the telephone
shall be furnished to the Construction Official in sufficient detail to describe
the size, location, equipment and means of installation and cabling. The Construction
Official shall also receive no fewer than 60 days' prior written notice
before the removal of any telephone.
D.
The Town of Dover may reject any application for a permit,
revoke a permit or require the removal of an existing outdoor public telephone
if it has reason to believe that such telephone has the potential to or has
illustrated a propensity to create or contribute to illegal or illicit activities
or otherwise infringes on the use and access to a public sidewalk.
A.
Any public telephone which is subject to this chapter
shall comply with the following standards:
(1)
No booth surrounding a public telephone shall exceed
eight feet in height, four feet in width or four feet in thickness.
(2)
Each public telephone shall be equipped with a coin-return
mechanism to permit a person using the telephone to secure an immediate refund
if the call cannot be placed. The coin mechanism shall be maintained in good
working order.
(3)
Each public telephone shall have affixed to it, in a
place visible to everyone using the telephone, the telephone name and complete
address (no P.O. box) of the distributor and the telephone number of a working
telephone service to report a malfunction, secure a refund or give the notices
provided for in this chapter. These notices shall be displayed in English
and Spanish.
(4)
Telephones shall be maintained in a neat and clean condition
and in good repair at all times. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing,
all telephones shall be serviced and maintained according to standards, including
but not limited to the following:
(a)
Telephones shall be reasonably free of chipped, faded,
peeling and cracked paint in the visible painted areas therefor and rust and
corrosion in the visible metal areas thereon.
(b)
Any clear plastic or glass parts or inserts shall be
reasonably free from cracks, dents, graffiti, blemishes and discoloration.
(c)
Any paper or cardboard parts or inserts shall be reasonably
free of tears, peeling or fading.
(d)
The structural parts shall not be broken or unduly misshapen.
(e)
The telephone receiver shall be attached to the telephone.
B.
Any person who fails to maintain a public telephone in working condition shall be given a ten-day written notice to repair the telephone by the Construction Official. If the telephone is not in working condition at the end of the ten-day period, the violator shall be subject to the provisions of § 353-7, Violations and penalties, set forth below.
C.
Each public telephone shall be restricted so that service
is limited to outgoing calls only. If the owner or distributor of any outdoor
public telephone establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the health,
safety or welfare of the community requires that such telephone be capable
of receiving calls, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen may, after hearing such
evidence, determine that the particular telephone not be limited to outgoing
calls only.
A.
No public telephone shall be permitted to rest upon,
in or over any public street or sidewalk when such installation, use or maintenance:
(1)
Endangers the safety of persons or property.
(2)
Unreasonably interferes with or impedes the flow of pedestrians
or vehicular traffic, including any legally parked or stopped vehicles.
(3)
Unreasonably interferes with the ingress or egress from
any residence or place of business.
(4)
Interferes with the use of traffic signs or signals,
hydrants or mailboxes permitted at or near said location.
B.
Public telephones shall be placed or otherwise secured
so as to prevent their being blown down, onto or around a public street or
sidewalk but shall not be chained or otherwise secured to any traffic or street
sign, signal, hydrant, mailbox or any other government-owned property.
Upon receipt of a complaint by a citizen or an authorized representative
of the Police Department to the Construction Official that the location and
use of a public telephone constitutes a threat to the health, safety and welfare
of the community, the Construction Official shall conduct a hearing after
providing written notice of the same at least 10 days in advance thereof to
all parties in interest to ascertain whether the location or use of the public
telephone constitutes a threat to the health, safety and welfare of the community.
If the Construction Official determines by a preponderance of the evidence
presented that the location and the use of the public telephone constitutes
a threat to the health, safety and welfare of the community, the Construction
Official may revoke any permit issued for use of said public telephone immediately
thereafter, or may order such other relief as he deems necessary under the
circumstances, including but not limited to requiring the telephone to be
restricted to outgoing calls only and removal or seizure of the public pay
telephone equipment.
The owners or lessees of all existing public telephones which are required
to have a permit under the provisions of this chapter will have a period of
30 days to obtain the permit required by this chapter. The Town of Dover reserves
the right to reject any and all locations submitted for approval if such location
and installation is not in conformance with this chapter.
Any violations of this chapter shall subject the violator to one or
more of the following: a fine of not less than $100 and no more than $1,000,
a term of imprisonment not exceeding 90 days, a period of community service
not exceeding ninety days and/or the seizure of the telephone equipment. Each
noncomplying public telephone violation will constitute a separate violation.
Each day of said violation shall constitute a separate violation. Three consecutive
violations of any one requirement in this chapter shall result in the revocation
of the permit.
