[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees 3-4-2002
by L.L. No. 1-2002. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Board of Trustees of the Incorporated Village of Cedarhurst finds
and declares that:
A.
The uncontrolled placement of newsracks in public rights-of-way
is 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 located so as to cause an inconvenience or
danger to persons using public rights-of-way, and unsightly newsracks located
therein, constitute public nuisances.
C.
The provisions, limitations and prohibitions hereinafter
contained and enacted are in pursuance, furtherance and for the purpose of
securing and promoting the public health and general welfare of persons in
the Village of Cedarhurst in their use of public rights-of-way.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated.
One side of a street between two intersecting streets.
The person responsible for placing and maintaining a newsrack in
a public right-of-way.
Any self-service, free or coin-operated box, container, storage unit
or other dispenser installed, used or maintained for the display, distribution
or sale of newspapers, news periodicals, magazines, advertising, publications
or other printed materials.
The area between the sidewalk and the curb of any street, and where
there is no sidewalk, that area between the edge of the roadway and property
line adjacent thereto. "Parkway" shall include any area within a roadway that
is not open to vehicular traffic.
Any person or persons or entity, including but not limited to a corporation,
partnership, unincorporated association, joint venture or limited-liability
company.
That portion of a street improved, designed or ordinarily used for
vehicular traffic.
Any surface provided for the exclusive use of pedestrians.
All that area dedicated to the public use for public street purposes,
and shall include but not be limited to roadways, parkways, alleys and sidewalks.
A.
No person shall install, use, or maintain any newsrack
which projects onto, into, or which rests, wholly or in part, upon the roadway
of any public street.
B.
No person shall install, use, or maintain any newsrack
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 of persons or or property;
(2)
Such site or location is used for public utility purposes,
public transportation purposes, or other governmental use;
(3)
Such newsrack unreasonably interferes with the flow of
pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including parked or stopped vehicles; the
ingress or egress from any residence, place of business or legally stopped
or parked vehicles; the use of poles, posts, traffic signs, hydrants, mailboxes,
or other objects permitted at or near said location;
(4)
Such newsrack interferes with the cleaning of any sidewalk,
whether by manual means, by the use of mechanical sidewalk cleaning machinery
or other means; or
(5)
In any other manner inconsistent with or in violation
of the provisions of this chapter or any other local law or this Code.
It shall be unlawful for any person to erect, place, maintain or operate,
on any public street or sidewalk or in any other public way or place in the
Incorporated Village of Cedarhurst, any newsrack without first having obtained
a permit from the Village Clerk. One permit may be issued to include any number
of newsracks installed, used, maintained or operated by the same person.
A.
Application for such permit shall be made, in writing,
to the Village Clerk, upon such form as shall be provided by the Village Clerk,
and shall contain the name and address of the applicant and the proposed specific
location(s) of each such newsrack, and shall be signed by the applicant or
a duly authorized representative thereof.
B.
From the information contained in the application, the
Village Clerk shall approve locations and shall be guided therein solely by
the standards and criteria set forth in this chapter. In the event that the
Village Clerk disapproves of a particular location, such disapproval shall
be without prejudice to the applicant designating a different location.
A.
Permits shall be issued for the installation of a newsrack
or newsracks without prior inspection of the location(s) selected, but such
newsrack or newsracks and the installation, use or maintenance thereof shall
be conditioned upon observance of the provisions of this chapter. Permits
shall be issued within three days (excluding Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays)
after the application has been filed, exclusive of the date of the filing
thereof. A permit fee of $100 for each application and $25 for each newsrack
shall be required.
B.
Such permit shall be valid for two years and shall be
renewable pursuant to the procedures for original applications herein, upon
payment of the permit and newsrack fees and, where applicable, replenishment
of deposit charges.
C.
Permit and newsrack numbers shall be issued with the
permit, and every person who maintains a newsrack on the streets of the Village
of Cedarhurst shall have his, her or their permit and newsrack number, name,
address and telephone number affixed, on a weather-resistant tag or device,
to each newsrack, where such information may be easily seen at all times.
Proof of compliance with this section must be submitted to the Superintendent
of the Building Department before final approval will be given.
D.
The use of any newsrack shall be prohibited until compliance
with this chapter has been verified by the Superintendent of the Building
Department and the permit issued for the installation thereof has been stamped
"Final Approval." Such verification and approval shall be completed within
three days (excluding Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays) of the Building
Superintendent's receipt of written notice that a newsrack has been installed.
E.
Upon making application for a permit, applicants shall
pay a deposit charge of $100 for each newsrack, to be measured by and applied
to and cover the Village's cost of removal, impound, storage and disposition
in the event of abandonment thereof or uncorrected violations of this chapter.
Such sum(s) shall be deposited in a special interest-bearing trust account
maintained by the Incorporated Village of Cedarhurst for that purpose and
administered by the Village Clerk, and all or any part of said sum not applied
to the uses set forth in this section shall be refunded, with accrued interest,
to the applicant or the applicant's assigns, transferees or successors
in interest upon termination of the use of the applicant's newsrack or
newsracks. In no event shall the Village's cost of removal, impound,
storage and disposition, nor the applicant's liability therefor, be limited
to the amount of said deposits.
Every person, owner, distributor and user of a newsrack who places or
maintains a newsrack on a public sidewalk or parkway in the Village of Cedarhurst
shall file a written statement with the Village Clerk, in a form satisfactory
to the Village Attorney, whereby such person, owner, distributor and user
agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Incorporated Village of Cedarhurst,
its officers and employees, from any loss, liability or damage, including
expenses, costs and reasonable attorneys' fees, for bodily or personal
injury and for property damage sustained by any person as a result of the
installation, maintenance and/or use of a newsrack within the Village of Cedarhurst.
Any newsrack which rests in whole or in part on any portion of a public
right-of-way or which projects onto, into or over any part of a public right-of-way
shall be located in accordance with the provisions of this section:
A.
No newsrack shall be used or maintained which projects
onto, into, 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.
B.
No newsrack shall be chained, bolted, or otherwise attached
to any fixture located in the public right-of-way, except other newsracks.
C.
Newsracks may be placed next to each other, provided
that no group of newsracks shall extend for a distance of more than eight
feet along a curb, and a space of not less than three feet shall separate
each group of newsracks.
D.
No newsrack shall be placed, installed, used or maintained:
(1)
Within five feet of any marked crosswalk.
(2)
Within 15 feet of the curb return of any unmarked crosswalk.
(3)
Within five feet of any fire hydrant, fire call box,
police call box, or other emergency facility.
(4)
Within five feet of any driveway.
(5)
Within three feet ahead or 25 feet to the rear of any
sign marking a designated bus stop.
(6)
Within five feet of the outer edge of any bus stop bench.
(7)
At any location whereby the clear space for the passageway
of pedestrians is reduced to less than six feet.
(8)
Within three feet of any public area improved with lawn,
flowers, shrubs, trees or other landscaping or within three feet of any display
window of any building abutting the sidewalk or parkway in such a manner as
to impede or interfere with the reasonable use of such window for display
purposes.
(9)
Within 100 feet of any other newsrack on the same side
of the street in the same block containing the same issue or edition of the
same publication.
(10)
On any access ramp for disabled persons.
Any newsrack which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any public
sidewalk or parkway shall comply with the following standards:
A.
No newsrack shall exceed four feet in height, 30 inches
in width, or two feet in thickness.
B.
No newsrack shall be used for advertising signs or publicity
purposes other than that dealing with the display, sale, or purchase of the
newspaper, news or other periodicals or other publications sold therein.
C.
Each newsrack containing a coin-operated mechanism shall
be equipped with a coin-return mechanism to permit a person using the machine
to secure an immediate refund in the event that the person is unable to receive
the paid-for publication. The coin-return mechanism shall be maintained and
in good working order at all times.
D.
Each newsrack shall have affixed to it, in a readily
visible place so as to be seen by anyone using the newsrack, a notice setting
forth the name and address of the distributor 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 notices provided for in this chapter.
E.
Each newsrack shall be maintained in a neat and clean
condition and in good repair at all times. Specifically, but without limiting
the generality of the foregoing, each newsrack shall be maintained so that:
(1)
It is reasonably free of dirt and grease;
(2)
It is reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling, and
cracked paint in the visible painted areas thereof;
(3)
It is reasonably free of rust and corrosion in the visible
unpainted metal areas thereon;
(4)
The clear plastic or glass parts thereof, if any, through
which the publications therein are viewed, are unbroken and reasonably free
of cracks, dents, blemishes and discoloration;
(5)
The paper or cardboard parts or inserts thereof are reasonably
free of tears, peeling or fading; and
(6)
The structural parts thereof are not broken or unduly
misshapen.
A.
Upon determination by the Building Department Superintendent
that a newsrack has been installed, used or maintained in violation of the
provisions of this chapter, an order to correct the offending condition shall
be issued to the distributor of the newsrack. Such order shall be telephoned
to the distributor and confirmed by mailing a copy of the order by certified
mail, return receipt requested. The order shall specifically describe the
offending condition, suggest actions necessary to correct the condition, and
inform the newsrack distributor of the right to appeal.
B.
Failure to properly correct the offending condition(s)
within five days (excluding Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays) after the
mailing date of the order, or to appeal the order within three days after
its receipt, shall result in the offending newsrack being summarily removed
and processed as unclaimed property. If the offending newsrack is not properly
identified as to its owner, it shall be removed immediately and processed
as unclaimed property. An impound fee, shall be measured by the Village's
cost and expense of removal, impound, storage and disposition.
C.
The Building Department Superintendent shall cause inspection
to be made of the corrected condition of a newsrack or of a newsrack reinstalled
after removal under this section. The distributor of said newsrack shall be
charged an inspection fee of $50 for each newsrack so inspected. This charge
shall be in addition to all other fees and charges required under this chapter.
Any person or entity aggrieved by a finding, notice, order or action
taken under the provisions of this chapter may appeal and shall be apprised
of his, her or their right to appeal to the Board of Trustees. An appeal must
be perfected within three days after receipt of notice of any protested decision
or action by filing with the Village Clerk a letter of appeal briefly stating
therein the basis of such appeal. A hearing shall be held on a date not more
than 10 days after receipt of the letter of appeal. The appellant shall be
given at least five days' notice of the time and place of the hearing.
The Board of Trustees shall give the appellant, and any other interested party,
a reasonable opportunity to be heard, in order to show cause why the determination
of the Building Department Superintendent should not be upheld. At the conclusion
of the hearing, the Board of Trustees shall make a final and conclusive determination.
This decision shall be immediately appealable to a court of competent jurisdiction.
In the event that a newsrack remains empty for a period of 30 continuous days, it shall be deemed abandoned and may be treated in the manner as provided in § 170-10 for newsracks in violation of the provisions of this chapter.
Any newsrack or newsracks existing and located within the Village prior
to and at the time of the enactment of this chapter shall be in compliance
therewith within 30 days of the receipt of notice thereof mailed by certified
letter, return receipt requested, by the Village to the owner, distributor,
operator or person responsible for the use and maintenance of said newsrack
or newsracks.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this chapter
is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall nor affect the validity
of the remaining portions of this chapter.
