Village of Russell Gardens, NY Chapter 56 Vending Machines

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Russell Gardens 9-5-1989 as L.L. No. 1-1989.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]

[1] Editor's Note: This local law originally provided for the inclusion of this chapter in the Code as Ch. 33 but was renumbered to conform to the alphabetical sequence of the Table of Contents.

§ 56-1 Vending machines in public places prohibited.

No person shall maintain, establish or otherwise install any vending machines on any public roadway, street, sidewalk, bypass or other public place in the village, except as otherwise herein provided.

§ 56-2 Newspaper vending machines.

In order to promote the free dissemination of information, vending machines for the sale of newspapers shall be permitted, subject to the following limitations:

A. Permit required. No person shall erect, establish, maintain or otherwise place a newspaper vending machine, self-service, coin-operated or otherwise, within the Village without first having obtained a permit therefor. A permit issued hereunder shall be effective for a period of one year from the date of issuance and may be renewed from year to year by the filing of a renewal application. No permit shall be issued unless the applicant shall have paid a permit fee or the annual renewal fee as established in the Miscellaneous Fee Schedule adopted by resolution of the Board of Trustees. All fees shall be paid at the time of filing the application. No permit shall be assignable. The fee schedule may be amended from time to time by like resolution and shall be available in the office of the Village Clerk.

[Amended 12-5-2019 by L.L. No. 21-2019]

B. Application procedure. Every application for a permit hereunder shall be in writing on a form provided by the village and shall be filed with the Village Clerk, together with the appropriate permit fee. No application shall be considered until the permit fee is paid.

C. Additional requirements. In addition to the requirements set forth by reference in Subsections A and B hereof, all newspaper vending machines shall comply with the following:

(1) No newspaper vending machine shall display any advertising or other publicity other than that for use with the sale of the newspapers.

(2) No sign display on newspaper vending machines shall be illuminated except indirectly or internally with white light.

(3) Each newspaper vending machine shall be maintained in a neat and clean condition and in good repair at all times.

(4) No newspaper vending machine shall be placed in any location where it will impede or otherwise interfere with the flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic or the removal of snow, ice, leaves, debris, refuse, garbage, recyclables and the like.

(5) No newspaper vending machine shall be placed or maintained so as to project into, onto or over or rest in whole or in part upon any portion of a roadway or a public street.

(6) No newspaper vending machine shall be placed in such manner as to endanger the safety of persons or property or to impede or interfere with the ingress or egress from any structure or building.

(7) Newspaper vending machines shall be located, placed, installed, used and maintained only on streets on which the front of commercial structures are situate.

(8) No newspaper vending machine shall be placed at or within 20 feet of the curb return of the intersection of any two streets; or within 100 feet of any single-family residential structure; or within 15 feet of any fire hydrant; or within 10 feet of any fire alarm, police call box, public telephone or other emergency communication device; or within five feet of any driveway or curb cut; or within three feet ahead or 15 feet to the rear of any designated bus stop, taxi stand or handicapped parking place; or at a location in which clearance for the passage of pedestrians is reduced to six feet or less; or within 50 feet of any other newspaper vending machine on the same side of the street, in which the same newspaper or periodical is being sold; or within 10 feet of a building entrance; or within three feet of any area improved with lawn, flowers, shrubs or trees; or within three feet of any display window of any building abutting the sidewalk in such manner as to impede or interfere with the reasonable use of such window for display purposes.

(9) No newspaper vending machine shall exceed five feet in height, 30 inches in width and two feet in thickness.

(10) Every newspaper vending machine shall have affixed to it in a permanent manner a visible, legible notice setting forth, in a prominent place, the name, address and phone number of the distributor and of a person to contact for refunds or in case of a malfunction or accident.

D. Attachment of machines. No newspaper vending machine shall be affixed, attached or otherwise connected to any sign, post, fixture, pole or other property of the village nor of any private person without such person's prior written approval being placed on file with the village. Any such action shall be reflected in the application for the placement of such newspaper vending machine. The placement of any newspaper vending machine shall be rigid and secure so as to prevent the machine from swiveling, turning or otherwise moving in its place.

E. Insurance indemnification. Every applicant, prior to the granting of his application, shall file with the village evidence of insurance sufficient to indemnify the village and any building or structure in front of which any newspaper vending machine is placed against liability for damages proximately or otherwise caused as a result of the newspaper vending machine and shall hold the village harmless as against all liability.

F. Nuisances. No person shall allow, permit, suffer or otherwise cause any newspaper vending machine to become a danger to the safety or welfare of persons using the rights-of-way in the village or to become or cause to be unsightly, an inconvenience or a public nuisance.