[Ord. No. 07-01, § 1, 3-19-2007]
(a)
Findings.
(1)
The uncontrolled placement and maintenance of newsracks in public
rights-of-way presents an inconvenience and danger to the safety and
welfare of persons entering and leaving vehicles and buildings, and
persons performing essential utility, traffic control and emergency
services.
(2)
Newsracks so located as to cause an inconvenience or danger to persons
using public rights-of-way, and unsightly newsracks located therein,
constitute public nuisances.
(3)
It is a matter of public necessity that the Town protect children
and non-consenting adults in and on its public streets, sidewalks,
transportation facilities and other public rights-of-way from viewing
public displays of offensive sexual material. Such displays are thrust
indiscriminately upon unwilling audiences of adults and children and
constitute assaults upon individual privacy.
(4)
These factors constitute an unreasonable interference with and obstruction
of the use of public rights-of-way, constitute an unwarranted invasion
of individual privacy, are injurious to health, offensive to the sense,
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.
(5)
The 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 those areas for such purposes should
not be absolutely denied. The interests require a reasonable accommodation
which can only be satisfactorily achieved through the means of this
article which is designed to accommodate such interests regulating
the time, place and manner of using such newsracks.
(b)
Purpose. The purpose of this article is to provide uniform guidelines
for and to regulate the installation, operation and maintenance of
newsracks in public rights-of-way in the Town so that such newsracks
shall not unduly obstruct sidewalks, interfere with the public's
right to unhampered passage therein, create traffic congestion or
illegal parking or stopping by motorist in order to purchase newspapers,
damage municipal property because of the chaining of newsracks to
poles, traffic standards, trees or other fixtures, interfere with
the performance of municipal services, create unsightly conditions
and endanger the safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the Town
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 or from the street to the sidewalk;
(3)
Provide reasonable access for the use and maintenance of sidewalks,
poles, posts, 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, protect the aesthetics
and value of surrounding properties, and protect the quiet of residential
areas;
(5)
Reduce exposure of the Town to personal injury of property damage
claims and litigation; and
(6)
Protect the right to distribute information protected by the United
States and Connecticut Constitutions through use of newsracks.
(c)
Preservation of constitutional rights. It is not the intent of this
article to in any way discriminate against, regulate, or interfere
with the publication, circulation, distribution, or dissemination
of any printed material that is constitutionally protected.
[Ord. No. 07-01, § 2, 3-19-2007]
For the purpose of this article, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings given herein. When not inconsistent with the
context, words used in the present tense include the future, words
in the plural include the singular and words in the singular include
the plural.
The head of the Town Police Department or his duly designated
representative.
Any person responsible for the installation, operation or
maintenance of a newsrack in a public right-of-way.
Any self-service or coin-operated box, container, storage
unit or other dispenser installed, operated, or maintained for the
display and sale of newspapers, periodicals or other printed matter.
An individual person, firm, corporation or other entity.
Any area owned and/or maintained by the Town, open for use
of the public for vehicular or pedestrian travel, including but not
limited to roadways, sidewalks, streets, alleys, public grounds or
other rights-of-way.
That portion of any highway improved, designed, or ordinarily
used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder.
That portion of a street between the curb lines or lateral
lines of a roadway and the adjacent property lines and any surface
provided for exclusive use by pedestrians.
The entire area encompassed by a roadway and a sidewalk.
[Ord. No. 07-01, § 3, 3-19-2007]
(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:
(1)
When such installation, use, or maintenance endangers the safety
of persons or property;
(2)
When such site or location is used for public utility purposes, public
transportation purposes, or other governmental use;
(3)
When such newsrack unreasonably interferes with or impedes the flow
of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including parked or stopped vehicles;
the ingress in or egress from any residence or place of business;
the use of poles, posts, traffic signs or signals, hydrants, mailboxes,
or other objects permitted at or near said location;
(4)
When such newsrack interferes with the cleaning of any sidewalk by
the use of mechanical sidewalk cleaning machinery; or
(5)
In any other manner inconsistent with or in violation of the provisions
of this article.
[Ord. No. 07-01, § 4, 3-19-2007]
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to
erect, place, maintain or operate, on any public street or sidewalk,
or in any other public way or place, in the Town any newsrack without
first having obtained a permit from the Chief of Police specifying
the exact location of such newsrack. One permit may be issued to include
any number of newsracks, and shall be signed by the applicant.
[Ord. No. 07-01, § 5, 3-19-2007]
(a)
Application for such permit shall be made, in writing, to the Chief
of Police upon such form as shall be provided by him, and shall contain
the name and address of the applicant, the proposed specific location
of said newsrack, and shall be signed by the applicant.
(b)
From the above application information the Chief of Police shall
approve or reject the locations and shall be guided therein solely
by the standards and criteria set forth in this article. In any case
where the Chief of Police disapproves of a particular location, such
disapproval shall be without prejudice to the registrant designating
a different location or locations.
(c)
The Chief of Police shall assign a number to each such permit issued.
[Ord. No. 07-01, § 6, 3-19-2007]
(a)
Such newsrack or newsracks and the installation, use or maintenance
thereof shall be conditioned upon observance of the provisions of
this article. Permits shall be issued within 72 hours (excluding Saturday,
Sunday and legal holidays) after the application has been filed. A
permit fee shall be charged as established and published from time
to time by the Town Council in the official price guide in an amount
not in excess of the cost of administering this article.
(b)
Such permits shall be valid for three years and shall be renewable
pursuant to the procedure for original applications referred to in
Section 15-74 and upon payment of the permit fee.
[Ord. No. 07-01, § 7, 3-19-2007]
Every owner of a newsrack who places or maintains a newsrack
on a public sidewalk or parkway in the Town shall file a written statement
with the Chief of Police in a form satisfactory to the Town attorney,
whereby such owner agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the city,
its officers, and employees, from any loss, liability, or damage,
including expenses and costs, for bodily or personal injury, and for
property damage sustained by any person as a result of the installation,
use and/or maintenance of a newsrack within the Town. Such statement
shall also certify the newsrack owner's agreement that the Town
is not liable for any damage to such newsracks.
[Ord. No. 07-01, § 8, 3-19-2007]
Every owner of a newsrack who places or maintains a newsrack
on a public sidewalk or parkway shall provide the Town with a certificate
of liability insurance coverage issued by an insurance company licensed
to do business in the state insuring the applicant and the Town against
all claims for damages to bodily injury, including death, and property
which could arise in connection with the installation, operation or
maintenance of a newsrack in the Town. The minimum coverage of such
policy shall be $1,000,000 aggregate personal injury claims, $500,000
aggregate property damage claims and $250,000 per each occurrence.
The policy, by its terms, shall not be cancelable prior to the expiration
date of the permit without 30 days' written notice to the Town.
[Ord. No. 07-01, § 9, 3-19-2007]
Every person who places or maintains a newsrack on the streets
of the Town shall have his permit number, name, address and telephone
number affixed to the newsrack in a place where such information may
be easily seen. Prior to the designation of location by the Chief
of Police under Section 15-79 herein, the registrant shall present
evidence of compliance with this section.
[Ord. No. 07-01, § 10, 3-19-2007]
Any newsrack which rests in whole or in part upon, or 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 bolted or otherwise attached to the sidewalk
or to any fixture located in the public right-of-way, except to other
newsracks, without the prior written approval of the Chief of Police.
However, newsracks may be chained by means of a rubber or plastic
coated chain except it may not be chained to a decorative fixture,
a tree, or utility fixture that requires access for maintenance or
service or any other fixture that would cause material public health
or safety issues.
(c)
Newsracks may be placed next to each other, provided that no group
of newsracks shall extend for a distance of more than five feet along
a curb, and a space of not less than three feet shall separate each
group of newsracks.
(d)
So as to violate any relevant provision of the federal Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) legislation in existence or as amended
from time to time.
(e)
No newsrack shall be placed, installed, used or maintained:
(1)
Within five feet of any crosswalk.
(2)
Within 15 feet of the curb return of any 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 such distance from a designated bus stop, bus bench or bus
shelter so as to impede the entry or exit from a bus.
(6)
At any location where the clear sidewalk space for the passageway
of pedestrians is restricted to impede pedestrian traffic as determined
by the Chief of Police.
(7)
Within three feet of or on 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 or in such
a manner as to impede or interfere with the reasonable use of such
window for display purposes.
(8)
Within 500 feet of any other newsrack containing the same issue or
edition of the same publication, within a commercial or business district.
A second newsrack can be obtained if it is attached to the primary
newsrack provided it meets all the other criteria of this article,
all other distributors who want a newsrack at that location have one,
and said additional newsrack will be removed if another distributor
who has no newsrack at one location requests a newsrack at the location.
(9)
Within 1,500 feet of any other newsrack containing the same issue
or edition of the same publication, within a residential district.
(10)
On any access ramp for disabled persons so as to impede access
to a sidewalk or so as to interfere with access to or egress from
a handicapped parking space.
(f)
In determining which newsracks shall be permitted to be located or
to remain if already in place, the Chief of Police shall be guided
solely by the following criteria:
[Ord. No. 07-01, § 11, 3-19-2007]
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, two feet 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 or news periodical sold therein.
(c)
Each newsrack shall be equipped with a coin-return mechanism to permit
a person using the machine to secure an immediate refund in the event
the person is unable to receive the paid for publication. The coin-return
mechanism shall be maintained in good working order. This subsection
shall not apply to newsracks for publications offered free of charge.
(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 the notices provided for in this article.
(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 serviced and maintained
so that:
(1)
It is reasonably free of dirt and grease;
(2)
It is reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling and cracked paint
and graffiti 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.
[Ord. No. 07-01, § 12, 3-19-2007]
Publications offered for sale from newsracks placed or maintained
on or projecting over the street or sidewalk shall not be displayed
or exhibited in a manner which exposes to public view from the street
or sidewalk any of the following:
(a)
Any picture or illustration of a person's genitals, pubic hair,
perineum, anus, or anal region where such picture or illustration
has as its purpose sexual arousal, gratification or affront.
[Ord. No. 07-01, § 13, 3-19-2007]
Upon determination by the Chief of Police that a newsrack has
been installed, used or maintained in violation of the provisions
of this article, 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. Failure to properly correct the offending condition
within five days (excluding Saturdays,. Sundays, 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, which shall be measured by the town's cost and
expense of impounding, shall be assessed against each newsrack summarily
removed. The Chief of Police shall cause inspection to be made of
the corrected condition or of a newsrack reinstalled after removal
under this section. The distributor of said newsrack shall be charged
a $25 inspection fee for each newsrack so inspected. This charge shall
be in addition to all other fees and charges required under this article.
[Ord. No. 07-01, § 14, 3-19-2007]
(a)
Any person or entity aggrieved by a finding, determination, notice
order or action taken under the provisions of this article may appeal
and shall be appraised of his right to appeal to the Town Manager.
An appeal must be perfected within three days after receipt of notice
of any protested decision or action by filing with the Town Manager
a letter of appeal briefly stating therein the basis for such appeal.
Any elector of the city wishing to appeal the decision of the Chief
of Police to grant a permit for a newsrack placement shall, if he
or she did not receive written notice of said decision, shall be authorized
to submit such a letter of appeal within three days after the placement
of the newsrack in question. A hearing shall be held on a date not
more than 30 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 Town Manager 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 Chief of Police should
not be upheld. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Town Manager
shall make a final and conclusive decision in writing and provide
notice of same to the parties. This decision shall be appealable to
a court of competent jurisdiction within 15 days of notice of the
decision but no appeal shall stay the effect of the decision absent
further order of the court.
(b)
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be interpreted to limit or
impair the exercise by the Town of its police powers to remove any
newsrack which presents a clear and present danger of imminent personal
injury or property damage to users of the public rights-of-way.
[Ord. No. 07-01, § 15, 3-19-2007]
This article shall apply to existing newsracks within the Town,
except that the distributors thereof shall have 120 days within which
to comply with its provisions or within such additional time as may
be allowed in the discretion of the Chief of Police.
[Ord. No. 07-01, § 16, 3-19-2007]
In the event that a newsrack remains empty for a period of 30
continuous days, the same shall be deemed abandoned, and may be treated
in the manner as provided in Section 15-82 for newsracks in violation
of the provisions of this article.
