[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Long Branch 5-27-1997
by Ord. No. 14-97. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The City of Long Branch.
Activity which is prescribed by Title 2C of N.J.S.A. or any city
ordinance or any federal law or requisition.
Any person responsible for placing and maintaining a public telephone
on a sidewalk or street as hereinafter defined, and receiving a permit therefor.
An individual, business, firm, corporation, association, partnership
or any other organization, group or entity.
Any self-service, coin- or credit-card-operated telephone or bank
of such telephones placed adjacent to each other located in or over a public
sidewalk or street.
That portion of a highway or street intended for the use of pedestrians,
between the curbline or the lateral line of a shoulder or, if none, lateral
lines of the roadway and the adjacent right-of-way line.
The entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly
maintained when any part thereof is opened to the use of the public for the
purposes of vehicular traffic, and shall include, but not be limited to roadways,
parkways, alleys and highways.
A.Â
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 provided in this chapter. Permits shall be issued subject to the
approval of the location and means of installation of the telephone by the
city's Public Safety Director. Prior to installation, a plan or sketch
of the telephone shall be furnished in sufficient detail to describe the size,
location, equipment and means of installation and cabling.
B.Â
The initial fee for a permit shall be $50 for each public
telephone. The annual renewal fee shall be $25 for each public telephone.
C.Â
A copy of the permit number shall be affixed to the public
telephone in such a fashion so as to be secure from defacing or damage by
the elements.
D.Â
Permits shall be renewable annually, with all applications
for renewal to be submitted to the city not later than the 15th day of January
of each year.
The city's Public Safety Director shall be notified of the intent
of any person to remove or relocate a public telephone, which notification
shall be in writing and shall be given not later than 30 days before the intended
date of removal or relocation of said telephone. No telephone may be removed
or relocated without compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
The city's Public Safety Director may reject any application for
a permit, revoke a permit or require the removal of an existing outdoor public
telephone if it is determined that a public telephone has the potential to
or has illustrated a propensity to create or contribute to illegal or illicit
activities. A presumption of illegal or illicit activity will be created if
during the permit year five incidents of illegal or illicit activities are
associated with the location or the proposed location of the public telephone
or it has been previously used for emergency (911) calls and hang-ups.
The permit fees set forth herein shall not apply to any public telephone
installation subject to an agreement with the City of Long Branch providing
for the payment of any annual commission and a franchise tax to the City of
Long Branch, except that such public telephone installations shall be subject
to the following:
A.Â
Approval of the location of each public telephone by
the city's Public Safety Director.
B.Â
The City of Long Branch may require any of the following:
the removal of an outdoor telephone, the revocation of a permit or the restriction
or limitation upon service to permit outgoing calls only, if a public telephone
has the potential to or has illustrated a propensity to create or contribute
to illegal or illicit activity. A presumption of illegal or illicit activity
will be created if during the permit year five incidents of illegal or illicit
activities are associated with the location or the proposed location of the
public telephone or it has been previously used for emergency (911) calls
and hang-ups.
In the event that the city's Public Safety Director declines to
issue a permit, the applicant may request a hearing before the City Administrator
or a designee as to said denial. Said request for a hearing must be made in
writing to the City Administrator within 10 days of receipt of notice of denial.
Before receiving a permit, an applicant shall:
A.Â
Execute an indemnification agreement by which the applicant
agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the City of Long Branch against
liability for all claims for damage to property, or injury to or death of
persons, arising out of or resulting from the issuance of the permit or the
control, maintenance, ownership or use of each public telephone, including
the applicant's public telephone and equipment.
B.Â
File with the Chief Financial Officer of the City of
Long Branch a general liability insurance policy of $1,000,000 for bodily
injury and $50,000 for property damage, naming the City of Long Branch as
an additional insured, insuring against injury, loss or damage that may result
from placing or maintaining the telephone on or above the sidewalk, said policy
to name the City of Long Branch and its officers and employees as additional
insureds.
Any public telephone installation subject to this chapter shall comply
with the following standards:
A.Â
No booth surrounding a public telephone shall exceed
eight feet in height, four feet in width or four feet in thickness.
B.Â
Each public telephone shall be equipped with a coin return
mechanism to permit a person using the machine to secure an immediate refund
if the call cannot be placed. The coin mechanism shall be maintained in proper
working order.
C.Â
Each public telephone shall have affixed to it in a place
visible to everyone using the telephone the name and address 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.
D.Â
Public telephones shall be maintained in a neat and clean
condition and in good repair at all times. Public telephones shall be serviced
and maintained according to standards including but not limited to the following:
(1)Â
Public telephones shall be reasonably free of chipped,
faded, peeling and cracked paint in the visible painted areas thereof.
(2)Â
Public telephones shall be reasonably free of rust and
corrosion in the visible metal areas thereon.
(3)Â
Any clear plastic or glass parts of public telephones
shall be unbroken and reasonably free of cracks, dents, graffiti, blemishes
and discoloration.
(4)Â
Any paper or cardboard parts or inserts of public telephones
shall be reasonably free of tears, pealing or fading.
(5)Â
The structural parts of public telephones shall not be
broken or unduly misshapen.
(6)Â
Public telephone receivers shall be attached to the telephones.
E.Â
Any person who fails to maintain a public telephone in
proper working condition shall be given a ten-day notice to repair the telephone
by the City of Long Branch. Failure to timely comply with said notice shall
be grounds for revocation of the permit for said telephone.
F.Â
Each public telephone shall, upon the written request
of the Public Safety Director, be capable of restricted or limited service
allowing outgoing calls only, within 10 days of the request.
A.Â
No public telephone shall be permitted to rest upon,
in or over any public street or sidewalk when such installation, use or maintenance:
(1)Â
Endangers the safety of persons or property;
(2)Â
Unreasonably interferes with or impedes the flow of pedestrians
or vehicular traffic, including any legally parked or stopped vehicles, or
is intended to be installed in such a fashion so as to permit, intentionally
or otherwise, its use by occupants of vehicles parked or stopped upon any
sidewalk;
(3)Â
Unreasonably interferes with the ingress or egress from
any residence or place of business; or
(4)Â
Interferes with the use of traffic signs or signals,
hydrants or mailboxes permitted at or near said location.
B.Â
Public telephones shall be placed or otherwise secured
so as to prevent their being blown down onto or around the public street or
sidewalk, but shall not be affixed or otherwise secured to any traffic or
street signs or signals.
A.Â
In addition to any other penalties for violations of
this chapter, the City Administrator may, after notice and hearing, and for
just cause, suspend, revoke or not renew any permit issued hereunder for the
following:
(1)Â
Any violation of the provisions of this chapter.
(2)Â
Failure to comply with any federal or state laws and/or
regulations or any city ordinance pertaining to the operation of public telephones.
(3)Â
Any cause which would have been cause for rejection of
the application in the first instance.
(4)Â
A material and known misstatement or omission of information
required on the application pursuant to this chapter. The question of whether
a misstatement or omission is material and knowing shall be a question of
fact for the fact finder.
(5)Â
A finding upon receipt of a complaint by any citizen
or upon request of the Public Safety Director of the City of Long Branch or
his designee that the location and/or use of a public telephone constitutes
a threat to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of this city.
B.Â
Any hearing authorized under this chapter shall be conducted
before the City Administrator or a designee and shall require written notice
to the permittee, which notice shall be given not less than 10 days prior
to the date scheduled for said hearing. If the City Administrator finds the
permittee in violation of any provisions of this section, the City Administrator
may also require that service from said public telephone be restricted to
outgoing calls only.
A.Â
The owners of existing public telephones shall apply
for the permit acquired hereunder within 30 days from the date this chapter
becomes final. The City of Long Branch reserves the right to reject any and
all locations submitted for approval based upon their existing nonconformance
to this chapter.
B.Â
If a permit is not obtained within the time specified
herein, or if the City Public Safety Director rejects any application for
a permit, the owner shall forthwith remove said public telephone and all ancillary
equipment. If the owner fails or refuses to remove said public telephone within
10 days from notification by the City Public Safety Director, the City Engineer
or a designee may cause the public telephone to be removed. Public telephone
equipment removed by the city shall be released to the lawful owner thereof
upon payment of a fee of $250 to the City of Long Branch.
C.Â
If no person makes a claim for return of a public telephone
and/or ancillary equipment removed by the city under this section within six
months from the date of removal, it may be disposed of pursuant to N.J.S.A.
40A:14-157.
