[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Paterson 11-10-1992
as Ord. No. 92-048. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The City of Paterson.
Activity which is proscribed by Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes
Annotated or any City ordinance or any federal law or regulation.
Any person responsible for placing and maintaining a public telephone
on sidewalks or streets, 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, the lateral
line 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.
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 Engineer. 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.
[Amended 11-12-1996 by Ord. No. 96-069; 12-2-2003
by Ord. No. 03-084]
A.
The initial fee for a permit shall be $200 for each public
telephone.
B.
The annual renewal fee shall be $100 for each public
telephone.
C.
Any application for a license renewal which is not completed
within 30 days of the renewal date shall be subject to an additional late
administrative charge equal to 25% of the cost of the license renewal.
D.
Each public telephone shall be subject to a monthly maintenance
fee of $2. The fee shall be paid to the City not later than the 10th day of
each month. There will be a twenty-five-percent additional monthly maintenance
fee if the payment is made after the 10th day of the month.
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.
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 Engineer 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 Engineer 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.
A.
The permit fees set forth herein shall not apply to any
public telephone installation subject to an agreement with the City of Paterson
providing for the payment of any annual commission and a franchise tax to
the City of Paterson, except that such public telephone installations shall
be subject to the following:
(1)
Approval of the location of each public telephone by
the City Engineer.
B.
The City of Paterson may require any of the following
if a public telephone has the potential to or has illustrated a propensity
to create or contribute to illegal or illicit activity: the removal of an
outdoor telephone; the revocation of a permit; or the restriction or limitation
upon service to permit outgoing calls only. 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.
In the event that the City Engineer declines to issue a permit, the
applicant may request a hearing before the City Engineer or a designee as
to said denial. Said request for a hearing must be made, in writing, to the
City Engineer within 10 days of receipt of notice of the denial.
Before receiving a permit, an applicant shall:
A.
Execute an indemnification agreement by which the applicant
agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the City of Paterson 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.
File with the Treasurer of the City of Paterson a general
liability insurance policy of $1,000,000 for bodily injury and $50,000 for
property damage naming the City of Paterson 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 Paterson
and its officers and employees as additional insureds.
Any public telephone installation subject to this chapter shall comply
with the following standards:
A.
No booth surrounding a public telephone shall exceed
eight feet in height, four feet in width or four feet in thickness.
B.
Each public telephone shall be equipped with a coin-return
mechanism to permit a person using the machine to secure an immediate refund
if a call cannot be placed. The coin mechanism shall be maintained in proper
working order.
C.
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.
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)
Public telephones shall be reasonably free of chipped,
faded, peeling and cracked paint in the visible painted areas thereof.
(2)
Public telephones shall be reasonably free of rust and
corrosion in the visible metal areas thereon.
(3)
Any clear plastic or glass parts of public telephones
shall be unbroken and reasonably free of cracks, dents, graffiti, blemishes
and discoloration.
(4)
Any paper or cardboard parts or inserts of public telephones
shall be reasonably free of tears, pealing or fading.
(5)
The structural parts of public telephones shall not be
broken or unduly misshapen.
(6)
Public telephone receivers shall be attached to the telephones.
E.
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 Paterson. Failure to timely comply with said notice shall be
grounds for revocation of the permit for and removal of said telephone.
[Amended 12-2-2003 by Ord. No. 03-084]
F.
Each public telephone shall, upon the written request
of the Chief of Police, be capable of restricted or limited service, allowing
outgoing calls only, within 10 days of the request.
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, 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)
Unreasonably interferes with the ingress or egress from
any residence or place of business; or
(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 the public street or
sidewalk but shall not be affixed or otherwise secured to any traffic or street
signs or signals.
A.
In addition to any other penalties for violation of this
chapter, the City Engineer may, after notice and hearing and for just cause,
suspend, revoke or not renew any permit issued hereunder for:
(1)
Any violation of the provisions of this chapter.
(2)
Failure to comply with any federal or state laws and/or
regulations or any City ordinance pertaining to the operation of public telephones.
(3)
Any cause which would have been cause for rejection of
the application in the first instance.
(4)
A material and knowing 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)
A finding upon receipt of a complaint by any citizen
or upon request of the Chief of Police of the City of Paterson 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.
Any hearing authorized under this chapter shall be conducted
before the City Engineer 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 Engineer finds the permittee
in violation of any provisions of this section, the City Engineer may also
require that service from said public telephone be restricted to outgoing
calls only.
A.
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 Paterson reserves the right to reject any and all
locations submitted for approval based upon their existing nonconformance
to this chapter.
B.
If a permit is not obtained within the time specified
herein or if the City Engineer 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 Engineer, 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 $500 to the City of Paterson.
[Amended 12-2-2003 by Ord. No. 03-084]
C.
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.
[Amended 12-2-2003 by Ord. No. 03-084]
Any violation of this chapter shall subject the violator to a fine of
not less than $100 and no more than $1,250 and/or imprisonment of up to 90
days. Each noncomplying public telephone violation will constitute a separate
violation. Each day of said violation shall constitute a separate violation.
