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Town of Stratford, CT
Fairfield County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
Zoning Map New Laws (2) Index Notes (12)
Public Documents
Minutes (8)
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Stratford as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 12-10-1990]
No person, business, company, firm or entity shall place upon any public land, sidewalk, road, street or building any self-service or money-operated box, container, device, storage unit or other type of dispenser which is used or maintained for the display and sale of newspapers, newsletters or other news periodicals (hereinafter referred to as "newsracks") without first obtaining a permit.
A. 
Application for a permit shall be made in writing on a form provided to the Chief of Police. The form shall contain the name and address of the applicant, if a business, a natural person's name who shall be responsible for the maintenance of the newsracks, the proposed specific location of the newsrack, the dimension of the newsrack, a color photograph of the newsrack and any other information which the Chief may require, and shall be signed by the applicant or its agent. The applicant shall pay a fee of $100 for each application, and each proposed newsrack shall require a separate application.
B. 
The applicant, as an express condition of the permit, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Town of Stratford, its officers and employees against any and all loss or liability or damages, including but not limited to expenses and costs for bodily or personal injury, death or property damage which is sustained by any person as a result of the installation, placement, use or maintenance of a newsrack.
C. 
The Chief of Police shall cause an inspection of the proposed location to be made within 48 hours after the application has been filed. Upon receiving the inspection report, the Chief shall issue a permit, within 72 hours after receipt of the inspection report, unless in his opinion the placement of a newsrack in the location requested would be a safety hazard to either pedestrian or vehicle traffic or both.
D. 
Such permit shall be valid for a period of 12 months and shall be renewed pursuant to the provisions of Subsections A through C.
All newsracks for which a permit is required shall comply with the following standards:
A. 
No newsrack shall exceed 50 inches in height, 25 inches in width or 20 inches in thickness.
B. 
No newsrack shall be used for any advertising or publicity purposes except that the name of the newspaper, newsletter or news periodical may be placed on the newsrack in letters not to exceed 12 inches in height.
C. 
Each newsrack shall be equipped with a coin-return mechanism to allow a person to receive an immediate refund in the event that he is unable to receive the publication paid for. The coin-return mechanism shall be maintained in good working order. There shall be affixed to each newsrack, in a readily visible location, a notice containing the name, address and telephone number of a working telephone service which a person can call to report a malfunction or to obtain a refund, and a notice that, if the person receives no response from the owner of the newsrack, that the person should contact the Police Department. The nonemergency telephone number of the Police Department shall be listed. In the event that the Police Department receives five or more complaints about any newsrack, the newsrack shall be removed and returned to the owner, any cost incurred shall be reimbursed by the owner.
D. 
Each newsrack shall be maintained in a neat and clean condition and in good repair.
E. 
The area, through which the publication is viewed shall be made of a plastic or nonbreakable glass material which shall be reasonably free of cracks, dents, blemishes and discoloration.
F. 
There shall be no paper or cardboard parts exposed.
No newsrack shall be placed in the following manner:
A. 
Within 10 feet of any marked crosswalk or street intersection, fire hydrant, emergency call box, driveway or any designated bus stop.
B. 
Within 25 feet of any designated school bus stop.
C. 
Within 500 feet of any other newsrack on the same street containing the same issue or edition of the same publication.
D. 
Within any area that will reduce the clear space for pedestrian passage to less than six feet.
In the event that it is determined by the Chief of Police that any newsrack placed on any public land or building violates the provisions of this Article, the Chief of Police shall notify the owner of the newsrack of the violation and the owner shall have five days to correct the violation. If the violation is not corrected within five days, the Chief of Police shall cause the newsrack to be removed and the owner shall be charged a fee of $25 for each newsrack removed. If the owner fails to pay such fee within 15 days, all permits shall be revoked and all newsracks removed from public property.
[Amended 3-12-2007 by Ord. No. 07-03]
Any person aggrieved by the actions of the Chief of Police shall appeal the decision to the Mayor. The appeal must be taken within three days of denial and the Mayor shall render a decision within five days. The Mayor's decision shall be final.
In the event that a newsrack remains empty for a period of 15 consecutive days, the newsrack shall be deemed abandoned and shall be removed, and all cost incurred by the Town shall be paid by the owner.
[Adopted 12-10-1990]
No person, business, company or firm shall place on any Town-owned property any device which is used for the delivery of any newspaper or newsletters, except that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any device used for the delivery of United States Mail.