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City of East Orange, NJ
Essex County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[Added 7-20-1992 by Ord. No. 17-1992; amended in its entirety 4-14-1997 by Ord. No. 5-1997]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CITY
The City of East Orange.
DISTRIBUTOR
Any person responsible for placing or maintaining a pay telephone.
PAY TELEPHONE
Any self-service or coin- or credit-card-operated telephone.
PERSON
An individual, business, firm, corporation, association or partnership.
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
The full width of any sidewalk, street, alley, roadway or parkway dedicated to public use for pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
It shall be unlawful for any person to maintain, own or operate a pay telephone that does not comply with the standards set forth hereinafter.
A. 
No person shall install, place or maintain any pay telephone upon or above the public right-of-way without having first:
(1) 
Entered into a commission agreement with the City for use of the City's public right-of-way.
(2) 
Obtained a permit as provided in this article. Permits shall be issued by the Division of Licensing, subject to approval of a construction permit by the Director of Property Maintenance and approval of the location of the telephone by the Director of Public Works.
B. 
The permit required by this article shall be in addition to any permits required pursuant to the Uniform Construction Code, N.J.S.A. 52:27D-11 et seq.
C. 
Permits shall be issued on an annual basis for the period January 1 through December 31 (or for the remainder of the calendar year in which the permit is issued). Permits or denial thereof, with reasons set forth in the event of denial, shall be issued within 30 working days of the application for such permits.
D. 
Prior to installation, a plan or sketch of the pay telephone shall be prepared by the applicant and furnished to the Director of Public Works in sufficient detail to describe the size, location, equipment and means of installation.
E. 
The fee for a permit shall be $150 per phone for the first year and $75 per phone for each year thereafter.
F. 
Prior to receiving a permit, an applicant shall:
(1) 
Execute an indemnification agreement by which the applicant and any other persons on whose behalf the application is made agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the City of East Orange against liability for all claims for damage to property or personal injury arising out of or resulting from the issuance of the permit or the control, maintenance, ownership or use of each pay telephone.
(2) 
File with the Department of Public Works evidence of a general liability insurance policy of $1,000,000 for bodily injury and $50,000 for property damage naming the City of East Orange as an additional insured against any injury, loss or damage that may result from placing or maintaining the pay telephone on or above the public right-of-way.
A. 
Pay telephones shall allow the following calls to be placed without charge:
(1) 
Calls to the 911 emergency service. However, when the pay telephone can only access the 911 emergency service by use of a dialing sequence other than 911, the telephone shall prominently display on such instrument the appropriate dialing sequence to access the 911 emergency service.
(2) 
Emergency calls placed through operator assistance to the Police and Fire Departments.
(3) 
Calls for emergency purposes placed through operator assistance to the Police and Fire Departments by members thereof.
(4) 
Calls to access 411 or "Information."
B. 
Distributors are required to post the current local coin call initial rates and the charge for additional minutes on the pay telephone or on the pay telephone booth in a place clearly visible to everyone using the pay telephone.
C. 
Distributors are required to post the identity of the long distance carrier and the information about how to make calls using other long distance carriers on the pay telephone or on the pay telephone booth in a place clearly visible to everyone using the pay telephone.
A. 
Pay telephones are required to comply with the following standards:
(1) 
No booth surrounding a telephone shall exceed eight feet in height, four feet in width or four feet in depth.
(2) 
Each coin-operated pay 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-return mechanism shall be maintained in working condition at all times.
(3) 
Each pay telephone shall have affixed to it, in a place clearly visible to everyone using the pay telephone, the name and address of the owner and the telephone number of a working telephone service to report a malfunction or secure a refund.
(4) 
Pay telephones shall be maintained in a neat and clean condition and in good repair at all times. All pay telephones shall be serviced and maintained to ensure that:
(a) 
It is reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling and cracked paint in the visible painted areas thereof;
(b) 
It is reasonably free of rust and corrosion in the visible unpainted metal areas thereon;
(c) 
Any clear plastic or glass parts are unbroken and reasonably free of cracks, dents, graffiti, blemishes and discolorations;
(d) 
Any paper, cardboard parts or inserts are reasonably free of tears, peeling or fading;
(e) 
The structural parts are not broken; and
(f) 
The telephone receiver is attached to the telephone.
B. 
Distributors are required to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations regarding the use of pay telephones by disabled persons and the hearing impaired.
C. 
All pay telephones shall be capable of being restricted to outgoing calls only.
D. 
Distributors shall restrict pay telephones to outgoing calls only, upon written request of the East Orange Chief of Police, or his designee, setting forth the public safety and welfare reasons for the request. The restriction shall be implemented by the distributor within 10 days of the request. The owner shall immediately post on the pay telephone or the telephone booth a written notice advising the public of that pay telephone's inability to receive incoming calls.
E. 
Distributors shall remove the restrictions placed upon pay telephones at the request of the East Orange Chief of Police, or his designee, and upon notice to the East Orange City Council.
F. 
Distributors who fail to maintain their pay telephones in accordance with this article shall receive a twenty-day written notice from the Director of Inspection and Licensing or his designee to repair or otherwise bring the pay telephone into compliance. The notice shall contain the name and address of the distributor, the address at which the violation occurred and a citation to the specific section of the article violated. Distributors which fail to comply with the twenty-day notice shall be subject to a fine as provided herein. Distributors shall also have their permits revoked and receive a ten-day written notice to remove the pay telephone. If the distributor fails to remove the pay telephone at the end of the ten-day period, the telephone shall be removed by the City of East Orange at the distributor's expense.
A. 
No pay telephone shall rest upon, in or over any street or sidewalk when such installation, use or maintenance:
(1) 
Impedes the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including any legally parked or stopped vehicles;
(2) 
Impedes the ingress or egress from any residence or place of business; or
(3) 
Interferes with the use of traffic signs, signals, hydrants or mailboxes located at the location.
B. 
Pay telephones are required to be secured to prevent their being blown onto any street or sidewalk but shall not be chained or otherwise secured to any traffic or street signs, signals, hydrants, mailboxes or any other fixture owned and controlled by the City of East Orange, unless a separate lease agreement has been entered into.
C. 
Pay telephones are prohibited from being installed, used or maintained:
(1) 
Within any marked crosswalk.
(2) 
Within three feet of a curb return of any unmarked crosswalks.
(3) 
Within 15 feet of any fire hydrant, fire call box, police call box or other emergency facility.
(4) 
Within five feet of any driveway.
(5) 
At any location whereby the clear space for the passageway of pedestrians is reduced to less than six feet.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 238-17.7, Violations and penalties, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I). See § 238-76 for violations and penalties applicable to this chapter.
Distributors of such telephones shall have a period of 180 days after final passage of this article to enter into a commission agreement with the City and obtain the permits required by this article. Distributors who fail to enter into a commission agreement and secure the permits shall remove the telephone and associated equipment within 20 days. Failure to remove the telephone and associated equipment shall result in a fine as provided herein and removal of the telephone and associated equipment by the City of East Orange at the owner's expense.