Chapter 12.36
NEWSRACKS
12.36.010 Applicability.
12.36.020 Definitions.
12.36.030 Certain newsracks prohibited.
12.36.040 Registration.
12.36.050 Standards for installation, maintenance and operation.
12.36.060 Identification required.
12.36.070 Hold harmless.
12.36.080 Standards for installation and maintenance of newsracks on designated portions of improved streets.
12.36.090 Violations.
12.36.100 Newsrack violations-Misdemeanor.
12.36.010 Applicability.
A. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all newsracks, whether installed and maintained prior to or after the effective date of any of the provisions in this chapter. Those newsracks installed prior to the effective date of any provision enacted hereunder shall be brought into compliance with such provisions within thirty days of the effective date thereof.
B. Any newsrack not brought into compliance within the aforementioned time period shall be deemed to be in violation of this chapter. (Prior code º 26-206.1)
12.36.020 Definitions.
The following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them unless otherwise noted:
"Newsracks" means any self-service or coin-operated box, container, storage unit or other dispenser installed, used or maintained for the display and sale of newspapers or news periodicals.
"Parkway" means that area between the sidewalk and the curb of any street, and where there is no sidewalk, that area between the edge of the roadway and the property line adjacent thereto. "Parkway" shall also include any area within a roadway which is not open to vehicular travel.
"Roadway" means that portion of a street improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel.
"Sidewalk" means any surface provided for the exclusive use of pedestrians.
"Street" means all that area dedicated to public use for public street purposes and shall include, but not be limited to, roadways, parkways, alleys and sidewalks. (Prior code º 26-200)
12.36.030 Certain newsracks prohibited.
A. No person shall install, use or maintain any newsrack or other structure 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 person shall install, use or maintain any newsrack which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any public sidewalk or parkway, when such installation, use or maintenance endangers the safety of persons or property, or when such site or location is used for public utility purposes, public transportation purposes or other governmental use, or when such newsrack unreasonably interferes with or impedes the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including any legally parked or stopped vehicle, the ingress into or egress from any residence or place of business, or the use of poles, posts, traffic signs or signals, hydrants, mailboxes or other objects permitted at or near such location, or when such newsrack interferes with the cleaning of any sidewalk by the use of mechanical sidewalk cleaning machinery. (Prior code º 26-201)
12.36.040 Registration.
A. No person shall install or maintain any newsrack which in whole or in part rests upon, on or over any public sidewalk or parkway without first registering each newsrack with the director of community development and housing. This registration requirement shall be deemed fulfilled upon receipt by the director of community development and housing of a registration form which must contain the following information:
1. Each applicant must provide their name, address and telephone number.
2. The exact location of each newsrack to be installed or maintained in the city by the applicant must be identified and submitted by each applicant.
3. Applicants who have newsracks used for the sale of daily publications and who wish to have the publications considered as publications adjudicated to be newspapers of general circulation pursuant to Title 1, Division 7, Chapter 1 of the California Government Code must provide proof of such adjudication at the time of registration.
4. Applicant(s) shall submit a written statement agreeing to hold harmless and indemnify the city for any newsrack(s) to be installed or maintained over any public sidewalk or parkway in accordance with Section 12.36.070.
B. In the event of a change in ownership, the new owner must immediately provide written notification to the director of community development and housing informing the director of community development and housing of the change and providing the name, address and phone number of the new owner(s).
C. From the above registration information, the director of community development and housing shall approve and/or designate locations and shall be guided therein solely by the standards and criteria set forth in Section 12.36.050. Such application may be granted either in whole or in part when more than one location is proposed by the applicant, and in any event, when denial is solely as to location it shall be without prejudice to amend such application to state a different location or locations.
D. Once an application has been approved and a location has been assigned by the director of community development and housing, such newsracks shall be entitled to remain at the assigned location as long as each newsrack is in compliance with the standards set forth in Section 12.36.050. In the event that the owner of a newsrack(s) wishes to move to another location the owner must first re-register each newsrack proposed for relocation. Once the new application has been approved a new location will be assigned by the director of community development and housing in accordance with the standards set forth in Section 12.36.050. (Prior code º 26-202)
12.36.050 Standards for installation, maintenance and operation.
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 forty-eight inches in height, thirty inches in width, or two feet in thickness.
B. Newsracks shall only be placed near a curb or adjacent to the wall of a building. Newsracks placed near the curb shall be placed no less than eighteen inches nor more than twenty-four inches from the edge of the curb. Newsracks placed adjacent to the wall of a building shall be placed parallel to such wall and not more than six inches from the wall. No newsrack shall be placed or maintained on the sidewalk or parkway opposite a newsstand or another newsrack.
C. No newsrack shall be chained, bolted or otherwise attached to any property not owned by the owner of the newsrack or to any permanently fixed object, nor shall any newsrack be chained or attached to loose objects including but not limited to, bricks, rocks, cinder blocks, pipes or other such objects.
D. Newsracks may be chained or otherwise attached to one another; however, no more than three newsracks may be joined together in this manner, and a space of no less than eighteen inches shall separate each group of three newsracks so attached.
E. No newsracks or group of attached newsracks allowed under subsection D of this section shall weigh, in the aggregate, in excess of one hundred thirty-five pounds when empty.
F. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection B of Section 12.36.030, no newsrack shall be placed, installed, used or maintained:
1. Within five feet of any marked crosswalk;
2. Within fifteen feet of the curb return of any unmarked 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 five feet ahead of, and twenty-five feet to the rear of any sign marking a designated bus stop;
6. Within six feet of any bus bench;
7. At any location whereby the clear space for the passageway of pedestrians is reduced to less than six feet;
8. Within three feet of any area improved with lawn, flowers, shrubs or trees or within three feet of any display window of any building abutting the sidewalk or parkway or in such manner as to impede or interfere with the reasonable use of such window for display purposes; or
9. At any location whereby the newsrack obstructs motorist's vision of regulatory or advisory traffic and parking signage or at any other location whereby the newsrack obstructs motorist's vision of pedestrians;
10. Within fifty feet of any other newsrack containing the same publication except where there are less than eight newsracks in any approved location in which case additional/duplicate newsracks containing the same publication shall be permitted for each available space up to the maximum of eight at any one location. The director of community development and housing in assigning such additional/duplicate newsrack space shall be guided solely by the criteria set forth under subsection I of this section. In the event that an individual/nonduplicate publication desires to place a newsrack at a location where there exists more than one newsrack containing the same publication, the individual/nonduplicate publication shall have priority over any newsrack which contains more than one of the same publications at the desired location.
G. 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.
H. Each newsrack shall be maintained in a clean and neat condition and in good repair at all times.
I. No more than eight newsracks shall be located on any public right-of-way within a space of two hundred feet in any direction within the same block of the same street; provided, however, that no more than sixteen newsracks shall be allowed on any one block. As used in this section, "block" shall mean one side of a street between two consecutive intersecting streets.
1. In determining which newsracks shall be permitted to remain, the director of community development and housing shall be guided solely by the following criteria:
a. First priority shall be given to newsracks used for the sale of publications which have been adjudicated to be newspapers of general circulation for Los Angeles County, pursuant to the procedure set forth in Title 1, Division 7, Chapter 1 of the California Government Code.
b. Second priority shall be given to newsracks used for the sale of daily publications (those published on five or more days in a calendar week) which have not been adjudicated to be newspapers of general circulation for Los Angeles County.
c. Third priority shall be given to newsracks used for the sale of weekly publications (those published on at least one but less than five days in a calendar week) which have not been adjudicated to be newspapers of general circulation for Los Angeles County.
2. As between newspapers included within any single category of priority above, the director of community development and housing shall also be guided by the following criteria of priorities whenever more than eight newsracks are proposed for any one location (two-hundred-foot space) or more than sixteen newsracks are proposed for any one block:
a. First priority shall be daily publications (published five or more days per week).
b. Second priority shall be publications published two to four days per week.
c. Third priority shall be publications published one day per week.
3. In the event that there is a conflict between newspapers within the same priority seeking the same location, and there are insufficient newsrack spaces remaining to accommodate the conflicting newspapers after first filling as many spaces as possible by utilizing the criteria set forth above, then the director of community development and housing shall assign the space or spaces at random by placing the names of all applicants for the remaining spaces at a location into a container from which the names shall be drawn, one at a time until the particular location's remaining number of unfilled newsracks has been filled. Such drawing shall be open to the public at a time and date designated by the director of community development and housing.
J. No person shall display or exhibit in any newsrack in a public place, other than a location from which minors are excluded, any material which is harmful to minors unless a device commonly known as a "blinder rack" is placed in front of the materials or the material is otherwise displayed or exhibited so that the lower two-thirds thereof is not exposed to public view. For the purposes of this section, "harmful matter" is as defined in Section 313 of the California Penal Code as currently in effect and as may be amended. (Prior code º 26-204)
12.36.060 Identification required.
Within thirty days after the ordinance codified in this chapter becomes effective, every person or other entity which places or maintains a newsrack on the streets of the city shall have his, her or its name, address and telephone number affixed thereto in a place where such information may be easily seen. Prior to the designation of a location by the director of public works under Section 12.36.040, the applicant shall present evidence of compliance with this section. (Prior code º 26-205)
12.36.070 Hold harmless.
Every person or other entity which places or maintains a newsrack on a public sidewalk or parkway in the city shall file a written statement with the director of community development and housing satisfactory to the city attorney whereby he, she or it agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the city, its officers, agents 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 or maintenance of a newsrack within the city. This written statement will be submitted at the time the newsrack is registered in accordance with Section 12.36.040. This written statement shall be submitted upon the initial registration of each newsrack and with each subsequent registration as specified in Section 12.36.040A, and for each change of ownership, the new owner shall submit this written statement along with the notification of ownership change as specified in Section 12.36.040B. (Prior code º 26-207)
12.36.080 Standards for installation and maintenance of newsracks on designated portions of improved streets.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 12.36.050, newsracks on public sidewalks, parkways, and streets in that area of Brand Boulevard bordered on the north by Glenoaks Boulevard and on the south by Colorado Street, and on Central Avenue bordered on the north by Sanchez Drive and on the south by Lexington Drive and on Maryland Avenue bordered on the north by Wilson Avenue and on the south by Broadway, must be installed and maintained only within the specially constructed newsrack display facilities that are available and only in the number, manner and at such locations as provided in this section:
A. Newsracks must be of the type equivalent to Model K-Jack No. 97 newspaper dispensers or the type equivalent to Model K-Jack No. 50.
B. Such newsracks shall be located only at those locations designated on the list set out in the ordinance codified in this chapter, marked Exhibit No. 1, and set out at the end of this chapter. Such list of approved locations shall also be kept on file and available for reference by the public at the office of the director of community development and housing. Newsracks shall be limited to only nine newsracks at each above-referenced location.
C. Such newspaper dispensers shall be installed on brackets to be provided by the city as illustrated in that diagram set out the ordinance codified in this chapter, marked Exhibit No. 2, and set out at the end of this chapter.
D. Newspaper dispensers of the model required by subsection A of this section shall be provided by the distributor at the distributor's own expense.
E. Newsrack locations shall be assigned only after the distributor has filed an application, in accordance with Section 12.36.040, with the director of community development and housing.
F. The assignments at each location heretofore designated in Exhibit 1, and listed in the office of the director of community development and housing, shall be made based solely on the criteria as set forth in this chapter. (Prior code º 26-208)
12.36.090 Violations.
A. Any newsrack installed, used or maintained in violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be tagged with a "notice of violation" stating the violation, date of tagging, notice of intention to remove the newsrack if the violation is not corrected within ten days, and procedure for obtaining a preremoval hearing before the director of community development and housing, if desired.
B. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, in the case of violations of this chapter relative to restrictions upon attachments of newsracks to property other than that owned by the owner of the newsrack, to fixed objects, or to each other, and upon location of newsracks, the director of community development and housing or the director's designate may, as an alterative to tagging such newsrack, move, align, remove such attachment, or otherwise move such rack or racks in order to restore them to a legal condition.
C. Any newsrack which has been tagged and remains in violation of the provisions stated on the tag past the ten-day correction period, and no hearing has been requested, such newsrack shall be removed by the director of community development and housing or the director's designate and stored in any convenient place. The director of community development and housing or the director's designate shall notify the owner thereof by mailing a "notice of removal" to the last known address of the owner. Such notice shall state the date the newsrack was removed, the reasons therefor, the location and procedure for claiming the newsrack, and the procedure for obtaining a postremoval hearing before the director of community development and housing, if desired. Any such newsrack removed and stored pursuant to these provisions shall be released to the owner thereof if claimed within forty-five days after such removal and upon the payment of reasonable charges of removal and storage therefor. Upon failure of the owner to claim such newsrack and pay the reasonable charges within forty-five days after the mailing of written notice of removal, such newsrack shall be deemed to be unclaimed property in possession of the police division and may be disposed of pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 2.100.
D. Any newsrack in violation of the provisions of this chapter, which violation creates an immediate danger to the health, safety or welfare of the public, which violation cannot be corrected by moving or otherwise repositioning the newsrack, such newsrack may be summarily removed and stored in a convenient location so as to eliminate the danger to the health, safety and welfare of the public. The director of community development and housing or the director's designate shall notify the owner thereof by mailing a notice of removal to the last known address of the owner. Such notice shall state the date the newsrack was removed, the reasons therefor, the location and procedure for claiming the newsrack, and the procedure for obtaining a post-removal hearing before the director of community development and housing, if desired. Any such newsrack removed and stored pursuant to this subsection shall be released to the owner thereof if claimed within forty-five days after the mailing of written notice of removal and upon the payment of reasonable charges of removal and storage. (Prior code º 26-206)
12.36.100 Newsrack violations-Misdemeanor.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 1.20, whenever in this chapter, any act is prohibited or declared unlawful or the doing of any act is required, or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful, it shall be a misdemeanor, and any person convicted of such misdemeanor shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars. (Prior code º 26-206.5)
Exhibit No. 1
Brand Blvd. Revitalization Design
Glendale Redevelopment Agency
Exhibit No. 2
Newspaper Dispensers (front and side elevation)