HomeMy Public PortalAboutOrdinance 75-423-AORDINANCE NO. 75 -423 -A
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF TEMPLE CITY REGULAT-
ING NEWS RACKS IN PUBLIC RIGHTS -OF -WAYS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMPLE CITY DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Sections 4250.1 through 4250.11 are hereby added
to the Temple City Municipal Code, - reading as follows:
Section 4250.1 News Racks
For the purpose of these sections, 4250.1 through 425011,
certain words and phrases shall be construed as set forth in
this section, unless it is apparent from the context that a
different meaning is intended:
(a) "News racks" 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.
(b) "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.
(c) "Roadway" means that portion of a street improved,
designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel.
(d) "Parkway" means that area between the sidewalks 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.
(e) "Sidewalk" means any surface provided for the exclu-
sive use of pedestrians.
Section 4250.2 Prohibition of News Racks on Roadways
No person shall install, use or maintain any news rack or
other structure which projects into, onto or over any part of
any roadway of any public street, or which rests wholly or in
part upon, along, over or within 18 inches of any portion of
the roadway of any public street.
Section 4250.3 Dangerous Condition or Obstruction
No person shall install, use or maintain any news rack
which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any public
sidewalk or parkway:
(a) when such installation, use or maintenance endangers
the safety of persons or property, or which site or location
is used for public utility purposes, public transportation
purposes or other governmental use; or
(b) when such news rack unreasonably interferes with or
impedes the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic including
any legally marked 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 said location; or
(c) when such news racks are so insufficiently illumin-
ated at night as to cause a potential hazard to pedestrians.
Section 4250.4 Standards for Maintenance and Installation
Any news rack which in whole or in part rests upon, in
or over any public sidewalk or parkway shall comply with the
following standards:
Ordinance No, 75 -423 -A
(a) No news rack shall exceed five (5') feet in height,
thirty (30 ") inches in width, or two (2') feet in thickness.
(b) News racks shall only be placed-"near" a curb or
"adjacent" to the wall of a building. News racks placed
"near" the curb shall be placed no less than eighteen (18 ")
inches nor more than twenty -four (24 ") inches from the edge
of the curb. News racks placed "adjacent" to the wall of a
building shall be placed parallel to such wall and not more
than six (6 ") inches from the wall. No news rack shall be
placed or maintained on the sidewalk or parkway opposite
(within a 30 degree angle) of another news rack.
(c) No news rack shall be chained, bolted or otherwise
attached to any property not owned by the owner of the news
rack to any permanently fixed public property or public
utility object.
(d) News racks may be placed next to each other, pro-
vided that no group of news racks shall extend more than
eight (8') feet along a curb or wall and a space of no less
than 25 feet shall separate each such group of news racks.
(e) News racks may be chained or otherwise attached to
one another in groups, provided no more than three (3) news
racks be joined together in this manner, and a space of no
less than eighteen (18 ") inches shall separate each such group.
(f) No news rack (or group of attached news racks allowed
under paragraph (e) hereof) shall weigh in excess of one hun-
dred twenty -five (125 lbs.) pounds when empty.
(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 4250.3,
no news rack shall be placed, installed, used or maintained
in a public place:
(1) Within five (5') feet of any marked crosswalk.
(2) Within fifteen (15') feet of the curb return
of any unmarked crosswalk.
(3) Within five (5') feet of any fire hydrant, fire
call box, police call box or other emergency facility.
(4) Within five (5') feet of any driveway.
(5) Within five (5') feet ahead of any twenty -five
(25') feet to the rear of any sign marked a designated
bus stop.
(6) Within six (6') feet of any bus bench.
(7) At any location whereby the clear space for the
passageway of pedestrians is reduced to less than six
(6') feet.
(8) Within three (3') feet of any area improved with
lawn, flowers, shrubs, or trees or within three (3')
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.
(h) No news rack 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.
(i) Each news rack shall be maintained in a clean, neat
and attractive condition and in good repair at all times.
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Ordinance No, 75 -423 -A
(j) No news rack shall be permitted to remain in other
than its vertical position for more than 24 hoii °s.
(k) No news rack may remain empty in excess of three
(3) days.
(1) Material offered for sale must be the current edi-
tion of the publication so offered.
Section 4250..5 Standards for Materials Sold
(a) No publication defined.as "harmful matter" by Section
313 of the Penal Code of the State of California shall be dis-
tributed as defined in Section 313.1 of said Penal Code in a
news rack upon public property within 100 feet of the entrance
to any restaurant, theater, school or other place catering to
minors.
(b) No publication may be offered for sale to the public
on any public right -of -way by means of such news rack in such
manner as to expose to the public view any photograph or drawing
contained within such publication displaying any of the following:
(1) The genitals, pubic hair, buttocks, natal cleft,
perineum, anal region or pubic hair-region of any person,
other than a child under the age of puberty.
(2) Any portion of the breast, at or below the areola,
of any female person, other than a child under the age
of puberty.
(3) Actual or simulated sexual intercourse or sexual
conduct prohibited by the Penal Code.
(4) Human excrement, feces, urine or semen.
(c) No single edition of a publication shall remain in a
news rack in excess of eight days, unless the owner shall first
file a statement with the City Clerk indicating such extended
sale. Failure to so file such statement shall constitute a
violation of this Section.
(d) Every person is guilty of a misdemeanor who causes,
permits, procures, counsels or assists in an offer of sale of
any such publication in violation of this section.
(e) Any publication offered for sale in violation of this
Section constitutes a public nuisance and a misdemeanor.
Section 4250.6 Exceptions
There shall be excepted from the provisions of Section
4250.5 any publication, display or depiction which:
(a) constitutes a violation of any state statute; or
(b) is specifically held to be preempted from local reg-
ulation by a court of final resort; or
(c) constitutes a photograph of an existing serious work
of art; or
(d) constitutes a photograph of a current event of a
serious social value.
Section 4250.7 Authority of City Manager to Adopt Regulations
The City Manager is hereby empowered to adopt reasonable
standards and regulations to implement the provisions and pur-
poses of these Sections based upon street and pedestrial'traf-
fic requirements, access to parking places and facilities, and
public health, safety and welfare. Notice of such additional
regulations shall be given to each news rack owner five (5)
days before becoming effective.
Ordinance No, 75 -423 -A
Section 4250.8 Information Required
Within thirty (30) days after these Sections become effec-
tive every person or other entity which places or maintains a
news rack on the streets of the City shall have his or its name,
address and telephone number affixed thereto in a place where
such information may be easily seen.
Section 4250.9 News Racks in Violation of These Sections
Upon determination by the City Manager that a news rack
has been installed, used or maintained or contains matter in
violation of the provisions of these Sections, an order to cor-
rect the offending condition will be issued to the owner of the
news rack. Such order shall be mailed to the owner by certified
mail, return receipt requested. The order shall specifically
describe the offending condition and request correction of the
condition or content with 72 hours after the mailing date of the
order shall result in the offending news rack being summarily
removed. If the offending news rack is not properly identified
as to owner under the provisions of Section 4250.8 hereof, it
shall be removed immediately,
(a) If correction is made by the owner, then the City Mana-
ger shall cause inspection to be made of the corrected condition.
The owner of said news rack shall be charged a Ten ($10) Dollar
inspection fee for each news rack so inspected.
(b) If correction is not made before removal, and such re-
moval is completed, the City Manager shall notify the owner (if
known) that he may pick up the news rack and contents, where
and when. If the owner fails to make such pick -up and pay a
$15 impound charge within ten (10) days after such notice, the
news rack and contents may be destroyed.
Section 4250.10 Appeals
Any person or entity aggrieved by a finding, determination,
notice or action taken under the provisions of these Sections
may appeal and shall be appraised of his right to appeal to the
City Council. An appeal must be perfected within 72 hours after
receipt of notice of any protested decision or action by filing
with the office of the City Clerk a letter of appeal briefly
stating therein the basis for such appeal. A hearing shall be
held on a date no more than fourteen (14) days after receipt of
the letter of appeal. Appellant shall be given at least five
(5) days notice of the time and place of the hearing. The City
Council shall give the appellant, and any other interested party,
a reasonable opportunity to be heard in order to show cause why
the determination should not be upheld. In all such cases, the
burden of proof shall be upon the appellant to show that there
was no substantial evidence to support the action taken. At the
conclusion of the hearing, the City Council shall make a final
and conclusive determination;
Except as otherwise provided in Section 4250.9, the City
shall not enforce compliance with an order to correct while
an appeal therefrom is pending.
Section 4250.11 Other Violations
In the case of violations of these Sections relative to re-
strictions upon attachments of news racks to property other than
that owned by the owner of the news racks, to fixed objects or
each other, and upon..iocation of news racks, any City employee
authorized by the City Manager may, as an alternative to removal
under Section 4250.9 hereof, remove such attachment and /or move
such rack or racks in order to restore them to a legal condition.
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Ordinance No. 75 -423 -A
SECTION 2. Any person, firm or corporation violating this
Ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction
thereof shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $500, or
by imprisonment in the City or County Jail for a period of not
to exceed six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or
phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or
unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent juris-
diction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the re-
maining portions of this Ordinance. The Temple City City Council
hereby declares that it sould have passed this Ordinance, and each
section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase hereof, irrespec-
tive of the fact that any one or more of the sections, subsections,
sentences, clauses or phrases hereof be declared invalid or uncon-
stitutional.
SECTION 4. The City Clerk of the City of Temple City shall
certify to the passage and adoption 6f this :Oidinari6e: and to. its
approval by the Mayor and shall cause the same to be published in
the Temple City Times, a newspaper of general circulation, printed,
published and circulated in the City of Temple City.
APPROVED, PASSED and ADOPTED this 18th day of November, 1975.
ATTEST:
01//2(-&-
Ch -ef Deputy City Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss:
CITY OF TEMPLE CITY )
I, Chief Deputy City Clerk of the City of Temple City, do
hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance, being Ordinance
No. 75- 423 -A, was introduced at a regular meeting of the City
Council of the City of Temple City, held on the 4th day of Novem-
ber, 1975, and was duly passed, approved and adopted by said
Council, approved and signed by the Mayor and attested by the City
Clerk at a regular meeting of the said City Council held on the
18th day of November, 1975, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmen- Dennis, Greenberg, Merritt, Gilbertson
NOES: Councilmen -None
ABSENT: Councilmen - Tyrell
Ch °ef De ut Cit Clerk
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