(a) The purpose of this article is to establish a comprehensive set of regulations applicable to newsracks on the public rights-of-way and other public property. In order to advance, improve and promote aesthetic concerns as well as the public health, safety and welfare of the City of Thousand Oaks, it is necessary to control the number, size, construction, placement and appearance of such newsracks. This article is intended to accomplish these ends, without restricting the free dispersal of information guaranteed by the Constitutions of the United States and the State of California, through regulation of the placement, appearance, and servicing, of newsracks on the public rights-of-way so as to:
(1) Provide sufficient clearance and visibility for safety and convenience of the pedestrian and driving public;
(2) Avoid the unreasonable interference with the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including ingress or egress from any residence or any place of business or from the street to the sidewalks by persons crossing or exiting/entering parked or standing vehicles;
(3) Provide reasonable access for the use and maintenance of utility poles, posts, traffic signs or signals, hydrants and mail boxes, and access to locations used for benches and public transportation purposes;
(4) Eliminate poorly maintained newsracks and the lack of uniformity in the color and style of newsracks which have resulted in a visual blight on the public rights-of-way, or which may unreasonably detract from the aesthetics of store window displays, adjacent landscaping, and other improvements;
(5) Maintain and protect the values of surrounding properties;
(6) Reduce the unnecessary exposure of the City to personal injury and property damage claims; and
(7) Provide for and maintain the freedom of speech for newspapers or news periodicals using newsracks for distribution purposes.
(b) The City Council finds that the competing interests of the public safety and welfare and for the open distribution of newspapers require reasonable accommodations, which can only be satisfactorily achieved through this article, which regulates the place and manner of using newsracks on public property.
(§ 2, Ord. 1312-NS, eff. March 16, 1998)