10-28-160 Notice to alderman.

   (a)   Within three business days after an application is filed with the commissioner of transportation for a permit for a newspaper stand, other than an application for the renewal of a permit for an existing newspaper stand, the commissioner of transportation shall deliver a duplicate of the application to the commissioner of planning and development and to the alderman of the ward in which the newspaper stand is or will be located. Upon receipt of such application, the alderman may refer the application to the city council's committee having jurisdiction over privileges for use of the public way for the purpose of conducting public hearings on the proposed permit application. All interested persons, including the applicant, shall be given an opportunity to be heard at such hearings. After conducting such hearings, the committee may issue a report summarizing the issues that were addressed at the hearings and recommending approval or denial of the application. Any such report must be filed with the commissioner of transportation not later than 30 days after the application was received by the alderman.

   The committee's report on the permit application shall be based solely on the following considerations:

      (1)   whether the design, materials and color scheme of the newspaper stand comport with and enhance the quality and character of the streetscape, including nearby development and existing land uses;

      (2)   whether the newspaper stand complies with this Code;

      (3)   whether the applicant has previously operated a newspaper stand at that location;

      (4)   the extent to which services that would be offered by the newspaper stand are already available in the area;

      (5)   the number of daily publications proposed to be sold from the newspaper stand; and

      (6)   the size of the stand relative to the number of days the stand will be open and operating.

   Any committee report recommending disapproval of a permit application must state the specific reasons for the recommendation, which reasons shall be consistent with an applicant's constitutional rights contained in the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, and Sections 2 and 4 of Article I of the Illinois Constitution of 1970.

   Upon receipt of the permit application, the commissioner of planning and development shall review the application and supporting materials, and shall report to the commissioner of transportation his or her recommendation for acceptance or denial based solely upon the considerations described in paragraphs (1) through (6) of this subsection (a). Such report shall be filed with the commissioner of transportation within 30 days after the application was received by the commissioner of planning and development.

   In acting on all applications filed pursuant to this subsection, the commissioner of transportation shall give due consideration to the committee's report, if any, and to the recommendation of the commissioner of planning and development, and shall be bound by the same standards as apply to the committee in approving or denying a permit.

   Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, any application under this subsection (a) for a permit for a newspaper stand to be located on property on which a designated landmark is situated, or on the public way between the street and the property line of such property, shall be subject to permit review by the commission on Chicago landmarks pursuant to Chapter 2-120 of this Code. An application for a permit for such a newspaper stand or for written approval to substantially remodel such newspaper stand shall not be considered filed with the commissioner of transportation under this article until the application is approved by the commission pursuant to that chapter.

   (b)   In the case of an application for renewal of a permit that has been previously issued under subsection (a), the commissioner of transportation shall renew the permit if the commissioner determines that the application and the newspaper stand are in compliance with this Code. If the commissioner of transportation determines that the application or newspaper stand is not in compliance with this Code, the commissioner of transportation shall deny the application for renewal. However, whenever the commissioner of transportation determines that the newspaper stand is otherwise in compliance with this Code, but that the design, materials and color scheme of the newspaper stand must be changed in order to comport with and enhance the quality and character of the streetscape, including nearby development and existing land uses, or to comply with any newspaper stand design standards promulgated under subsection (d), the commissioner of transportation may require that the newspaper stand be remodeled as a condition of permit renewal. In such case, the commissioner of transportation shall notify the applicant that the application for renewal has been approved, but that the newspaper stand must be remodeled in a manner specified in the notice. Whenever an applicant is required to remodel a newspaper stand pursuant to this subsection (b), the applicant shall be entitled to reimbursement for the applicant's actual, reasonable and necessary expenses in effecting the remodeling. After receiving satisfactory proof of those expenses, the commissioner of transportation shall reimburse the applicant in the amount of the expenses. A newspaper stand that is not remodeled in accordance with the specifications of the commissioner of transportation within 60 days after notice is given under this subsection shall be in violation of this Code.

   (c)   Any action denying or approving a permit application under subsection (a) of this section shall be made by the commissioner of transportation no less than 35 and not more than 65 days after the application is filed with the commissioner. Any action denying or approving a permit application under this subsection (b) shall be made by the commissioner of transportation within 15 days after the application is filed with the commissioner. If the commissioner denies the application, the commissioner shall notify the applicant by mail of the reasons for his or her decision. Within ten days after the notice of denial of an application is sent, the applicant may request a hearing at which the applicant will be given an opportunity to prove that the determination of the commissioner was in error. The commissioner of transportation (in cooperation with the commissioner of planning and development if the denial was based on his or her determination) shall schedule a hearing to be held within 30 days after he or she received the request. Prior to the exercise of exclusive jurisdiction by the department of administrative hearings in accordance with Section 2-14-190(c) of this Code, the hearing may be conducted by the commissioner or the commissioner's designee. If, after the hearing, commissioner of transportation determines that his or her previous determination was incorrect, the commissioner shall promptly issue or renew the permit. After the exercise of exclusive jurisdiction by the department of administrative hearings in accordance with Section 2-14-190(c) of this Code, upon receipt of a request for a hearing, the commissioner of transportation (in cooperation with the commissioner of planning and development if the denial was based on his or her determination) shall institute an action with the department of administrative hearings which shall conduct the hearing and make a final determination.

   (d)   No newspaper stand may be substantially remodeled without prior written approval from the commissioner of transportation pursuant to the standards set forth in paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) of Section 10-28-160 and any other standards therefor promulgated by the commissioner in cooperation with the department of planning and development in furtherance of the purposes of this article.

   (e)   Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, when two or more otherwise equally qualified applications are pending for new newspaper stands that are to be located in any area of the city in which only one newspaper stand is permitted, preference shall be given to the application for the newspaper stand offering the largest number of different daily publications.

   (f)   The commissioner may at any time provide a licensee with a newspaper stand owned by the city when the commissioner determines that such action is necessary to provide at that location a newspaper stand that will comport with and enhance the quality and character of the streetscape, including nearby development and existing land uses. Whenever such a newspaper stand is so provided, the licensee must use and maintain only that stand, and must permit removal of any other stand at the licensed location. In order to obtain newspaper stands for the purposes of this subsection, the commissioner may enter into contracts on behalf of the city for the purchase of those stands using funds appropriated for such purposes, notwithstanding any law or ordinance to the contrary, after publicly soliciting proposals to enter into such contracts.

(Prior code § 34-10.1; Amend Coun. J. 6-28-91, p. 2872; Amend Coun. J. 12-11-91, p. 10832; Amend Coun. J. 7-10-96, p. 24982; Amend Coun. J. 11-12-97, p. 56813; Amend Coun. J. 4-1-98, p. 65351; Amend Coun. J. 12-7-05, p. 64870, § 1.9; Amend Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 47220, Art. IX, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-17-10, p. 106597, Art. IX, § 7; Amend Coun. J. 11-8-12, p. 38872, § 186; Amend Coun. J. 11-26-13, p. 67481, Art. I, § 21)