(a) Beginning 90 days after the effective date of this article, no person shall place or maintain any advertising bench on or over the public way except as permitted under this article.
(b) The commissioner may grant authority for the use of the public way for the placement of advertising benches within the city or within a defined portion of the city, in the manner provided in this article.
(c) The authority to place advertising benches on the public way in any territory within the city shall be awarded by contract pursuant to the competitive bidding procedures set forth in Division ten of Article 8 of the Illinois Municipal Code and Chapter 2-92 of the Municipal Code of Chicago.
(d) Before accepting bids for any such contract, the department shall, by rule or regulation, define the territory or territories in which the authority to place advertising benches will be granted.
(e) Any person awarded a contract under this section must:
(1) Place advertising benches on the public way only as permitted by this article;
(2) Remove, at the direction of the department, advertising benches illegally situated on the public way within the territory, in accordance with a schedule developed by the department and incorporated into the contract;
(3) Pay the city a monthly rental fee for each advertising bench placed or maintained on the public way by the contractor. Such fee shall be the amount that is bid in the competitive bidding process.
(f) A contract awarded pursuant to this section shall be in effect for a period of three years unless terminated pursuant to this chapter or pursuant to the terms of the contract. A contract may be extended by mutual agreement for a period of one year or less, but may not be so extended more than three times.
(g) A contract awarded pursuant to this section may contain such penalties, rewards or other inducements as the commissioner or the corporation counsel considers necessary to further the purposes of this article, and may provide for arbitration as a means for settling disputes arising under the contract. The contract may also provide that the city will in whole or in part indemnify the contractor against liability arising from the exercise of the contractor's duties pursuant to the contract.
(h) Any advertising bench on the public way authorized pursuant to this section shall not require the issuance of a public way use permit pursuant to Section 10-28-010.
(Added Coun. J. 12-19-90, p. 28705; Amend Coun. J. 1-13-10, p. 83228, § 1)