(a) No person shall engage in the business of providing and installing outdoor pay telephones on private property, and no person shall install, place or maintain an outdoor pay telephone on private property, unless the owner has a biennial outdoor pay telephone license. This prohibition applies to any outdoor pay telephone installed prior to or after the effective date of this chapter.
(b) No person shall engage in the business of providing and installing outdoor pay telephones in the public right-of-way, and no person shall install, place or maintain an outdoor pay telephone within the public right-of-way unless the owner of the telephone has entered into a biennial contract with the Director that grants to such owner the privilege of installing and maintaining outdoor pay telephones in the public right- of-way. This prohibition applies to any outdoor pay telephone installed prior to or after the effective date of this chapter. This prohibition also applies to any outdoor pay telephone that is attached to or mounted on a building or other structure when such telephone extends above or into the right-of-way, and any outdoor pay telephone located in the right-of-way that is attached to a building or structure by a wire or cable.
(c) No person shall engage in the business of providing and installing outdoor pay telephones on private property or in the right-of-way, and no person shall install, place or maintain an outdoor pay telephone on private property or in the right-of-way unless the owner has a biennial permit for each telephone installed, placed or maintained, issued in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
(d) It shall be unlawful for any person to install, own or maintain, or to allow the installation or maintenance of, an outdoor pay telephone on private property or the public right-of-way under any of the following circumstances:
(1) On any vacant private property or any public right-of-way adjacent thereto;
(2) On any private property or any public right-of-way adjacent thereto, where any or all buildings are vacant;
(3) On any private property or any public right-of-way adjacent thereto, that has a premises licensed for the sale of alcoholic liquor (other than beer or wine);
(4) In a residential use district as defined in the Zoning Code of the City, or within fifty (50) feet of a residential dwelling unit in a residential use district;
(5) At a location where use from a vehicle is possible which would cause the vehicle to stand in a driveway or aisle in a parking lot or in the right-of-way;
(6) Within five (5) feet of any area used for vehicular ingress or egress or an aisle way in a parking area for vehicular travel;
(7) Within five (5) feet of the entrance or exit to any structure, a crosswalk, a bus shelter, a fire exit or escape, a mail box, parking meter, police or fire call box, traffic control box, fire hydrant or sidewalk elevator, or that blocks or restricts free passage of pedestrians or vehicles;
(8) On any public right-of way adjacent to private property where an outdoor pay telephone has been previously removed; or
(9) On any property or at any location that has been determined by the Director of Public Safety to create a nuisance based upon prior actual use.
(e) No dial tone provider shall provide dial tone to any outdoor pay telephone on private property or in the right-of-way without first verifying that the pay telephone has been permitted by the City pursuant to this chapter.
(f) All outdoor pay telephones on private property or in the right-of-way must: automatically block all incoming calls and provide outgoing only service; prevent the use of pagers or beepers; use electric wiring, not telephone wire, for electric connections; be well lighted if available for use during hours between sunset and sunrise, which may include ambient lighting; and be kept free from graffiti and stickers not placed by the owner, and kept clean.
(g) Any outdoor pay telephone placed or installed on private property or in the right-of-way shall be either a so-called “smart phone” equipped with a built in computer or a “smart line” phone, and shall have the capability to make the telephone inoperative for designated periods of time, to provide lists of each outgoing call as to the number called, its duration, and the date and time of the call, shall have built in volume control and shall have a key pad that prevents the use of pagers or beepers.
(h) No outdoor pay telephone shall be placed or installed at any location on private property or in the right-of-way that is within five hundred (500) feet of any other outdoor pay telephone, whether on private property or in the right-of-way.
(i) The five hundred (500) feet restrictions in this section shall not apply to any retail gas service station. The five hundred (500) feet restrictions shall also not apply to: the Central Business District as defined in Section 325.12 of the Codified Ordinances; the Flats Oxbow Revitalization District; the University Circle institutional area defined as the area included within and bounded by both sides of East 105 Street, East Boulevard, Ford Road, and Euclid Avenue; Regional Transit Authority rapid stations and the adjacent right-of-way; hospitals, universities, and Cuyahoga Community College and the adjacent right- of-way; and strip shopping centers and the adjacent right-of-way. All other requirements of this chapter apply to outdoor pay telephones in the areas named in this division.
(j) An owner may apply in writing to the Commissioner for an exemption from the five hundred (500) feet restriction to place multiple outdoor pay telephones at one (1) location, due to a demonstrated appropriate use or need for additional outdoor pay telephones as a result of a high level of pedestrian and automobile traffic, and a concentration of heavy usage of pay telephones at that location. Any such application shall be referred to the Director of Planning for review and approval, and if so approved, shall be submitted to Council for action. If Council passes an ordinance approving the exemption, such ordinance shall be forwarded to the Commissioner who shall attach the approved exemption to the license of the owner or as an amendment to the owner’s contract, and the owner then may apply for permits for additional phones, as approved.
(k) For the purposes of this section, the submission of a completed application for a permit for a telephone on private property or in the right-of-way, shall be considered a placement of a pay telephone.
(Ord. No. 15-05. Passed 1-10-05, eff. 1-12-05)