The City Council hereby finds and declares:
(A) The city has significant interests in:
(1) Promoting vehicular traffic and pedestrian safety and convenience;
(2) Preventing damage to public sidewalks, structures, and landscaping;
(3) Preventing visual clutter; and
(4) Protecting the aesthetic character of an area.
(B) The city has a substantial interest in promoting the public health, safety, welfare and convenience of its citizens, businesses and visitors by ensuring that public streets, sidewalks and rights-of-way in the city are not unreasonably obstructed by news racks, and that news racks are properly maintained.
(C) The proliferation of news racks on the streets and sidewalks of the city, in particular, excessive, poorly maintained or abandoned news racks, has contributed and/or may contribute to the congestion of the city sidewalks, impeded the flow of pedestrian traffic, interfered with the use of streets, sidewalks and public rights-of-way, presented hazards to persons and property, and resulted in substantial visual blight.
(D) The city has a substantial interest in preserving and protecting the unique visual and aesthetic qualities of the city. To that end, and consistent with the its general plan, the city desires to take steps to reduce the visual blight, pedestrian inconvenience and hazards associated with an unlimited number and design of news racks, poorly maintained news racks, and the unrestricted placement of news racks on streets, sidewalks and rights-of-way in the city.
(E) Based upon the experience of city staff and an evaluation of news rack options by city staff, the most effective way to reduce the visual clutter and hazards associated with excessive numbers of news racks and dangerous placement of news racks is to limit the number and location of news racks installed in the rights-of-way within Corona.
(F) Thus, the purpose of this chapter is to promote the public health, safety and welfare and the aesthetic qualities of the city by regulating, as a reasonable time, manner, and place regulation, so as to:
(1) Provide for pedestrian and driving safety and convenience;
(2) Ensure that there is no unreasonable interference with the flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, including ingress and egress from any city residence, place of business or public facility, or any legally parked or stopped vehicles;
(3) Ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and improve passage for persons with disabilities by reducing impediments to passage caused by poorly-located news racks;
(4) Provide reasonable access for the safe and efficient use and maintenance of sidewalks, poles, posts, traffic signs or signals, hydrants, mailboxes, delivery areas, loading zones, transit shelters, curb and handicapped ramps and other street furniture;
(5) Reduce visual blight and clutter and litter problems associated with poorly maintained or improperly located or abandoned news racks;
(6) Advance the economic interests of the city merchants and other information providers, including those involved in the publication and distribution of newspapers and periodicals through news racks;
(7) Protect the unique architectural, historical, and aesthetic attributes of the city;
(8) Reduce exposure of the city to personal injury or property damage claims and litigation;
(9) Provide for public and property safety during emergency conditions; and
(10) Maintain and protect the values of surrounding properties.
(G) In adopting this chapter, the City Council is mindful that news rack regulations implicate rights protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 2 of the California Constitution. To that end, the City Council hereby adopts these regulations and directs that their enforcement be conducted in a manner consistent with the constitutional rights of citizens and regulated parties.
(H) Given the limited space available within its rights-of-way, the city has a substantial interest in devising a systematic approach to news rack removal and placement in rights-of-way to ensure a fair and equitable distribution of newspapers and periodicals. The City Council declares that this objective and the other aforementioned objectives are best achieved by adopting this chapter and creating regulations to allow news racks in quantities and locations that will not interfere with the use of rights-of-way.
(Ord. 3109 § 2 (part), 2012)