(A) Structural obstructions.
(1) Impeding public use. It shall be unlawful for any person to erect, keep or maintain any house, fence, wall, building or permanent or immovable structure, post, rail or object on or over any sidewalk, street, alley or public way within the city that obstructs or impedes public use of such sidewalk, street, alley or public way.
(2) Exceptions. The city may place or permit other government entities to place trees, posts, rails or street furniture that it may deem appropriate upon the public way.
(3) Street furniture approval. Before any street furniture is placed in the public way, it shall be subject to review and approval by applicable city departments and shall be appropriate in scale and design.
(a) The City Manager or his or her designee shall consider:
1. Whether the design, materials and color scheme of the street furniture comport with and enhance the quality and character of the streetscape, including nearby development and existing land uses: and
2. Whether the street furniture endangers public safety or property, or interferes with or impedes the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, or is placed in such a manner as to impede or interfere with the reasonable use of a display window or display space.
(b) No street furniture shall be approved that wholly impedes the use of any sidewalk.
(B) Lights on obstructions. When any use of any street, sidewalk, alleys or public way is made as allowed by law, all obstructions shall be safely guarded in such manner and with sufficient necessary yellow lights at night, as to protect all those traveling or passing on such streets, alleys, sidewalks or public ways against injury from the obstruction.
(C) Enclosures. It shall be unlawful for any person to enclose in any manner, either totally or partially, any sidewalk, street, alley, public way or any part thereof, with any fence, wall or other structure, or in any manner whatever, except as may be provided by this chapter.
(D) Use of cellar doors. It shall be unlawful for any person to permit or keep open any grating or cellar door or way in any sidewalk on any street, or thereby to prevent the free and unobstructed use by pedestrians of the entire sidewalk from the line of the property abutting on such street to the curb of the carriageway thereof, except for the time such opening on the sidewalk is being actually used for taking things into or out of the cellar or basement with which such openings shall communicate or be connected. When such actual use ceases, the grating or cellar door in the sidewalk shall be closed on a level with the sidewalk and securely fastened by the persons owning, occupying or using it so that pedestrians may safely and without obstruction use the full width of the sidewalk, including the place therein covered by such grating or cellar door or way.
(E) Other regulations. Nothing in this section shall prevent the City Manager or his or her designee from establishing reasonable time, place and manner regulations governing the placement of temporary objects on the right-of-way.
(1984 Code, § 96.10) (Ord. O-04-20, passed 1-28-2020) Penalty, see § 96.999