(a) Upon request of a majority of the members of City Council or upon receipt of citizen complaints concerning an outdoor pay telephone, the Mayor shall conduct an investigation into whether the installation and maintenance of the outdoor pay telephone constitutes a public nuisance.
(b) Upon determination by the Mayor that a particular outdoor pay telephone which has been installed and/or maintained in accordance with the contract constitutes a public nuisance, the Mayor shall order that the telephone be removed or that such special telephone service features as are acceptable to the Mayor shall be provided by the outdoor pay telephone. A particular outdoor pay telephone shall constitute a public nuisance when the Mayor determines that one or more of the following conditions exist:
(1) The outdoor pay telephone has been used in the commission of illegal drug transactions or other criminal activity, or substantially contributes by its presence to the commission of illegal drug transactions or other criminal activity as evidenced by significant number of such crimes occurring in the vicinity of the telephone;
(2) The existence of the outdoor pay telephone has substantially contributed by its presence to the congregation of persons who have made loud noises and other disturbances that have disrupted persons residing near the telephone or disrupted business enterprises located near the telephone;
(3) The existence of the outdoor pay telephone has substantially contributed by its presence to the congregation of persons consuming alcoholic beverages, except where such consumption is expressly authorized by a state license;
(4) The existence of the outdoor pay telephone has resulted in the congregation of persons who have interfered with pedestrian or vehicular traffic in the public right-of-way near the telephone;
(5) Usage of the outdoor pay telephone between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. is significantly and repeatedly above normal usage for similarly situated outdoor pay telephones during the same hours so as to indicate that the telephone is being used in the commission of illegal drug activity or other criminal activity; and/or
(6) The pay telephone has been used to abuse the 911 system.
(c) Any outdoor pay telephone installed or maintained in violation of the contract and the requirements of this chapter shall be subject to an order issued by the Mayor of immediate removal at the owner’s expense. The owner shall remove the outdoor pay telephone within five working days of an order to remove the telephone and shall restore the public right-of-way or public property to its original condition. Any outdoor pay telephone which is not removed within five working days of an order to remove the telephone shall be subject to immediate removal by the city at the owner’s expense and shall constitute a default of the owner’s contract. The owner must reimburse the city for the cost of removing and storing the telephone before the telephone may be reclaimed by the owner. Such costs shall also include the cost of removing any installation ancillary to the outdoor pay telephone and the cost of restoring the public right-of-way or public property to its original condition.
(d) If an outdoor pay telephone has been removed from a location because it is a nuisance, no other pay telephone may be installed at the same location or within 1,000 feet of that location for a minimum of one year.
(Ord. 24-98, passed 3-17-1998)