(a) Purpose. The Council of the Village of Lockland has determined that the purpose of this section is to promote the public health, safety and welfare through the regulation of placement, appearance, servicing and insuring of news racks on public rights-of-way so as to:
(1) Provide for pedestrian and driving safety and convenience;
(2) Restrict the unreasonable interference with the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including ingress into, or egress from any residence or place of business, or from the street to the sidewalk by persons exiting or entering parked or standing vehicles;
(3) Provide reasonable access for the use and maintenance of poles, posts, traffic signs or signals, hydrants, mailboxes, and access to locations used for public transportation purposes;
(4) Encourage well designed and aesthetically compatible news racks; property damage claims;
(5) Reduce unnecessary exposure of the village to personal injury or property damage claims; and
(6) Provide for and maintain the freedom of speech for newspapers or new periodicals using reduce unnecessary exposure of the city to personal injury or news racks for distribution purposes.
(b) Definition. For the purpose of this chapter, NEWS RACKS shall mean any type of unmanned device placed upon any public right-of-way for the vending of or free distribution of newspapers or other literature, including, but not limited to, advertisements, announcements, magazines, pamphlets, or flyers.
(c) Permit required. Notwithstanding any provisions of the Village of Lockland Code of Ordinances to the contrary, and subject to the provisions of this section, news racks shall be allowed within the public right-of way in central business and local business districts upon the issuance of a permit by the Village Administrator.
(d) Permit application An application for permit shall be filed with the Village Administrator upon a form provided by him or her for that purpose and shall include the following information:
(1) The name, address and telephone number of the applicant;
(2) The name, address and telephone number of a responsible person whom the village may notify or contact at any time concerning the applicant’s news racks;
(3) The number of news racks, including any existing news racks;
(4) Site plan showing exact location of each news rack and supporting or enclosing structure and sufficient information to determine that the location complies with division (e) below of this section;
(5) Such application shall also contain a statement that the applicant will, in consideration of being issued a permit for the use of space, agree to hold harmless the Village of Lockland and the officers and employees of the village for any loss or damage arising out of the use, or the discontinuance of any use; that the applicant understands that the use of the space is to be temporary, on a day-to-day basis; and that the applicant shall not acquire any right, title or interest in such space.
(6) If the application shows that the proposed news rack will comply with the terms of this section, the Village Administrator shall issue the permit. If the application is incomplete or if it shows that the proposed news rack will in any way fail to conform with the terms of this ordinance, the Village Administrator shall deny the permit and shall submit to the applicant in writing an explanation of the item(s) missing from the application of the ways in which the proposed news rack will not conform with the terms of this section. The Village Administrator’s decision shall be made within seven business days of the submission of the application.
(e) Maintenance of news racks.
(1) The applicant shall be responsible for any damage or repairs caused by the removal or installation of the news racks.
(2) All installations shall be under the supervision of the Village Administrator.
(3) News racks shall be maintained in good condition.
(4) The name, address and telephone number of a responsible party who may be contacted at any time concerning the news rack shall be displayed on the hood of the news rack in such manner as to be readily visible and readable to a prospective customer thereof.
(5) Each news rack shall be maintained in accordance with the terms of this section and the approved permit.
(f) Placement of news racks.
(1) A. News racks on public rights-of-way shall only be placed either:
1. Not more than one foot back from the face of the curb;
2. Not more than six inches from a public utility pole or a traffic sign pole located near the curb; or
3. Parallel to the wall of a building and not more than six inches from the wall.
B. News racks placed near the curb shall be placed so that the opening through which newspapers or news periodicals are dispensed does not face the curb line.
(2) No news rack shall be located:
A. Within five feet of any fire hydrant, fire or police alarm box or other emergency facility;
B. Within five feet of a display window or building entrance;
C. Within two feet of any marked cross-walk or any driveway or alley;
D. Within two feet of any handicapped access ramps;
E. In such a manner as to reduce the clear space for the passageway of pedestrians on sidewalks to a continuous and unobstructed width of less than eight feet; or
F. At a street corner within the area bounded by the extension of the property lines.
(3) No news rack shall be placed where it would unreasonably obstruct the rights of travel which the general public has on any public property or would unreasonably interfere with or impede the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
(g) Size of news racks. No news rack shall exceed:
(1) A height of four and one-half feet measured from the surface of the sidewalk or ground;
(2) A depth of two feet; and
(3) A length of two and one-half feet.
(h) Insurance. The applicant shall at all times maintain a policy of liability insurance in a minimum amount of $300,000 for the injury or death of any number of persons per occurrence, and $100,000 for property damage per occurrence. Such coverage will name the Village of Lockland as an additional insured. All such policies and certificates of insurance shall be issued by companies authorized to do business in the State of Ohio and shall provide that it cannot be cancelled until ten days written notice of such cancellation shall have been filed with the Village Clerk-Treasurer. Any termination or lapse of such insurance will automatically revoke any permit issued pursuant to this section.
(i) Expiration and renewal. All permits shall expire on December 31 following issuance. After the initial approval of a permit by the Village Administrator for a specific location, renewal of such permits shall be made for one year by application to the Village Administrator. The permit fee shall be $10 per permittee for each year or part thereof.
(j) Revocation hearing. If at any time it is determined by the Village Administrator that any news rack for which a permit has been issued, is not in compliance with the requirements of this chapter a notice of intent to revoke the permit shall be issued, in writing, to the permittee. The notice shall set forth the violation or violations which constitute the basis of the proposed revocation. The notice shall contain the date, time and place for which a hearing before the Village Council is to be had on such charges, the hearing to be held not less than ten days from the time of service of the notice. The permittee may, prior to the hearing, file a written response to the notice specifically setting forth the reason or reasons the permit should not be revoked; or in the alternative, the permittee shall cause the violation or violations to be corrected. If at such hearing, the Village Council shall determine that the violations as charged are true and accurate and that the permittee has not caused the violation or violations to be corrected, or if the permittee fails to appear at the hearing and can present no justifiable excuse for the nonappearance, a notice of revocation shall issue. If however, the violation or violations have been corrected, as evidenced by a verified statement of correction by the permittee and upon inspection by the Village of Lockland, no notice of revocation shall issue.
(k) Impoundment of news racks.
(1) The Village Administrator may cause any news rack to be impounded under the following circumstances:
A. Where its installation, use, or maintenance endangers the safety of persons or property;
B. Where its installation, use, or maintenance unreasonably interferes with or impedes the flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic;
C. Where it has been installed without a valid permit;
D. Where the permit has been revoked pursuant to division (j) above of this section.
(2) Whenever any news rack is impounded, except when the permit has been previously revoked pursuant to division (j) above of this section, a hearing shall be held pursuant to division (j). The owner of any validly impounded news rack shall be responsible for the expense of removal and storage of the news rack. Should the news rack fail to be claimed or the owner fail to pay any money due the city, such news rack shall be deemed to be unclaimed property and may be disposed of pursuant to law.
(l) Village Administrator enforcing officer. It shall be the duty of the Village Administrator to enforce the provisions of this section. Each day’s continuance of a violation shall be considered a separate offense.
(Ord. 2005-13, passed 2-15-2005)