Loading...
For the purpose of this article the following words and phrases are defined, and shall be construed as hereafter set out, unless it shall be apparent from the context that they have a different meaning:
“Accident” shall mean any occurrence arising out of or taking place in connection with the operation of a street railroad or interurban railroad, that involves the death of any person, or any draught animal, or any injury to any person sufficient to require the service of a physician or surgeon, or the collision of one car against another or against a vehicle of any kind.
“Parkway” shall mean that portion of a public street other than a roadway or a sidewalk. (Added by Ord. No. 123,979, Eff. 4/20/63.)
“Roadway” shall mean that portion of a street which is improved or designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel. (Added by Ord. No. 123,979, Eff. 4/20/63.)
“Sidewalk” shall mean that portion of a street, other than the roadway, set apart by curbs, barriers, markings or other delineation for pedestrian travel. (Added by Ord. No. 123,979, Eff. 4/20/63.)
“Street” shall mean and include all streets, highways, avenues, lanes, alleys, courts, places, squares or other public ways in this City which have been or may hereafter be dedicated to the public use, or such other public property so designated in any law of this State. (Added by Ord. No. 123,979, Eff. 4/20/63.)
No person shall place, leave or deposit in or upon any window ledge or window sill or other portion of any building more than one story in height, located within any business district, as said districts are now defined in the Vehicle Code (Statutes 1935, Chapter 27) of this State, any article or thing, unless such article or thing is securely fastened or unless a railing or other device is constructed, erected and maintained in connection with any such window ledge, window sill or other portion of said building so as to prevent any such article or thing from falling in, into or upon any street or sidewalk.
(Added by Ord. No. 176,176, Eff. 10/6/04.)
(a) For purposes of this section:
1. “Silly String” shall mean any putty-like substance that is shot or expelled in the form of string from an aerosol can or other pressurized device, regardless of whether it is sold under the name “Silly String” or any other name.
2. “Hollywood Division” shall mean the area defined by the Los Angeles Police Department as the Hollywood Division, the geographical boundaries of which include all of that portion of Los Angeles City bounded and described as follows: Beginning at the point of intersection of Beverly Boulevard and Normandie Avenue, and proceeding northerly along Normandie Avenue to Franklin Avenue, and proceeding westerly along Franklin Avenue to Western Avenue, and proceeding northerly along Western Avenue to Fern Dell Drive, and continuing northerly along Fern Dell Drive to its terminus, and proceeding due north through Griffith Park to Forest Lawn Drive at its intersection with Zoo Drive, and proceeding westerly and southwesterly along Forest Lawn Drive to Barham Boulevard, and proceeding southerly along Barham Boulevard to United States Highway 101, and proceeding southeasterly along U.S. Highway 101 to Mulholland Drive, and proceeding westerly along the various curves and courses of Mulholland Drive to the Crest of Ridge, and proceeding southerly following the Los Angeles city line along the eastern border of the Trousdale Estates area of the City of Beverly Hills to the northeast corner of the City of West Hollywood, and proceeding easterly following the Los Angeles city line bordering along its various curves and courses of the northern border of the City of West Hollywood to the eastern border of the City of West Hollywood that is to the east of La Brea Avenue, and proceeding southerly along the Los Angeles city line to Romaine Street, and proceeding westerly following the Los Angeles city line along its various curves and courses to the intersection of Romaine Street and La Cienega Boulevard, and proceeding southerly following the Los Angeles city line along its various curves and courses to Beverly Boulevard, and proceeding easterly along Beverly Boulevard to La Brea Avenue, and proceeding northerly along La Brea Avenue to Willoughby Avenue, and proceeding easterly along Willoughby Avenue to Hudson Avenue, and proceeding southerly along Hudson Avenue to Melrose Avenue, and proceeding easterly along Melrose Avenue to Gower Street, and proceeding southerly along Gower Street to Beverly Boulevard, and proceeding easterly along Beverly Boulevard to Normandie Avenue.
3. “Halloween” shall mean the 36-hour period from 12:00 a.m. on October 31st of each year, through 12:00 p.m. on November 1st of each year.
(b) No Person, as defined in Municipal Code Section 11.01(a), shall possess, use, sell or distribute Silly String at, within or upon any public or private property that is either within public view or accessible to the public, including, but not limited to, public or private streets, sidewalks, parking lots, commercial or residential buildings, places of business, or parks within the Hollywood Division during Halloween.
(c) Any violation of this section is a misdemeanor subject to the provisions of Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 11.01(m).
No person shall operate or maintain upon or adjacent to any public sidewalk any hat block or other device which revolves or rotates by means of power, unless such hat block or other device is separated from the sidewalk by a suitable barrier to prevent persons using the sidewalk from coming in contact with such hat block or other revolving device, or unless such hat block or other revolving device is screened with a metal screen or a mesh not greater than one quarter of an inch in size.
(a) No person owning, leasing, occupying, having charge or control of any lot or premises, shall allow, keep or maintain any tree, bush or vegetation growing upon any lot or premises abutting any street or sidewalk or upon any street or sidewalk so that the limbs, twigs, leaves or parts of such tree, bush or vegetation interfere with or obstruct the free passage of pedestrians or vehicles along or upon said streets or sidewalks.
(b) Trees or bushes greater than fifteen feet in height growing in or upon any premises or sidewalk shall be deemed to interfere with and obstruct the free passage of pedestrians or vehicles upon said streets and sidewalks within the meaning of this section unless the lower limbs, twigs or leaves of such trees or bushes are kept removed at all times so as to have a minimum clearance of:
1. 13 feet 6 inches over that portion of State highways and major streets improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic;
2. 11 feet over that portion of local streets improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic;
3. 9 feet over the sidewalk and parkway area of all streets. (Amended by Ord. No. 106,987, Eff. 3/24/56.)
(c) No person having charge or control of any lot or premises shall allow any soil, rubbish, trash, garden refuse, tree trimmings, ashes, tin cans or other waste or refuse to remain upon any sidewalk, parkway, or in or upon any street abutting on or adjacent to such lot or premises, or which will interfere with or obstruct the free passage of pedestrians or vehicles along any such street, sidewalk or parkway. (Amended by Ord. No. 123,979, Eff. 4/20/63.)
(d) No person having charge or control of any lot, building, or premises, shall clean or sweep any dirt, rubbish or refuse from any sidewalk into the street; provided that nothing contained in this section shall prevent such person from cleaning or sweeping any dirt, rubbish, or refuse from any sidewalk and disposing of the same on or in said lot, building or premises, where such disposition does not create a nuisance and is not prohibited by any other ordinance. (Amended by Ord. No. 148,466, Eff. 7/29/76.)
(e) (Amended by Ord. No. 128,577, Eff. 11/14/64.)
1. No person having charge or control of any lot or premises, either as owner, lessee, tenant, builder, contractor, housemover, or otherwise, shall construct, deposit or maintain any structure, building, rock, brick, broken concrete, stepping stones, sprinkler heads or any obstacle of any nature whatsoever in or upon any street, sidewalk or parkway abutting on or adjacent to such lot or premises or which will interfere with the free passage of pedestrians or vehicles along such street, sidewalk or parkway.
2. The provisions of this section shall not apply to sprinkler heads or bricks in tree wells which are properly maintained on grade with the surface of the sidewalk or parkway in which they are located.
3. The Board of Public Works may grant deviations or modifications of this subsection, upon written application therefor, so as to permit the installation and maintenance of bricks, stepping stones and similar walking surfaces in parkways, on grade with the surface thereof, whenever it is determined that the following conditions exist:
a. That the deviation or modification requested arises from unusual or extraordinary physical conditions, and is necessary to permit the proper and lawful development and use of the applicant’s property;
b. That the granting of the deviation or modification requested will not be contrary to the public safety, convenience, and general welfare;
c. That the granting of the deviation or modification will not adversely affect the rights of adjacent property owners or tenants.
(f) No person shall excavate on any land sufficiently close to the property line to endanger any adjoining street, sidewalk, alley, or other public property, without supporting and protecting such street, sidewalk, alley, or other public property from settling, cracking, or other damage which might result from such excavation.
(g) Any person having charge or control of any lot or premises who violates the provisions of Subsections (a) or (c) shall be subject to the Administrative Fine amounts and criminal penalties set forth in Subsection (h). (Amended by Ord. No. 187,232, Eff. 11/18/21.)
(h) A first violation of Subsection (a) or (c) in a calendar year is subject to an Administrative Fine of $50.00. A second violation of Subsection (a) or (c) in the same calendar year is subject to an Administrative Fine of $100.00. A third violation of Subsection (a) or (c) in the same calendar year is subject to an Administrative Fine of $150.00. A fourth or subsequent violation of Subsection (a) or (c) in the same calendar year may result in the violation being prosecuted as a misdemeanor, and the violator shall be subject to all penalties applicable to criminal violations. (Amended by Ord. No. 187,232, Eff. 11/18/21.)
(i) Unless otherwise specified herein, all Administrative Citations issued for violations of this section shall be subject to the provisions set forth in Article 1.2 of Chapter 1 of this Code, including, but not limited to, the administrative hearing and appeal process and the authority of the City to use any civil remedy available to collect any unpaid Administrative Fine. (Amended by Ord. No. 187,232, Eff. 11/18/21.)
(j) It shall be a violation of this Code for a person to exceed the scope of a permit and engage in conduct that prevents the free passage of pedestrians as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-336, 104 Stat. 328 (1990), as amended from time to time. (Added by Ord. No. 187,527, Eff. 7/16/22.)
(k) It shall be a violation of this Code for a person whose activity in the public right-of-way requires a permit, fails to possess that permit, and engages in conduct that prevents the free passage of pedestrians as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-336, 104 Stat. 328 (1990), as amended from time to time. (Added by Ord. No. 187,527, Eff. 7/16/22.)
(l) A person who violates Subsections (j) or (k) is subject to an infraction pursuant to LAMC Section 11.00(m) or a citation pursuant to the City’s Administrative Citation Enforcement Program, as specified in Article 1.2 of this Code. A person who willfully resists, delays, or obstructs a City employee from enforcing Subsections (j) or (k), or who willfully refuses to comply after being requested to do so by an authorized City employee, is subject to the penalties set forth in Section 11.00 of this Code. (Added by Ord. No. 187,527, Eff. 7/16/22.)
An Ordinance prohibiting obstruction of streets or sidewalks is valid.
In re Bodkin (1948), 86 Cal. App. 2d 208.
The public is entitled to free and unobstructed use of entire streets and sidewalks for purposes of travel subject only to reasonable and proper control of the municipality.
People v. Amdur (1954), 123 Cal. App. 2d Supp. 951.
(a) No person shall construct or maintain, any permanent opening in any sidewalk, unless the same be constructed and maintained in the manner required by this section.
Every such opening in any sidewalk shall be covered with metal trap doors. The sides or ends of any such door nearest the curb shall not be less than four (4) feet from the outer edge of such curb and no such door shall be more than five (5) feet in width; provided however, that the provisions of this section regulating the width of any such door and its distance from the curb shall not apply to any such door erected, constructed or maintained prior to the passage of Ordinance No. 20,449 (N.S.), approved June 16, 1910. Metal guards of the kind herein described shall be provided and maintained at each such opening. Each such metal guard shall reach to the height of such doors when the same are open and shall be constructed of wire mesh, the meshes of which shall not exceed three inches in the greatest dimension.
In addition to the opening hereinbefore described, an opening through a sidewalk not more than thirty inches in its greatest dimension, may be maintained for the admittance of fuel to the cellar or basement of the building fronting on such portion of such sidewalk. Every such opening shall have a metal cover flush with the surface of the sidewalk, and its upper surface shall be roughened.
All structural parts of sidewalks, including such doors and covers, shall be capable of sustaining a uniform live load of 300 pounds per square foot. (Amended by Ord. No. 113,043, Eff. 4/23/59.)
(b) No person shall open any such door, unless a metal guard is placed along the edge of and on each side of such opening and so maintained during such time as such door shall remain open; provided, however, that such metal guard need not be placed or maintained along the side of such opening on which goods, wares, merchandise or other articles are being removed from or taken into the space beneath such opening, if a person is stationed on the sides of such opening for the purpose of warning passers-by and of preventing accidents.
(c) No person shall keep open any door or cover of any opening mentioned in this section, except during such time as goods, wares, merchandise or other articles are actually being removed from or taken into the space beneath such opening.
(d) No person shall construct or maintain, in any sidewalk, any opening covered with a grating of any description, or any permanent uncovered opening provided however the Board of Public Works may grant permits for such in conjunction with the construction of rapid transit facilities/stations subject to compliance with such terms and conditions imposed by the Board, including, but not limited to, providing general liability insurance and agreeing to indemnify the City. Any grating so installed in the sidewalk and any metal exit doors shall be designed, installed and maintained to the satisfaction of the City Engineer. (Amended by Ord. No 162,778, Eff. 10/11/87.)
No person shall put, place, attach or suspend, any sprinkler, or other attachment or device used in watering or sprinkling lawns, plants or flowers, so as to cause water to be thrown from the same upon or across any public sidewalk in such manner as to prevent or interfere with the free and uninterrupted passage of any person upon such sidewalk.
Loading...