The purpose of these regulations is to acknowledge and achieve the following:
A. There is a substantial government interest in promoting the public health, safety, welfare and convenience by ensuring that persons may reasonably use the public streets, sidewalks, rights-of-way, and other public property without interference with such use.
B. Newsracks placed and maintained on the streets, sidewalks, or other public rights-of-way, absent some reasonable regulation, may unreasonably interfere with the use of such streets, sidewalks, and public rights-of-way, and may present some hazards to persons or property.
C. The streets, sidewalks and public rights-of-way are historically associated with the sale and distribution of newspapers and other publications, and that access to and use of these areas for such purposes is not to be denied except where such use unreasonably interferes with the use of these areas by pedestrians or traffic, or where such use presents a hazard to persons or property.
D. Reasonable accommodation of these competing interests can be achieved by adoption of this chapter, which regulates the placement and maintenance of newsracks.
E. The public health, safety, welfare and convenience require that interference with vehicular, bicycle, wheelchair or pedestrian traffic be avoided; obstruction of sight distance and views of traffic and identifying signs and street-crossing pedestrians be eliminated; damage done to sidewalks or streets be minimized and repaired; the good appearance of the public streets or grounds be maintained; trees and other landscaping be allowed to grow without disturbance; access to emergency and other public facilities be maintained; and ingress and egress from properties adjoining the public rights-of-way be protected and reasonable commercial uses on private property not be impeded or interfered with.
F. The regulation of the sale or free distribution of newspapers and other publications dispensed in vending machines as set forth in this chapter provides the least intrusive and burdensome means for ensuring the purposes stated in this section are carried out while still providing ample opportunities for the distribution of news to the citizens of the city. (Ord. 98-100 § 1(part), 1998).