A mailbox installation that conforms to the following criteria will be considered acceptable, unless in the judgment of the City Street Commissioner the installation interferes with the safety of the traveling public or the function, maintenance, or operation of the street and highway system
(A) Location.
(1) No mailbox will be permitted where access is otherwise prohibited by law or regulation.
(2) On uncurbed streets or highways, mailboxes shall be located on the right-hand side of the roadway in the direction of the delivery route. The bottom of the box shall be set at an elevation established by the U.S. Postal Service, usually between three feet six inches and four feet above the roadway surface. The roadside face of the box shall be offset from the edge of the traveled way a minimum distance of the greater of the following: eight feet (where no paved shoulder exists), the width of the all-weather shoulder present plus eight to 12 inches, or the width of an all-weather turnout specified by the City plus eight to 12 inches.
(3) On curbed streets, the mailbox, when opened, shall be set back from the face of the curb a distance of 12 inches.
(4) Where a mailbox is located at a driveway entrance, it shall be placed on the far side of the driveway in the direction of the delivery route.
(5) Where a mailbox is located at an intersecting road, it shall be located a minimum of 50 feet beyond the center of the intersecting road in the direction of the delivery route. The distance shall be increased to 100 feet when the average daily traffic on the intersecting road exceeds 400 vehicles per day.
(6) No post office box or cluster of post office boxes shall be located along the curbside within the business district of the city.
(B) Structure.
(1) Mailboxes shall be of light sheet metal or plastic construction conforming to the requirements of the U.S. Postal Service. Newspaper delivery boxes shall be of light sheet metal or plastic construction of minimum dimensions suitable for holding a newspaper.
(2) No more than two mailboxes may be mounted on a support structure unless the support structure and mailbox arrangement have been shown to be safe by crash testing. However, lightweight newspaper boxes may be mounted below the mailbox on the side of the mailbox support.
(3) Mailbox supports shall not be set in concrete unless the support design has been shown to be safe by crash tests when so installed.
(4) A single four inch or four and one-half inch diameter wooden post of cedar or treated composite for below grade use, or a metal post with a strength no greater than a two inch diameter standard strength steel pipe and embedded nor more than 24 inches into the ground will be acceptable as a mailbox support. A metal post shall not be fitted with an anchor plate, but it may have an anti-twist device that extends no more than ten inches below the ground surface.
(5) The post-to-box attachment details should be of sufficient strength to prevent the box from separating from the post top if the installation is struck by a vehicle.
(6) The minimum spacing between the centers of support posts shall be three-fourths the height of the posts above the ground line.
(7) Mailbox support designs not described in this regulation will be acceptable if approved by the City Street Commissioner.
(C) Shoulder and parking area construction. It will be the responsibility of the postal patron to inform the City of any new or existing mailbox installation where shoulder construction is inadequate to permit all-weather vehicular access to the mailbox.
(D) Removal of non-conforming or unsafe mailboxes. Any mailbox that is found to violate the intent of this regulation shall be removed by the postal patron upon notification by the city. At the discretion of the city, based on an assessment of hazard to the public, the patron will be granted not less than 24 hours nor more than 30 days to remove an unacceptable mailbox. After the specified removal period has expired, the unacceptable mailbox will be removed by the city at the postal patron's expense.
(Ord. 2013-O-016, passed 7-22-13)