A. Intent And Purpose:
1. Protection Of Public Health, Morals, And Welfare: The provisions and prohibitions hereinafter contained and enacted are in pursuance of and for the purpose of securing and promoting the public health, morals, and general welfare of persons in the city in their use of public rights of way through the regulation of placement, appearance, number, size, and servicing of newsracks on the public rights of way and private property so as to:
a. Provide for pedestrian and driving safety and convenience.
b. Ensure no unreasonable interference with the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including ingress to or egress from any place of business or from the street to the sidewalk.
c. Provide reasonable access for the use and maintenance of sidewalks, piles, posts, traffic signs and signals, hydrants, mailboxes, landscaping, and similar appurtenances, and access to locations used for public transportation purposes.
d. Reduce visual blight on the public rights of way, protect the aesthetics and value of surrounding properties, and protect the quiet of residential areas.
e. Protect the right to distribute information protected by the United States and the Utah state constitutions through the use of newsracks.
2. Preservation Of Constitutional Rights: It is not the intent of this chapter to in any way discriminate against, regulate, or interfere with the publication, circulation, distribution, or dissemination of any printed material that is constitutionally protected.
B. Newsracks Prohibited:
1. No person shall install, use, or maintain any newsrack which projects onto, into, or rests, wholly or in part, upon the roadway of any public street.
2. No person shall install, use, or maintain any newsrack which in whole or in part rests upon, in, or over any public sidewalk:
a. When such installation, use, or maintenance endangers the safety of persons or property.
b. When such site or location is used for public utility or public transportation purposes or other governmental use.
c. When such newsrack unreasonably interferes with or impedes the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including parked or stopped vehicles; the ingress in or egress from any residence or place of business; the use of poles, posts, traffic signs or signals, hydrants, mailboxes, or other objects permitted at or near said location.
d. When such newsrack interferes with the cleaning of any sidewalk by the use of mechanical sidewalk cleaning machinery.
e. When such newsrack does not allow a minimum sidewalk clearance of six feet (6') in width or depth.
f. In any other manner inconsistent with or in violation of the provisions of this title.
C. Newsracks Permitted:
1. Permit Required: It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to erect, place, maintain, or operate on any public street, sidewalk, or in any other public way or place in the city any newsrack without first having obtained a permit from the community development department specifying the exact location and construction and appearance details of such newsrack.
2. Application For Permit: Application for such permit shall be made in writing to the community development department upon such form as shall be provided and shall contain the name and address of the applicant, the proposed specific location of said newsrack, including plot plan, the structural design and color of the newsrack, listing of other joint distributors within the newsrack, a hold harmless agreement, proof of insurance, and shall be signed by the applicant. All applications shall be accompanied by payment of the newsrack fee, as set by the city council. The fee is per location, not per application.
3. Condition For Permit: Such permits shall be valid for three (3) years and shall be renewable pursuant to the procedure for original applications and upon payment of the application fee.
4. Hold Harmless Agreement: Every owner of a newsrack who places or maintains a newsrack on a public sidewalk or other public property in the city shall file a written statement with the community development department in a form satisfactory to the city attorney, whereby such owner agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the city, its officers, and employees, from any loss, liability, or damage, including expenses and costs, for bodily or personal injury, and for property damage sustained by any person as a result of the installation, use, and/or maintenance of a newsrack.
D. Newsrack Identification Required: Every person or other entity which places or maintains a newsrack on a public sidewalk or other public property of the city shall have his or its name, address, and telephone number affixed thereto in a place where such information may be easily seen. However, such information shall not take up space on the rack in excess of six (6) square inches.
E. Location And Placement: Any newsrack which rests in whole or in part upon, or on any portion of a public right of way or which projects onto, into, or over any part of a public right of way shall be located in accordance with the following provisions:
1. No newsrack shall be used or maintained which projects onto, into, or over any part of the roadway or any public street, or which rests wholly or in part upon, along, or over any portion of the roadway or park strip of any public street.
2. No newsrack shall be chained, bolted, or otherwise attached to any fixture located in the public right of way, or any post, pole, semaphore, or governmental sign which may be adjacent to the right of way. Such prohibition includes all public utility poles, all streetlight poles, and other facilities placed and maintained by local, state, or federal governmental authorities.
a. No newsrack shall be placed, installed, used, or maintained:
(1) Within five feet (5') of any marked crosswalk.
(2) Within fifteen feet (15') of the curb return of any unmarked crosswalk.
(3) Within five feet (5') of any fire hydrant or other emergency facility.
(4) Within five feet (5') of any driveway.
(5) Within three feet (3') ahead or twenty five feet (25') to the rear of any sign marking a designated bus stop.
(6) Within five feet (5') of the outer end of any bus bench enclosure.
(7) At any location whereby the clear space for the passageway of pedestrians is reduced to less than six feet (6').
(8) Within three feet (3') of or on any public area improved with lawn, flowers, shrubs, trees, or other landscaping, or within three feet (3') of any display window of any building abutting the sidewalk or park strip or in such a manner as to impede or interfere with the reasonable use of such window for display purposes.
(9) Within one hundred feet (100') of any other newsrack on the same side of the street in the same block containing the same issue or edition of the same publication.
(10) No newsrack shall be erected near any driveway or intersection for vehicular traffic within a triangular area formed by the intersection of straight lines extended from the back of curb (or a future curb) and a line connecting them at points sixty feet (60') from the intersection of the lines. Deviations from these requirements must be reviewed and approved by the city engineer. (See section 13.26.050, figure 2 of this chapter.)
(11) On any access ramp for disabled persons.
3. For locations upon private property, the newsrack shall be placed adjacent to the building and be located near or at the main entrance to the facility. They shall not be placed in such a manner to act as a billboard or similar off premises advertising sign.
F. Newsrack And Stand Design: No newsrack shall extend above fifty six inches (56") in height. All newsracks shall use dark brown or dark green coloring. Should the placement of more than one newspaper or periodical be desired, they will all be contained in one unit holding up to six (6) newspapers or periodicals. Should more than six (6) newspapers or periodicals be desired, another rack or stand may be used. Individual periodical dispensers/racks may not be placed next to one another. (See subsection H of this section for adjacent placement requirements.) (See figure 18 of this section.)
G. Examples Of Acceptable Rack And Stand Design: (See figure 18 of this section.)
FIGURE 18
H. Adjacent Placement Requirements: Newsracks may be placed next to each other provided there are more than six (6) newspapers or periodicals that cannot be placed in one unit, with not more than six inches (6") separating each newsrack. No more than two (2) 6-unit newsracks shall be located on any public right of way within a space of two hundred feet (200') in any direction within the same block.
I. Advertising Cards: No newsrack shall be used for advertising or display purposes except that newsrack cards may be used to advertise the publication sold therein, and the name of the publication may appear on the display window.
J. Standards For Maintenance And Installation: Any newsrack which in whole or in part rests upon, in, or over any public sidewalk or parkway shall comply with the following standards:
1. No newsrack shall be used for advertising signs or publicity purposes other than that dealing with the display, sale, or purchase of the newspaper or news periodical sold or distributed therein.
2. Each newsrack shall be equipped with a coin return mechanism to permit a person using the machine to secure an immediate refund in the event the person is unable to receive the paid for publication. The coin return mechanism shall be maintained in good working order.
3. Each newsrack shall have affixed to it in a readily visible place so as to be seen by anyone using the newsrack, a notice setting forth the name and address of the distributor and the telephone number of a working telephone service to call to report a malfunction, to secure a refund in the event of a malfunction of the coin return mechanism, or to give the notices provided for in this title.
4. Each newsrack shall be maintained in a neat and clean condition and in good repair at all times. Specifically, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, each newsrack shall be serviced and maintained so that:
a. It is reasonably free of dirt and grease.
b. It is reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling, and cracked paint in the visible painted areas thereof.
c. It is reasonably free of rust and corrosion in the visible unpainted metal areas thereon.
d. The clear plastic or glass parts thereof, if any, through which the publications therein are viewed are unbroken and reasonably free of cracks, dents, blemishes, and discoloration.
e. The paper or cardboard parts or inserts thereof are reasonably free of tears, peeling, or fading.
f. The structural parts thereof are not broken or unduly misshapen.
g. It is free of graffiti or other vandalism.
K. Display Of Certain Matter Prohibited: Publications offered for sale or free distribution from newsracks placed or maintained on or projecting over the street or sidewalk shall not be displayed or exhibited in a manner which exposes to public view from the street or sidewalk any of the following:
1. Any publication or material which exposes to public view any pictorial material that is obscene.
2. Any statements or words describing explicit sexual acts, sexual organs, or excrement where such statements or words have as their purpose or effect sexual arousal, gratification, or affront.
3. Any picture or illustration of a person's genitals, pubic hair, perineum, anus, or anal region where such picture or illustration has as its purpose or effect sexual arousal, gratification, or affront.
4. Any picture or illustration depicting explicit sexual acts as defined in this title where such picture or illustration has as its purpose or effect sexual arousal, gratification, or affront.
L. Violations: Upon determination by the director that a newsrack has been installed, used or maintained in violation of the provisions of this title, an order to correct the offending condition shall be issued to the distributor of the newsrack.
Such order shall be telephoned or made in person to the distributor and confirmed by mailing a copy of the order by certified mail return receipt requested. The order shall specifically describe the offending condition, suggest actions necessary to correct the condition, and inform the newsrack distributor of the right to appeal. Failure to properly correct the offending condition within five (5) days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after the mailing date of the order or to appeal the order within three (3) days after its receipt shall result in the offending newsrack being summarily removed and processed as unclaimed property. If the offending newsrack is not properly identified as to the owner under the provisions described herein, it shall be removed immediately and processed as unclaimed property. An impound fee, which shall be measured by the city's cost and expense of impounding, shall be assessed against each newsrack summarily removed. The director shall cause inspection to be made of the corrected condition or of a newsrack reinstalled after removal under this section.
M. Appeals: Any appeal shall be filed in accordance with the appeals chapter of this code.
N. Abandonment: In the event that a newsrack remains empty for a period of thirty (30) continuous days, the same shall be deemed abandoned and may be treated in the manner as provided in this chapter for newsracks in violation of the provisions of this chapter.
O. Severability: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this chapter is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter. (Ord. 15-13, 11-18-2015)