O2273f:\atty\muni\laws\barry\Newsrack Ordinance Amendments(2)Ord1014082d
City Council Meeting: October 14, 2008 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER zz~3 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 6.28 RELATING TO
PUBLICATION VENDING MACHINES (NEWSRACKS)
WHEREAS, Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 6.28 ("Publication Vending
Machines Ordinance") and Public Works Department Newsrack Guidelines establish
standards for the permitting, installation, and maintenance of newsracks;. and
WHEREAS, the Publication Vending Machines Ordinance and the administrative
guidelines are applicable to all newsracks in the City; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of these requirements is to promote the public health,
safety and welfare through the regulation of public vending machines (newsracks) in the"'
public right-of-way ih order to provide for pedestrian and driving safety, to restrict
unreasonable interference with pedestrian and vehicular traffic flow, to eliminate
newsracks that may result in visual blight and visual clutter, to maintain property values,
and to reduce City exposure to claims based on personal injury or property damage;
and
WHEREAS, the public distribution of newspapers through newsracks is entitled
to First Amendment protection; and
WHEREAS, the City's Publication Vending Machine Ordinance does hot infringe
on this constitutional right since the ordinance authorizes newspapers to be sold from
hundreds of locations throughout the City, allows newsrack strings to be easily seen
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and identified through their distinctive shape thereby being readily distinguishable from
other types of street furniture, and allows the individual paper's masthead, headline, and
lead stories and photos to be seen from the newsrack so that a prospective purchaser
can easily select the desired publication; and
WHEREAS, the City is authorized to impose reasonable time, place and manner
regulations on the use of newsracks to protect legitimate state .interests including
aesthetics and safety; and
WHEREAS, the City advances these interests by regulating newsracks' size,
type, number, construction, and location, and by establishing maintenance
requirements; and
WHEREAS, requiring a standard style newsrack with standard panel face
ensures that the newsrack string is a visually coherent, unobtrusive structure and is not
a visual distraction resulting in possible accidents or traffic slowdowns; and
WHEREAS, the City has an extensive and wide-ranging program of regulating
aesthetics of its public streetscape and private development; and
WHEREAS, the proposed amendments to the Publication Vending Machine
Ordinance will further improve aesthetics and safety by making the newsrack
regulations uniform throughout the City
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
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SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 6.28.030 is hereby amended
to read as follows:
6.28.030 Requirements and duties.
(a) General Newsrack Requirements.
The following requirements and duties shall apply to all newsracks in the City on
the public right-of-way:
(1) Newsracks shall be kept clean, and maintained in good working order at
all times, freshly painted and with unbroken hoods.
(2) The name, address and telephone number of a responsible person who
may be contacted at any time concerning the newsrack shall be displayed on the hood
of the newsrack in such manner as to be readily visible and readable to a prospective
customer thereof
(3) Frames and racks for newsracks shall be K-Jack Model 100 (KJ M-100) or
a dimensionally equivalent model with the same style hood, paneling, and pedestal.
(4) The entire newsrack shall be primarily constructed of metal and the color
of the frame must be olive drab, otherwise known as K-Jack Brown. The newsrack shall
have painted olive drab panels on all four sides of the display casing.
(5) Newsracks shall be supported by a single .pedestal base, arid be
permanently mounted. The pedestal base shall be all painted gloss black, and shall be
bolted in place in accordance with specifications provided by .the Public Works
Department and only at locations designated by such department.
(6) Newsracks shall not carry advertising except the name of the newspaper or
periodical being dispensed on the bottom one third of the plastic hood.
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(7) No person shall place, affix,. erect, construct or maintain a newsrack upon
any public right of way without first obtaining a.permit in accordance with the provisions
of this Chapter.
(b) Provisions Supplemental to Business License Regulations. The
provisions of this Chapter are intended to augment and be in addition to the provisions
providing for a business license tax. Whenever the provisions of this Chapter impose a
greater restriction upon persons, premises or practices than is imposed by the general
business license regulations, the provisions of this Chapter shall control.
SECTION 2. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 6.28.040 is hereby amended
to read as follows:
6.28.040 Standards for maintenance and installation.
Any publication vending machine which in whole or in part rests upon,. in or over
any public sidewalk or parkway, shall comply with the following standards:
(a) Publication vending machines shall only be placed near a curb or adjacent
to a .wall or a building. Such machines placed near the curb shall be placed no less
than eighteen inches nor more than twenty-four inches from the edge of the curb. Those
machines placed adjacent to the wall of a building shall be placed parallel to such wall
and not more than six inches from the wall. No such machine shall be placed or
maintained on the sidewalk or parkway opposite another publication vending machine
or group of such machines.
(b) No publication vending machine shall be chained, bolted or otherwise
attached to property not owned by the owner of said machine or to any permanently
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fixed object, unless the custodian of said machine shall have first obtained the writteh
permission of the owner of the object to which the machine is affixed.
(c) Publication vending machines may be placed next to each other, provided
that no group of said machines shall extend more than eight feet along a curb or wall
and a space of no less than three feet shall separate each such group of machines.
(d) No publication vending machine shall be placed, installed, used or
maintained:
(1) Within five feet of any marked crosswalk;
(2) Within fifteen feet of the curb return, of any unmarked crosswalk;
(3) Within five feet of any fire hydrant, fire call box, police call box or any other
emergency facility;
(4) Within five feet of any driveway;
(5) Within five feet ahead of or twenty-five feet to the rear of any sign marking
a designated bus stop;
(6) Within five feet of any bus bench;
(7) At any location whereby the clear space -for the passageway of
pedestrians is reduced to less than six feet;
(8) Within three feet of any area improved with lawn, flowers, shrubs or trees,
or within three feet of any display window or any building abutting the .sidewalk or
parkway or in such manner as to impede or interfere with the reasonable use of such
window for display purposes;
(g) Within one hundred fifty feet of another newsrack containing the same
newspaper or news periodical except where separated by a street or corner, or except
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where a newspaper demonstrates that there is insufficient room in one machine for the
newspapers which may be sold 'in one day.
(10) Facing another newsrack, divided only by the width of a sidewalk or
pedestrian walk.
(11) In a manner inconsistent with the Newsrack Guidelines adopted by the
Public Works Department pursuant to Section 6.28.120.
(e) No such machine shall be used for advertising signs or publicity purposes
other than dealing with the display sale, or purchase of the publications sold therein.
(f) Each such machine shall be maintained in a clean, neat and attractive
condition and in good repair at all times, and no issue or edition of any publication shall
be allowed to remain in any such machine for a period in excess of seven days from the
date of initial issuance or publication, whichever is sooner.
SECTION 3. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 6.28.060 is hereby amended
to read as follows:
6.28.060 Removal of newsracks.
(a) Nonconforming Newsracks.
(1) Commencing ninety days after Ordinance Number (CCS) becomes
effective, any newsrack in violation of any provision of this ordinance will be deemed
nonconforming except existing woodg~ain panels in good condition. The City may attach
a notice to correct to a nonconforming newsrack, that shall state the nature of the
violation and the rights of the owner of the nonconforming newsrack under this Chapter.
In addition to such notice, and contemporaneously therewith, the Director of Public
Works shall make all reasonable efforts to notify the owner of the violation, and inform
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him or her of-his rights. Within ten working days after the notice is attached, the owner
may either cure the violation, or file a written protest and request a hearing with the
Director of Public Works. Any decision of the Director of Public Works shall be in writing
and is final.
(2) If the violation is not corrected and/or the Director of Public Works upholds
the decision that the. newsrack is in violation of this ordinance, the City may impound the
newsrack and shall make all reasonable efforts to notify the permittee or his authorized
agent of the impoundment.
(3) Upon failure of the permittee to claim an impounded newsrack and pay the
expenses of such removal and storage within thirty days after removal, the newsrack
shall be deemed unclaimed property and may be disposed of by the City pursuant to
applicable provisions of this Code.
(b) Abandonment.
(1) If any newsrack installed pursuant to this Chapter does not contain the
publication specified in the application therefore within a period of forty-eight hours after
release of the current issue, or if no publication is in the newsrack for a period of more
than seven consecutive days, the newsrack may be considered abandoned and
nonconforming. The Director of Public Works shall notify the owner and take action to
remove the newsrack from the public right-of-way in accordance with the procedure set
out in subsection (a) of this Section
(2) In the event a permittee of a newsrack desires to voluntarily abandon a
newsrack location, said permittee shall completely remove the newsrack and mount,
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and restore the public right-of-way to a safe condition, leaving no holes or projections in
the pavement.
(c) Hearing. The owner (permittee) may, within thirty days of the impoundment,
request in writing a hearing before the City Manager or his/her designee for the purpose
of demonstrating that the newsrack was not rightfully impounded and should be
returned to the permittee. The City Manager shall establish procedures for the- conduct
and timing of this hearing.
SECTION 4. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 6.28.070 is hereby amended
to read as follows:
6.28.070 Application and issuance of permits.
(a) Applications. The applicant shall file with the Director of Public Works a
written application for a permit which shall contain 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 city may notify or contact at any time concerning the applicant's newsrack.
(3) The number of newsracks and the proposed location of each.
(4) Names of newspapers or periodicals to be contained in each newsrack.
(5) Type or brand of newsrack, including description of the newsrack and
mount, if other than K-Jack Style Mount Model 100.
(b) Issuance of Permits. Upon a finding by the Director of Public Works that the
applicant is in compliance with the provisions of this Chapter, he shall issue a permit in
accordance with application and the provisions of this Chapter.
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(c) Denial of Permit. If a permit shall be denied, the applicant shall be
immediately notified of the specific cause of such denial by the Director of Pubiic Works.
SECTION 5. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 6.28.080 is hereby amended
to read as follows:
6.28.080 Insurance.
Prior. to the issuance of a permit by the Director of Public Works, the applicant shall
furnish to the Director of Public Works a certificate of commercial general liability
insurance.("CGL") that the applicant has then in force and effect, naming the City as an
additional insured, in an amount not less than five hundred thousand dollars minimum
liability per occurrence/and in the gerieral aggregate. The insurance shall be obtained
from an insurer with a current A.M. Best's rating of no less than A-:6. The evidence of
insurance filed with the Director of Public Works shall include a written statement by the
insurance carrier that coverage shall not be cancelled except after (30) thirty days prior
written notice, or ten (10) days prior written notice for non payment of premium, has
been given to the City by certified mail before any cancellation of coverage. The
Director of Risk Management may authorize a program of self-insurance if it contains an
equivalent level of coverage and protection to the City.
SECTION 6. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 6.28.090 is hereby amended
to read as follows:
6.28.090 Fees.
There shall be an annual permit fee established by resolution of the City Council,
in an amount sufficient to cover the actual costs of the newsrack program including
permitting, inspection, and administration. This fee shall be adjusted annually for
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inflation by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index ("CPI") commencing on
July 1, 2009 and on July 1St of each year thereafter. The cost of installation,
maintenance, replacement, removal, and relocation of newsracks shall be at the sole
expense of the owner or permittee.
SECTION 7. Section 6.28.120 is hereby added to the Santa Monica Municipal
Code to read as follows:
6.28.120. Administrative Guidelines.
The Director of Public Works Management shall have the authority to promulgate
and or adopt administrative regulations that are consistent with and further the terms
and the requirements of this Chapter. All administrative guidelines shall be in writing.
SECTION 8. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices
thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such
inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 9. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall .not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would
have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
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SECTION 10. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage
of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the
official newspaper within 15 .days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become
effective 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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Approved and adopted this 14th day of Octobe
State of California )
County of Los Angeles) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Maria Stewart, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that the
foregoing Ordinance No. 2273 (CCS) had its introduction on September 16th, 2008, and
was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on October 14th, 2008, by
the following vote:
Ayes: Council members
Noes: Council members:
Abstain: Council members:
Absent: Council members:
Genser, Holbrook, McKeown, Shriver
Mayor Katz
None
None
O'Connor
Mayor Pro Tem Bloom
A summary of Ordinance No. 2273 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to California
Government Code Section 40806.
ATTEST:
r---
Maria Stewart, City Jerk