O943
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ORDINANCE NO. 943
(CITY COUNCIL SERIES)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA REGULATING
THE INSTALLATION, USE AND MAINTENANCE
OF PUBLICATION VENDING MACHINES.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES
HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2A is hereby added to Article VI
of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, to read as follows:
CHAPTER 2A PUBLICATION VENDING MACHINES.
Section 6250. Definitions.
For the purpose of this chapter, certain words and phrases
shall be construed as set forth in this section, unless it is
apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended:
A. PUBLICATION VENDING MACHINES. A Publication
Vending Machine means any self-service or coin-operated box,
container, storage unit or other dispenser installed, used or
maintained for the display or sale of any written or printed
material, including but not limited to, newspapers, news
periodicals, magazines, books, pictures, photographs, and
records.
B. STREET. Street means all that area dedicated
to public use for public street purposes and shall include but
not be limited to, roadway, parkways, alleys and sidewalks.
C. ROADWAY. Roadway means that portion of a
street improved, designed or customarily used for vehicular
travel.
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D. PARKWAY. Parkway means that area between
the sidewalks and the curb of any street and where there is no
sidewalk, that area between the edge of the roadway and the
property line adjacent thereto. Parkways shall also include
any area within a roadway which is not open to vehicular traffic.
E. CUSTODIAN. That person or persons who have the
responsibility of placing, servicing or maintaining a Publication
Vending Machine by deposit~ng and/or removing material from said
machine and/or by cOllecting monies from said machine.
Section 6251. Prohibition of Machines on Roadways.
No person shall install, use or maintain any Publication Vending
Machine or other structure which projects onto, into or over any
part of the roadway of any public street or which rests, wholly
or in part, upon, along, or over any portion of the roadway of
any public street.
Section 6252. Dangerous Conditions or Obstructions.
No person shall install, use or maintain any Publication Vending
Machine which in whole or in part rests upon, in, or over any
public sidewalk or parkway, when such installation, use or
maintenance endangers the safety of persons or property, or when
such site or location is used for public utility purposes,
public transportation purposes or other governmental use, or when
such Publication Vending Machine unreasonably interferes with or
impedes the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic including
any legally marked or stopped vehicle, the ingress into or egress
from any residence or place of business, or the use of poles,
posts, traffic signs or signals, hydrarls, mailboxes, or other
objects permitted at or near said location.
Section 6253. Standards for Maintenance and
Installation.
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Any Bublication 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} No publication Vending Machine shall exceed
five (5) feet in heigh~~ thirty (30) inches in width, or two (2)
feet in thickness.
B} 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 (18) inches nor more than twenty-four (24) 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 (6) 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.
C) 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 fixed object, unless
the Custodian of said machine shall have first obtained the
written permission of the owner of the object to which the
machine is affixed.
D) Publication Vending Machines may be placed
next to each other, provided that no group of said machines
shall extend more than eight (8) feet along a curb or wall and
a space of no less than three (3) feet shall separate each such
group of machines.
E) Such machines may be chained or otherwise
attached to one another, provided no more than three (3) such
machines may be joined together in this manner~d a space of
no less than three (3) feet shall separate each group of three
(3) such machines so attached.
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F) No such machine or group of such machines
permitted under Paragraph E hereof, shall weigh, in the aggregate,
in excess of one hundred twenty five (125) pounds when empty.
G) Notwithstanding any other provis~on of this
chapter, no Publication Vending Machine shall be placed, installed,
used or maintained:
[1] Within five (5) feet of any marked
crosswalk;
[2] Within fifteen (15) feet of the curb
return of any unmarked crosswalk;
[3] Within five (5) feet of any fire hydrant,
fire call box, police call box or any other emergency facility;
[4] Within five (5) feet of any driveway;
(5) Within five (5) feet ahead of or twenty
five (25) feet to the rear of any sign marking a designated bus
stop;
t6] Within six (6) feet of any bus bench;
[7] In any location whereby the cross space
or the passageway of pedestrians is reduced to less than six (6)
feet;
[8] Within three (3) feet of any area improved
with lawn, flowers, shrubs or trees, or within three (3) 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;
[9] Within one hurtdred (100) feet of any other
such machine on the same side of the street within the same
block containing the same edition of the same publication.
H) No such machine shall be used for advertising
signs or publicity purposes other than dealing with the display
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sale, or purchase of the publications sold ~herein.
I) 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 (7)
days from the date of initial issuance or publication, whichever
is SOOner.
Section 6254. Standards for Materials Sold.
A) No publication which is prohibited by the laws
of the State from sale or distribution to minors, may be offered
for sale to the public unless such offer of sale is made or
maintained in the presence of an attendant with the ability to
prevent the purchase of such publication by a minor.
B) No publication may be offered for sale to
the pUblic on any public right-of-way by means of such Publication
Vending Machine in such manner as to expose to the public view
any photograph or drawing contained within such publication
displaying any of the following:
[1] The genitals, pubic hair, buttocks, natal
cleft, perineum, anal region or pubic hair region of any person,
other than a child under the age of puberty:
[2] Any portion of the breast, at or below
the areola, of any female person, other than a child under the
age of puberty.
C) Every person is guilty of a misdemeanor who
causes, permits, procures, counsels or assists in an offer of
sale of any such publication in violation of this section.
D) Any publication offered for sale in violation
of this section constitutes a ppblic nuisance.
Section 6255. Authority of Director of Public Works
to Adopt Regulations.
The Director of Public Works is hereby empowered to adopt
reasonable standards and regulations to implement the provisions
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and purposes of this chapter~ based upon street and pedestrian
traffic requirement~ access to parking places and facilities, and
public health safety and welfare.
Section 6256. Information Required.
Every person or custodian who places or maintains a Publication
Vending Machine on a public sidewalk or parkway within the City
shall have his or its name, addressmd telephone number affixed
thereto in a place where such information may be easily seen and
shall comply fully with the provisions of Sl7570 of the Business
and Professions Code of the State of California as it exists on
the date of this ordinance or as may be hereafter amended.
Section 6257. Business License Required.
It shall be unlawful for any person or custodian, whether as a
principal or agent, clerk or employee, either for himself or for
any other person or body corporate or as an officer of any
corporation or otherwise, to place or permit the placement of any
publication in a Publication Vending Machine within the City unless
either the publisher or distributor has a valid business license
within the City.
Section 6258. Hold Harmless.
Every person or custodian who places or maintains such a machine
on a public sidewalk or parkway in the City of Santa Monica, shall
file a written statement with the City Clerk sauisfactory to the
City Attorney, whereby he or it agrees to indemnify and hold
harmless, the City, its officers, directors or employees, from
any loss or liability or damages, including expenses and costs,
for bodily or personal injury, and for property damage sustained
by any person as a result of the ins~lation, use, or maintenance
of such a machine within the City of Santa Monica.
Section 6259. Insurance.
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The owner or custodian shall provide and keep in force during
the time that such a machine is allowed to remain on public
property, a policy of public liability insurance against liability
for injuries to persons or property arising out of accidents
attributable to the newspaper or magazine racks or stands or
Publication Vending Machines on City property, in the amounts
determined by the City Attorney, with limits of at least
One Hundred Thousand ($100,000) Dollars for injury or death to
anyone person, Three Hundred Thousand ($300,000) Dollars for
injury or death arising from anyone accident or occurrence, and
Ten Thousand ($10,000) Dollars for property damage. The policy
of insurance so provided shall contain a contractural liability
endorsement covering the liability assumed by the permittee by
the terms of his permit and shall contain a provision that such
policy may not be cancelled except after thirty (30) days notice
in writing given to the City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica.
Copies of these policies or certificates evidencing the same
shall be filed with the City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica,
after approval of the City Attorney.
Section 6260. Machines in Violation of this Ordinance.
Upon determination by the Director of Public Works that a
Publication Vending Machine has been installed, used or maintained
in violation of the provisions of this chapter, an order to
correct the offending condition will be issued to the owner or
custodian of said machine. Such order shall be telephoned to
the owner or custodian and confirmed by mailing a copy of said
order by certified mail, return receipt requested. The order
shall specifically qescribe the offending condition and suggest
actions necessary to correct it. Failure to properly correct
the offending condition within five (5) days after the mailing
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of the order shall result in the offending machine being
summarily removed and processed as unclaimed property under
applicable provisions of law relating thereto. If the offending
machine is not properly identified as to the owner, under the
provisions of this chapter, it shall be removed immediately and
processed as unclaimed property under applicable provisions of
law. The Director of Public Works shall cause inspection to
be made of the corrected condition or of the machine reinstalled
after removal under this section. The owner or custodian of said
machine shall be charged a Ten ($IO.~O) Dollars inspection fee
for each such machine so inspected, which charge shall be in
addition to all other fees and charges required by law.
Section 6261. Appeals.
Any person or entity aggrieved by finding notice or action taken
under the provisions of this chapter, may appeal, and shall be
apprised of his right to appeal to the Sa~ta M~nica Plann~ng
Commission or such other body as is designated by the City Council to
hear such appeals. An appeal must be perfected within three (3)
days after receipt of notice of any protested decision or action,
by filing with the office of the Director of Public Works, a
letter of appeal briefly stating therein the basis for such appeal.
The hearing shall be held on a date no more than ten (10) days
after the receipt of the letter of appeal. Appellant shall be
given at least five (5) days notice of the time and place of the
hearing. The appellant body shall give the appellant, and any
other interested party, a reasonable opportunity to be heard
in order to show cause why the determination of the Director of
Public Works should not be upheld. In all such cases, the burden
of proef shall be upon the appellant,to show that there was no
substantial evidence to support the action taken by the Director
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of Public Works. At. the conclusion of the hearing, the appellant
board shall make a final and conclusive determination.
Section 6262. Other violations.
In the case of violations of thE ordinance relative to restrictions
upon attachments of said machines to property other than that
owned by the owner of the machine, to fixed objects or each other,
and upon locations of said machines, any City employee authorized by
the Director of Public Works, may, as an alternative to removal
under the provisions of this chapter, remove such attachment and/or
move such machine in order to restore them to a legal condition.
SECTION 2.. Severability. If any section, subsection,
sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason
held to be invalid or unconSitutional by the decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not effect
the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The
City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this
ordinance, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or
phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that anyone or more of
the sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases hereof
would be declared invalid or unconSitutional.
SECTION 3. Any person violating any of the provisions
of this ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon
conviction thereof, shall b~ subject to a fine not exceeding
Five Hundred($500) Dollars or six (6) months in the county jail
of Los Angeles County, or both such fine and imprisonment in the
discretion of the court.
SECTION 4. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal
Code or appendices thereto and consistent herewith to the
extent of such incons~encies and no further, are hereby
repealed.
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SECTION 5. 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 fifteen days after its adoption. This ordinance
shall become effective after thirty days from its adoption.
ADOPTED this
8th
day of
January, 1974
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Mayor
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ATTESt:
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I lfi ty' Cl91:"k
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ss.
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
I do hereby certify that the foregoing ordinance was duly
and regularly introduced at a meeting of the City Council on the
11 th day of
December
I 1973~ that thereafter the said
ordinance was duly adopted at a meeting of the City Council on the
8th day of
January
, 197~, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmen: Judson, Lawson, McCloskey,
Swink, Trives, Hoover
NOES: Councilmen: None
ABSENT: Councilmen: van den Steenhoven
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{Y-'Y [Cl'~
l2PROVED AS TO, FJrJuORM: "
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~ Ctty'Attdrney
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