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HomeMy WebLinkAboutordinance.council.016-88 - CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO ORDINANCE No./k Series of 1981 Placement of Newsracks in Public Right-of-way . r;1:?~ OvPJ '"' An Ordinance amending Chapter 2l of the Municipal Code of the City of Aspen, Colorado to add Article VI, Section 21-111 through 21-120. ''"'- WHEREAS, the uncontrolled placement of newsracks in public rights-of-way presents an inconvenience and danger to the safety and welfare of persons using such rights-of-way, including pedestrians, persons entering and leaving vehicles and buildings, and persons performing essential utility, traffic control and emergency services; and WHEREAS, newsracks are located as to cause an inconvenience or danger to persons using public rights-of-way, and unsightly newsracks located therein, constitute public nuisances. WHEREAS, an amendment to Chapter 21 of the Aspen Municipal Code by the addition of Article VI, Section 2l-lll to 21-120 of the Municipal Code of the City of Aspen are necessary to effect regulation over the issuance of permits for placement of news- paper racks. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO: Section l. Chapter 2l of the Aspen Municipal Code, is hereby amended by the addition of Article IV, entitled "Placement of Newsracks", to read as follows: Article IV, Chapter 21 Sec. 21-111 Definitions. A. "Di str ibutor" shall mean the person responsible for placing and maintaining a news rack in a public right-of-way. .. i~ B. "Newsrack" means any self-service or coin-operated box, container, storage unit or other dispenser installed, used, or maintained for the display and sale of newspapers or other news periodicals. C. "Roadway" means that portion of a street improved designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel. D. "Sidewalk" means any surface including planted ---~--- _._-~----~- ---.--- - ,- areas provided for the exclusive use of pedestrians. E. "Street" means all that area dedicated to public use for public street purposes and shall include, but not be limited to, roadways, alleys and sidewalks. l Sec. 21-112 Permit Required It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to erect, place, maintain or operate, on any public street or sidewalk, or in any other public way or city owned or operated place or facility, within the City any news rack without first having obtained a permit from the Engineering Department specify- ing the exact location of such rack (s). Newsracks placed totally upon pr i vate property, or property not subject to the jurisdiction of the City of Aspen, are exempted from the require- ments of this Chapter. Only one permit shall be required of each distributor and such permit shall include any number of newsracks placed or maintained by such distr ibutor. The issuance of the permit is non-discretionary and the permit shall be issued by the Engineering Department upon the submission of a proper applica- tion and the payment of the fee required by Section 2l-ll4 (B) Sec. 2l-ll3 Application for Permit Application for such permit shall be made, in wr i ting, to the City Engineering Department upon such form as shall be provided, ~ and shall contain the name and address of the applicant, the proposed specific location(s) of said newsrack(s), and shall be signed by the applicant. Sec. 2l-ll4 Conditions of Permit A. As an express condition of the acceptance of such permit, the permittee thereby agrees to indemnify and save harmless the City, its officers, council members, mayor and employees against any loss or liability or damage, including expenses and costs for bodily or personal injury, and for property damage sustained by any person as the result of the installation, use, or maintenance of a newsrack within the City of Aspen, Colorado. -- B. Permits shall be issued for the installation of a news rack or newsracks with upon inspection of the location but such newsrack or news racks and the installation, use or maintenance thereof shall be conditioned upon observance of the provisions of this Chapter and such reasonable rules and regulations as may be established from time to time. Permits shall be issued by the Engineering Department within seventy-two (72) hours after the application has been filed. An annual permit fee of $25.00 is required. .".- C. The annual permit shall be valid from January 1st until December 31st of the year of issuance. The annual permit fee shall be prorated to the nearest whole month for those permits issued after the beginn- ing of any year. The permits shall be renewed by the City Engineering Department upon payment of the annual permit fee. \. Sec. 2l-ll5 Standards for Maintenance and Installation. Any newsrack which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over any public sidewalk shall comply with the following standards: A. No individual newsrack shall exceed five (5) feet in height, thirty two (32) inches in width, or two (2) feet in depth. Condo racks are required in the commercial core zone district bounded by Garmish St. to Original St; Main St. to Dean St. and may be used in other areas. '-- B. Newsracks may be utilized for purposes of advert- ising the sale of the newspapers or periodicals sold therein only on the front panel for purposes of publicizing charitable or community services and activities of a non-profit nature; or for other public service purposes. Newsracks may not be utilized for purposes of advertising or directing attention to any business, commodity, service or activity, conducted, sold or offered other than from such newsrack. C. Where applicable 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 he is unable to receive the publication paid for. The coin return mechanisms shall be maintained in good working order. D. Each newsrack shall have aff ixed to it, in a readily visible place so as to be seen by anyone using the newsrack, a notice setting forth the name, address and telephone number of the distributor so that malfunctions may be reported; refunds secured in the event of a malfunction of the coin return mechanism; or to give the notices provided for in this Chapter. E. 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: ( -- l. It is reasonably free of dirt and grease. - l "- <~ 2. It is reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling, and cracked paint in the visible painted areas thereof. 3. It is reasonably free of rust and corrosion in the visible unpainted metal areas thereon. 4. The clear plastic or glass parts thereof, if any, through which the publica- tions therein are viewed are unbroken and reasonably free of cracks, dents, blemishes and discoloration. 5. The paper or cardboard parts or inserts thereof are reasonably free of tears, peeling or fading. 6. The structural parts thereof are not broken or unduly misshapen. Sec. 2l-ll6 Location and Placement of Newsracks. Any news rack 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 provisions of this section: A. No newsrack shall be used or maintained which projects onto, into, or over any part of the roadway of any public street. B. No newsrack shall be chained, bolted, or otherwise attached or affixed to any municipally owned fixtures, including but not limited to street signs, light posts, traffic control devices, decorative railings and posts located in the public right-of-way. Newsracks may be chained, bolted or otherwise attached to other newsracks or privately owned fixtures so long as such placement otherwise complies with this Chapter and provided that permission for such connection has been obtained from the owner of the other newsracks or fixture. C. Newsracks may be placed next to each other provided that no group of newsracks shall extend for a distance of more than eight (8) feet along a curb. D. No newsrack shall be placed, installed, used or maintained: 1. Within three (3) feet of any marked crosswalk. ~ 2. Within twelve (12) feet of any curb return. \.. 3. Within five (5) feet of any fire hydrant, fire call box, pol i ce call box or other emergency facility. 4. Within five (5) feet of any driveway. 5. At any location whereby the clear space for the passageway of pedestrians is reduced to less than six (6) feet unless such passageway is already restricted by the placement of a permanent utility pole or other similar permanent fixture and the attachment of the newsrack to that fixture or placement of the newsrack adjacent to that fixture will not substantially reduce the remaining clear space available for pedest- rian passage. c" . """'--- 6. Within three (3) feet of or on any public area improved with flowers, shrubs, trees or other landscaping. 7. Wi thin two hundred seventy five (275) feet radius of any other conglomerate newsrack. Sec. 2l-ll7 Violations ( . Upon determination by the Chief of Police or a designated agent that a newsrack has been installed, used or maintained in violation of the provisions of this Chapter, the Chief shall issue an order directed to the offending distributor requiring the correction of the offending condition within seven (7) days from the dates of the order. Such order shall be telephoned to the distributor and confirmed by mailing a copy of the order to said distributor. The order shall specifically describe the offending condition and shall specify the action necessary to correct the condition. The failure of the distributor to correct the offending condition within seven (7) days (excluding Satur- days, Sundays and legal hOlidays) after the mailing date of the order shall result in the offending newsrack being removed and processed as unclaimed property under this Code. If the offend- ing newsrack is not properly identified as to ownership under the provisions of Section (D) hereof, it shall be removed immediately and processed as unclaimed property under this Code. Within seven (7) days of said notice the distributor may request an informal meeting with the Chief of Police or designated agent with regard to a resolution of the order referred to herein in which case the informal meeting shall be held within five (5) working days from the date of said request and the appeal time referred to in Section 2l-ll8 shall commence and begin to run as of the date of the informal meeting. (. Sec. 2l-ll8 Appeals l""",--- Any person or entity aggrieved by a finding, determination, notice or action taken under the provisions of this Chapter may appeal and shall be appraised of his right to appeal to the City Council. An appeal must be perfected within seven (7) days after receipt of notice of any protested decision or action by filing with the office of the Engineering Department a letter of appeal br iefly stating therein the basis for such appeal. A hear ing shall be held on a date no more than thirty (30) days after receipt of the letter of appeal. Appellant shall be given at least ten (10) days notice of the time and place of the hearing. The City Council shall give the appellant, and any other interes- ted party, a reasonable opportunity to be heard, in order to show cause why the determination of the Police Chief or designated agent should not be upheld. At such hearing the appellant shall have the right to examine the evidence upon which the Police Chief or designated agent acted, to cross examine any witnesses who may have appeared before him and to offer any evidence which may tend to show that the subject newsrack does not violate any provision of this Chapter. In all such cases, the burden of proof shall be upon the appellant to show that there was not evidence to support the action taken by the Police Chief or designated agent. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Ci ty Council shall make an final and conclusive determination. The perfection of an appeal to the City Council shall stay the order for removal of any newsracks until the City Council makes its final determination unless said newsrack presents a clear and present danger of imminent personal injury or property damage. Nothing contained in this Chapter shall be interpreted to limit or impair the exercise by the City of its police power, in the event of an emergency, to remove any such newsrack. Sec. 2l-ll9 Revocation In addition to the enforcement procedures provided in Section 21- III of this Chapter, upon the third violation of any provision of this Chapter within a period of one year, the City Engineer Department shall revoke the permit for placement of newsracks and the distributor shall forthwith remove all newsracks covered by said permit. "Violation" as contained herein shall mean any violation of which the distributor has been notified pursuant to Section 2l-ll7 and which was not corrected with the times provided therein, the determination of which has not been withdrawn by the Police Chief or designated agent after the informal meeting established by Section 21-117 or which has not been overturned by the City Councilor any reviewing court. Sec. 2l-l20 Abandonment ~ In the event 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 Section 2l-ll7 for newsracks in violation of the provisions of this Chapter. Section 2. l All newsracks resting 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, as of the effective date of this ordinance, shall be brought into compliance with the terms of this Ordinance no later than thirty (30) days following adoption of this ordinance. Any newsrack not found to be in compliance with the requirements of this ordinance as of such date shall be subject to Section 21-117 entitled "Violations of Ordinance". Section 3. The City Council hereby finds, determines, and declares that this Ordinance is necessary and proper to provide for the safety, preserve the health, promote the prosperity, improve the morals, order, comfort and convenience of the City of Aspen and the inhabitants thereof. Section 4. .r ( '- Except as specifically amended hereby, the Citv of Aspen Municipal Code, and the various secondary codes adopted by reference therein, shall continue in full force and effect. Section 5. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holdings shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion hereof. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance and each section, sub- section, sentence, clause, phrase, part or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that anyone or more of the sections, subsections, clauses, phrases, part or portions may be declared invalid or unconstitutional. Section 6. A public hearing on the ordinance shall be held on the ____ day of , 1987, in the City Council Chambers of the City of Aspen. INTRODUCED, READ, APPROVED AND ORDERED PUBLISHED in full on ( first reading this day of July, 1987. '- - CITY OF ASPEN r '- - (f By Mayor, William L. Stirling ATTEST: City Clerk, Kathryn S. Koch PASSED AND ADOPTED ON FINAL READING AND ORDERED PUBLISHED BY TITLE this day of July, 1987. CITY OF ASPEN By Mayor, William L. Stirling ATTEST: City Clerk, Kathryn S. Koch