HomeMy WebLinkAbout812 - OrdinancesORDINANCE NO. 812
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CALIFORNIA, MAKING TECHNICAL
CHANGES TO THE CITY'S NEWSRACK REGULATIONS, AND
AMENDING TITLE 12 OF THE RANCHO CUCAMONGA
MUNICIPAL CODE
Section 1. Chapter 12.16 of Title 12 of the Rancho Cucamonga Municipal Code is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Chapter 12.16
"Sections:
REGULATION OF NEWSRACKS
12.16.010 Intent and purpose.
12.16.020 Definitions.
12.16.030 Compliance with newsrack standards required.
12.16.040 Prohibited installations.
12.16.050 Placement standards.
12.16.060 Maintenance standards.
12.16.070 Display of certain matter prohibited.
12.16.080 Display of harmful matter.
12.16.090 Violation--Notice to owner.
12.16.100 Impounding of newsracks--When authorized.
12.16.110 Impounding of newsracks--Notice to owner.
12.16.120 Return of impounded newsracks--Conditions.
12.16.130 Sale or disposal after impoundment.
12.16.140 Impoundment--Hearing procedures.
12.16.150 Appeals.
12.16.160 Restoration following newsrack removal.
12.18.010 Intent and purpose.
The city council of the City of Rancho Cucamonga finds that newsracks, stands, containers, and
similar newspaper and vending devices have proliferated and increased in areas of the City of
Rancho Cucamonga to the extent that, in some instances, they constitute a threat to the public
health, safety, and welfare by impeding pedestrian traffic and interfering with ingress and egress
to and from buildings, vehicles, and public modes of transportation. The purpose of this chapter
is to promote the public health, safety, and welfare through the regulation of placement,
appearance, number, and size and servicing of newsracks on public rights-of-way so as to:
A. Provide for pedestrian and driving safety and convenience;
B. Insure no unreasonable interference with the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic
including ingress into, or egress from, any residence or place of business, or from the
street to the sidewalk, by persons exiting or entering parked or standing vehicles;
C. Provide reasonable access for the use and maintenance of sidewalks, poles, posts, traffic
signs or signals, hydrants, mailboxes, and access to locations used for public
transportation services;
D. Reduce visual blight on the public rights-of-way and protect the aesthetics of store window
displays, public landscaping, and other improvements;
E. Maintain and protect the value of surrounding properties;
Reduce exposure to the city to personal injury or property damage claims and litigation;
G. Protect the right to distribute information as protected by the state and federal
constitutions through the use of newsracks;
H. Avoid interference with the emergency activities of public safety agencies. 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 newspapers or other written
materials.
12.16.020 Definitions.
For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall be construed to have the
meanings herein set forth, unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is
intended: 'Director' means the director of community development of the City of Rancho
Cucamonga or his or her designee. 'Explicit sexual acts' means depictions of sexual
intercourse, oral copulation, anal intercourse, oral-anal copulation, bestiality, sadism,
masochism, or excretory functions in conjunction with sexual activity, masturbation, or lewd
exhibition of genitals, whether any of the above conduct is depicted or described as being
performed alone or between members of the same or opposite sex or between humans and
animals, or other acts of sexual arousal involving any physical contact with a person's genitals,
pubic region, pubic hair, perineum, anus, or anal region.
'Newsrack' means any self-service or coin-operated box, container, storage unit, or other
dispenser, including any attached support structure, that is installed, used, or maintained for the
display, sale, or distribution of any publication. 'Owner' means any person or company whose
name appears as an owner on a newsrack as required by Section 12.16.050 L of this chapter.
'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 travel.
'Public right-of-way' means any place of any nature which is dedicated to use by the public for
pedestrian and vehicular travel, and includes, but is not limited to, a street, sidewalk, curb,
gutter, public easement, crossing, intersection, parkway, highway, alley, lane, mall, court, way,
avenue, boulevard, road, roadway, viaduct, bridge, thoroughfare, park, square, and any other
similar public way. 'Roadway' means that portion of a street improved, designed, or ordinarily
used for vehicular travel. 'Sidewalk' means any surface provided for the use of pedestrians.
'Street' means all that area dedicated to public use for public street purposes and shall include,
but not be limited to, roadways, parkways, alleys, and sidewalks.
12.16.030 Compliance with newsrack standards required.
No person shall install, use, or maintain, or cause to be installed, used, or maintained, any
newsrack that, in whole or in part, rests upon, in, or over any public right-of-way, except as
provided in this chapter.
12.16.040 Prohibited installations.
Ordinance No. 812
Page 3 of 10
12.16.040 Prohibited installations.
A. No person shall install, use, or maintain, or cause to be installed, used, or maintained, any
newsrack 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; or which projects or rests within any required setback area or where otherwise
prohibited by the Development Code of the City of Rancho Cucamonga. For purposes of
application of the Development Code to newsracks, a newsrack shall be deemed to be a
structure.
B. No person shall install, use, or maintain, or cause to be installed, used, or maintained, any
newsrack which, in whole or in part, rests upon, in, or over any public sidewalk or
parkway, when such installation, use, or maintenance:
1. Would likely endanger the safety of persons or property; or
2. Is on a site or location used for public utility purposes, public transportation
purposes, or other governmental purpose; or
3. Would likely and unreasonably interfere with or impede the flow of pedestrian or
vehicular traffic, including access to any legally parked or stopped vehicle; or
4. Would likely and unreasonably interfere with or impede ingress into or egress from
any residence or place of business, or the use of poles, posts, traffic signs or
signals, hydrants, mailboxes, or other objects permitted at or near the location; or
5. Would interfere with the cleaning of any sidewalk by the use of mechanical sidewalk
cleaning machinery.
12.16.050 Placement standards.
Any newsrack which, in whole or in part, rests upon, in, or over any public sidewalk or parkway
shall comply with the following standards:
A. Each newsrack shall be installed in an upright and secure position.
B. Each newsrack shall be of a type that is completely enclosed with aself-closing door that
is either self-latching or otherwise requires manual or mechanical release at each use.
C. No newsrack shall exceed forty inches in height, thirty inches in width, or twenty-four
inches in thickness.
D. Newsracks shall only be placed near a curb or adjacent to the wall of a building.
Newsracks placed near the curb shall be placed no less than eighteen inches nor more
than twenty-four inches from the edge of the curb and shall not open toward the roadway.
Newsracks placed adjacent to the wall of a building shall be placed parallel to the wall and
not less than six inches nor more than eighteen inches from the wall. No newsrack shall
be placed or maintained on a sidewalk or parkway opposite a newsstand or another
newsrack.
Ordinance No. 812
Page 4 of 10
E. No newsrack shall be chained, bolted, or otherwise attached to:
1. Any property without the express written permission of the owner of such property;
provided however, that the director may require newsracks to be secured to the
sidewalk by means of an approved device; or
2. Any fixture located in the public right-of-way, except to other newsracks, including
but not limited to, any tree, streetlight post, traffic signal, or sign.
F. Attachment to Other Newsracks. Newsracks, when placed side-by-side, may be chained
or otherwise attached to one another, provided that no group of newsracks shall extend for
a distance of more than ten feet along a curb, and a space of not less than six feet shall
separate each group of newsracks. .
G. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 12.16.040, no newsrack shall be placed,
installed, used or maintained:
1. Within ten feet of any marked mid-block crosswalk; or
2. Within thirty feet of any street or alley curb return; or
3. Within eight feet of any fire hydrant, fire call box, curb bordering any fire access lane,
police call box, or other emergency facility; or
4. Within ten feet of any driveway; or
5. Within five feet ahead of or twenty-five feet to the rear of any sign marking a
designated bus stop; or
6. Within six feet of any bus bench or bus shelter; or
7. At any location whereby the clear space for the passageway of pedestrians is
reduced to less than four feet; or
8. Within three feet of any area improved with lawn, flowers, shrubs, or trees or within
three feet of any display window of 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.
H. Color. Newsracks shall be of unobtrusive neutral colors of grey, brown, or black in order
to blend in with the streetscape.
I. Materials. Newsracks shall be constructed of metal, except for the display window.
J. 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 printed material sold
therefrom.
K. Each newsrack shall be constructed and located in compliance with .this chapter and in
such manner as to comply with all state and federal regulations concerning access by
disabled persons.
Ordinance No. 812
Page 5 of 10
L. Each newsrack shall have affixed thereto, in a place where such information may be easily
seen, the correct name, address, and telephone number of the current owner. By placing
a newsrack within or upon any public sidewalk or parkway, the owner shall be deemed to
have consented to receive any notices given pursuant to this chapter, by mail, at the
address affixed to such newsrack.
M. Upon transferring ownership of a newsrack, the new owner shall be responsible for
continued compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
12.16.060 Maintenance standards.
Each newsrack shall be maintained in a clean and neat condition and in good repair at all times
in accordance with the following provisions:
A. Each newsrack shall prominently display the correct name, address and telephone
number of the current owner thereof.
B. Each newsrack shall be maintained in a condition that is free of accumulations of outdated
printed materials, trash, rubbish or debris.
C. Each newsrack shall be regularly serviced, repaired and/or maintained so that
1. It is kept reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling, and cracked paint in the visible,
painted areas thereof;
2. It is kept reasonably free of rust and corrosion in the visible, unpainted metal areas
thereof;
3. The clear glass or plastic parts thereof, if any, through which the printed material
being dispensed, are not broken and are kept reasonably free of tears, peeling,
fading, dirt, or grime;
4. The structural parts of the newsrack are not broken or unduly misshapen, and are
otherwise safe for normal use.
5. The newsrack bears no visible evidence of 'graffiti', as that term is defined in Section
8.24.020 of this Code.
12.16.070 Display of certain matter prohibited
Publications offered either for sale or at no charge from newsracks placed or maintained on or
projecting into or over a public right-of-way shall not be displayed or exhibited in a manner
which exposes to public view from any public right-of-way any of the following:
A. 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;
B. Any picture or illustration of genitals, pubic hair, perinea, anuses, or anal regions of any
person where such picture or illustration has as its purpose or effect sexual arousal,
gratification, or affront;
Ordinance. No. 812
Page 6 of 10
C. Any picture or illustration depicting explicit sexual acts where such picture or illustration
has as its purpose or effect sexual arousal, gratification, or affront.
12.16.080 Display of harmful matter.
A. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the terms harmful matter, matter, person,
knowingly, exhibit, and minor shall have the meanings specified in Section 313 of the
California Penal Code, or any successor provisions thereto. For the purposes of this
section, the term blinder rack shall mean opaque material placed in front of, or inside, the
newsrack and which prevents exposure to public view.
B. Prohibition. No person shall knowingly exhibit, display, or cause to be exhibited or
displayed, harmful matter in any newsrack located, in whole or in part, in or on a public
right-of-way or other public place from which minors are not excluded, unless blinder racks
have been installed so that the lower two-thirds of the matter is not exposed to public view.
12.16.090 Violation--Notice to owner.
Whenever any newsrack is found to be in violation of this chapter, the director may cause a tag
to be attached to such newsrack specifying the date and nature of the violation. Within three
calendar days thereafter, a written notice of such violation shall be sent by first-class mail by the
director to the owner, provided the owner's name and address appear on the newsrack as
required in Section 12.16.050 L, specifying the nature of the violation and that the newsrack
shall be impounded if corrections are not made. The owner shall, within ten calendar days from
the date on which the notice of violation was mailed, either cause the violation to be corrected or
request a hearing pursuant to Section 12.18.140.
12.16.100 Impounding of newsracks--When authorized.
A. If an owner fails to timely correct the violation(s) specified in the written notice, and fails to
request a hearing within the time provided herein, the director may impound such
newsrack or newsracks.
B. In the event a newsrack does not have the owner's name, address, and telephone number
affixed thereto as required by this chapter, then such newsrack may be impounded if,
within ten calendar days of the date the violation tag was affixed, the owner has not
requested a hearing as provided in Section 12.16.140, in which case the newsrack shall
be deemed to be abandoned.
C. Where the installation, use, or maintenance of a newsrack creates an immediate threat to
the public health, safety, or welfare, it may be impounded, provided written notice is
thereafter provided to the owner by first-class mail pursuant to Section 12.16.110 of this
chapter.
D. When such newsrack has been abandoned, it may be impounded. For purposes of this
section, a newsrack shall be deemed abandoned when it has remained empty for thirty
consecutive days or longer or no new publication has been placed in the, newsrack for
forty-five days or longer. Upon abandonment, a newsrack may be impounded without
prior notice, provided post-impoundment notice is given to the owner, if the owner can be
identified, pursuant to Section 12.16.110.
Ordinance No. 812
Page 7 of 10
12.16.110 Impounding of newsracks--Notice to owner.
Whenever any newsrack is impounded, the director shall provide written notice by first-class
mail to the owner at the address shown on the newsrack within three calendar days, of such
impoundment and of the rights of the owner to recover such impounded newsrack(s).
12.16.120 Return of impounded newsracks--Conditions.
A. Any newsrack, together with its contents, which has been impounded shall be returned to
the owner.
1. If a hearing is not timely requested, upon receipt of an impound fee within thirty days
of impoundment, the amount of which has been set by resolution of the city council;
or
2. Upon a determination, after hearing by the director, that the newsrack should not
have been impounded and should be returned to the owner; or
3. Upon a decision by the administrative hearing officer on appeal that the newsrack
should not have been impounded.
B. In the event a hearing has not been requested within the time permitted, an impound fee,
the amount of which has been set by resolution of the city council, shall be imposed upon
the owner.
12.16.130 Sale or disposal after impoundment.
The director may sell or otherwise dispose of any newsrack, together with its contents, and
retain the proceeds, on behalf of the city, from any such or other disposition and any moneys
contained in the newsrack at the time of its impoundment, provided that either:
A. Thirty days have elapsed since impoundment occurred and (i) the owner is unknown; or
(ii)required notice was given to the listed owner but no hearing has been requested within
the time permitted, and the owner has failed to pay all impound fees assessed; or
B. A hearing or an appeal, if filed, has resulted in a final determination that the newsrack was
properly impounded and impound fees assessed have not been received within thirty days
from the date of said final determination.
12.16.140 Impoundment--Hearing procedures.
A. Any newsrack owner may file a written request with the director for a hearing within the
time specified in Section 12.16.090, for the purpose of demonstrating that a newsrack
should not be impounded, was improperly impounded, or that a violation as specified in
the notice of violation has not in fact occurred.
B. Notice of Hearing. Within five calendar days from the date on which the request for
hearing is received, the director shall set a hearing date and shall notify the owner by first-
class mail of the date, time, and place of such hearing. The hearing shall occur within ten
calendar days of the date of mailing the notice.
Ordinance No. 812
Page 8 of 10
C. Conduct of Hearing. At the time set for the hearing or at the date to which the hearing is
continued, the director shall receive all evidence relevant to the occurrence or
non-occurrence of the specified violation(s), the compliance or non-compliance with any or
the provisions of this chapter, and any other relevant information. The hearing need not be
conducted according to technical rules relating to evidence and witnesses.
D. Decision after Hearing. Within ten calendar days after the conclusion of the hearing, the
director shall find and determine, from the facts adduced at the hearing, whether the
newsrack is in violation of this chapter. The decision of the director shall be in writing and
shall contain findings of fact, a determination of the issues presented and the amount of
the impound fee, if any, to be imposed. Thereafter, the director may order the owner to
remove such newsrack, if determined to be in violation of this chapter, within ten calendar
days of the mailing date of the decision. If a notice of appeal is not timely filed during said
ten-day period, the director may thereafter order the newsrack to be impounded without
further notice to the owner.
E. Notice of Decision. The director shall send to the owner, by first-class mail, a copy of the
decision and order.
12.16.150 Appeals.
A. Any newsrack owner may, within ten calendar days of the mailing date of the copy of the
director's decision and order, appeal such decision to an administrative hearing officer
appointed by the city manager in accordance with the provisions of Section 1.12.150 of
this Code, by filing a written notice of appeal with the director. If no hearing was timely
requested and a newsrack was impounded, then the owner may appeal such
impoundment provided a written notice of appeal is received by the director within ten
calendar days of such impoundment.
B. An appeal shall set forth in writing specifically wherein the appellant believes there was
error or abuse of discretion on the part of the director. The director shall, within ten
calendar days, transmit the appeal, together with a copy of his or her file, decision and
order, to the appointed administrative hearing officer who shall set the matter for hearing.
The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in Sections
1.12.160 and 1.12.170 of this Code.
C. The administrative hearing officer shall, upon receipt of the material specified in the
preceding paragraph from the director, and after a hearing:
1. Affirm the decision and order of the director; or
2. Reverse or modify the decision and order, and refer the matter back to the director;
or
3. Where no hearing before the director was timely requested, sustain the
impoundment or impose fees or order the newsrack returned with or without fees
being imposed.
Ordinance No. 812
Page 9 of 10
12.16.160 Restoration following newsrack removal.
In the event an owner removes any newsrack, or has a newsrack removed by the director
following hearing and/or appeal, if any, it shall be such owner's responsibility to restore the site
of the newsrack to an undamaged condition. Undamaged condition shall mean a condition
which is smooth, free of holes, fasteners, and physical devices of any nature, such that another
newsrack may be located on that specific site without further restoration. In the event such
newsrack owner fails to restore the site as required herein, the City of Rancho Cucamonga shall
be authorized, at its discretion, to restore the site following the expiration of five calendar days
prior written notice to the owner stating his or her obligation to perform restoration. The cost of
such restoration performed by the city shall be recoverable from the owner as a debt in a
contract action."
Section 2. The adoption of this Ordinance shall not affect or excuse any violation of Chapter
12.16 of Title 12 of the Rancho Cucamonga Municipal Code, occurring prior to
the effective date of this Ordinance.
Section 3. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance.
Please see the /o/lowing page
/oI /ormal adoption, certi/nation and signatures
Ordinance No. 812
Page 10 of 10
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 1st day of April 2009.
AYES: Gutierrez, Kurth, Michael, Spagnolo, Williams
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAINED: None
ATTEST:
~ ~ ~~
Janice C. Reynolds, City lerk
I, JANICE C. REYNOLDS, CITY CLERK of the City of Rancho Cucamonga,
California, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance was introduced at a Regular Meeting
of the Council of the City of Rancho Cucamonga held on the 18th day of March 2009, and was
passed at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Rancho Cucamonga held on the
1 st day of April 2009.
Executed this 2nd day of April 2009, at Rancho Cucamonga, California.
i l~`/1~1.G~-- C
~ahice C. Reynolds, City Clerk