[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Tarentum 4-10-1995
by Ord. No. 95-2. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
A license based must be obtained for each newsrack, sign
and commercial telephone booth installed within the borough limits on borough
rights-of-way, thoroughfares and sidewalks with the one-time amount as set
forth from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council, which fee would
provide for the cost of keeping track of the placement of each licensed sign
and newsrack and the cost of supervising and enforcing the regulation of this
ordinance.
B.
The fee shall not be prorated.
C.
The license shall be issued by the office of the Borough
Code Enforcement Officer who shall issue a compliance sticker at the time
of payment of the fee and approval of application.
D.
The fee and license shall be nontransferable or assignable
to another owner or location.
E.
The application must include a drawing, which drawing
shows the precise situs for the placement of any aforementioned unit, showing
distances from curbs and building walls, and the distance from any intersection,
fire hydrant, crosswalk, railroad or other natural obstruction within 15 feet
of the proposed site.
F.
The application, once approved, shall be kept on file
by the Code Enforcement Officer.
A.
Application for permits issued pursuant to this section
must be approved or denied by the Code Enforcement Officer within 10 days
of the application or the application shall be considered approved. The Code
Enforcement Officer may deny or revoke an application or license only after
notice and hearing, if requested by the applicant, and only for either of
the following causes:
(1)
Fraud, misrepresentation or any false statement contained
in application for such a permit; and
(2)
Noncompliance with or violation of any provision of this
section or other ordinances regulating such rental application or rental permits,
or violation of any condition of the rental permit or any other state law
or borough ordinance.
B.
The content of any newspaper sold or any censorship thereof
shall not be a good cause or reason for denial of a permit application or
revocation of a permit, except that pornographic material which violates other
ordinances of the borough, including Ordinance No. 95-3,[1] or the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall not be permitted
to be sold from dispensing devices.
C.
Preliminary determination.
(1)
Upon a preliminary determination by the Code Enforcement
Officer to deny a permit application or to revoke a permit for violation of
this chapter, the Code Enforcement Officer shall issue notice of such preliminary
determination to the applicant for a permit or to the permittee. The notice
shall be in writing and shall state the specific reason for the preliminary
determination denying the application or revoking the permit.
(2)
Upon issuance of the preliminary determination to deny
the application or revoke the permit, the applicant or permittee shall have
10 calendar days after the receipt of the notice of revocation to remedy the
cause set forth in the notice or to appeal the preliminary determination of
the Code Enforcement Officer. If the notice is for revocation, mandatory removal
or replacement of the licensed item is stayed if the applicant appeals the
preliminary determination.
(3)
If the applicant or permittee elects to appeal the preliminary
determination, the Borough Council will conduct a hearing concerning the facts
and issues set forth in the preliminary determination at the next regularly
scheduled Council meeting, after the issuance of such notice. The Council,
at its meeting, shall issue an immediate determination as to whether the permit
should be revoked or the application denied.
(4)
A stenographic record shall be made of that portion of
the Council meeting set aside for the determination as to the Code Enforcement
Officer's denial or determination.
(5)
If the applicant desires a hearing separate from a regularly
scheduled public meeting of Council, then Council shall set the time and place
for such hearing by certified mail to the applicant and the applicant shall
tender an amount as set forth from time to time by resolution of the Borough
Council for the advertising fee. The applicant or aggrieved will be responsible
for engaging a stenographer for the hearing in either event.
(6)
The Council may reverse, affirm or modify the decision
of the Code Enforcement Officer and any such decision of the Council shall
be final. If the Council fails to hear and decide such appeal within 45 days
of the date of docketing such appeal on the Council agenda, which shall be
the first Council meeting after the filing of such appeal, the appeal shall
be sustained and relief sought and the appeal shall be granted.
D.
If the application or permittee remedies the cause set forth in the notice issued pursuant to Subsection C(1) hereof within the seven-day period, the Code Enforcement Officer shall either grant the application or rescind the revocation of the existing permit and no hearing on the preliminary determination shall be conducted.
E.
Publishers of newspaper for profit and nonprofit may, acting in good faith during unusual circumstances which create the potential of an increase of newspaper sales, place a newsrack or newspaper dispensing device without application of a permit having been approved by the Borough Code Enforcement Officer, but the placement of said newsrack or newspaper dispensing device must otherwise comply with all other aspects of this chapter, as amended. The application for license or permit must be submitted by the next weekday after placement or the benefits of staying the removal requirement of any newsrack as discussed more fully in § 170-2C will not be enjoyed by the applicant and the publisher will be in violation of this chapter.
F.
A person aggrieved by a final determination of the Code Enforcement Officer in refusing to grant or in revoking a license after the hearing set forth in Subsection C hereof may appeal, including a statement of the grounds for the appeal, with the Borough Secretary within 10 days after the notice of the final determination by the Code Enforcement Officer has been given. If the applicant does not file within 10 days, the Code Enforcement Officer's decision on the license application is final.
G.
The filing of an appeal to the Council of the final determination
of the Code Enforcement Officer under this section shall stay the decision
of the Code Enforcement Officer to revoke a permit until after the permittee
has exhausted all rights of appeal provided by this chapter and for seven
days thereafter.
Placement of the aforementioned and licensed and controlled newsracks,
newspaper vending machines, telephones and telephone booths, merchandise and
the signs for the advertisement of merchandise and other like commercial and
noncommercial units must be placed on the sidewalks and thoroughfares under
the following restrictions.
A.
Licensed units.
(1)
Must not be attached by chain, bolt or other means to
the public thoroughfares, sidewalks, utility poles, parking meter poles, traffic
signs or other borough property.
(2)
May not exceed a height of 50 inches.
(3)
May not have any sharp edges.
(4)
May not have a base which extends outward more than the
higher dimensions of said unit.
(5)
May not be placed at any location where the width of
clear passage in any direction on the sidewalk parallel to the street or avenue
is reduced to less than 42 inches.
(6)
May not be placed closer than 10 feet to any fire hydrant
or other emergency facility.
(7)
May not be placed any closer than 3 feet of any marked
crosswalk.
(8)
Newsracks must be placed facing the street or 180°
opposite, approximately 18 inches from a curb or the paved edge of streets
or avenues.
(9)
The licensed unit must be recessed back from the corner
of the street intersection along the curb (18 inches back) at a distance equal
to the wider intersecting sidewalk. (But in no event may a licensed unit be
closer than 3 feet of any handicapped ramp or painted or established crosswalk.)
B.
This chapter prohibits sidewalk sales, displays of merchandise,
sidewalk sign placement for the advertisement of merchandise or lottery tickets,
unless permission is granted from time to time by Borough Council at a public
meeting to a Chamber of Commerce or a group of like merchants, at no fee to
the applicants.
C.
Permittee obligations and limitation of rights.
(1)
The permittee, upon the removal of a newspaper dispensing
device, shall restore the property of the borough to the safe condition as
where the device was initially installed, ordinary wear-and-tear excepted.
(2)
The permittee shall maintain the device in good working
order and in a safe and clean condition and shall keep the immediate area
surrounding such device free from litter and debris.
(3)
The license granted by the Code Enforcement Officer shall
state that the licensee shall save and hold the borough harmless from any
and all liability for any reason whatsoever occasioned upon the installation
and use of each newspaper dispensing device and other like unit and shall
file with the Code Enforcement Officer proof on an annual basis that the licensee
has a minimum of $100,000 liability insurance which shall cover any liability
and defense of any lawsuit arising from the issuance of the license and the
use of said unit.
(4)
Rental licenses shall not be assignable and shall not
grant any permanent right.
(5)
If the Code Enforcement Officer does not deny an application
within 21 days following the date of the application, the application shall
be deemed granted.
The rules, regulations and the amount of fee of this chapter may be
changed from time to time by resolution of the Council of the Borough of Tarentum,
provided that at all times the regulations must be content and/or product
neutral in enforcement and applied to profit and nonprofit organizations equally
in a purely objective manner, and further provided that any change complies
with rules and regulations, all state statutes and the requisites of the United
States of America and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania constitutions.
The owner of any licensed unit shall be first notified by regular mail that the aforementioned newsrack, newspaper dispensing device, telephone or telephone booth, sign or any unit covered by this chapter is in violation of this chapter and has seven days from the date of mailing to get the unit in compliance, after which time the final penalty shall be nor more than $600 per diem as controlled by § 170-2G and other language of this chapter.
