[Adopted 1999 ATM by Art. 18 (Art. 10, § 22
of the General Bylaws); amended in its entirety 2002 ATM by Art. 32]
The purpose of the regulation of the placement
of street furniture is to enhance the public health, safety, convenience,
and good order of the Town of Westwood.
Street furniture is defined as any structure
erected or placed within the layout of any public way of the Town
of Westwood on a temporary or permanent basis, excluding fences or
stone walls.
Street furniture, as hereinbefore defined, shall
not be permitted within the layout of the public ways of the Town
without a permit being issued for the location of the same from the
Board of Selectmen. Exempted from the provisions of this bylaw are
those structures erected or placed by authorized public agencies for
public safety and/or public welfare purposes, including, but not limited
to, streetlights, traffic lights, U.S. Postal Service receptacles,
fire hydrants, street trees, and trash receptacles.
The Board of Selectmen shall, upon written application
and the payment of any required fees, issue a permit for the location
of an article of street furniture upon its finding that the applicant
is in compliance with all provisions of this bylaw. The Selectmen
shall issue said permit within 10 days of this finding of compliance.
If an application is denied, the Selectmen shall notify the applicant
within 10 days of this vote by certified mail and shall state the
specific reasons for the denial. The applicant may appeal this denial
within 30 days of receipt of the denial and the Selectmen shall hear
the appeal within 30 days of receipt of the appeal.
Subsequent to the adoption of this bylaw, no
person shall place, erect, maintain or continue to maintain an article
of street furniture within the layout of any public way of the Town
without first obtaining said permit from the Board of Selectmen.
A.
Applications must be submitted in writing on a form
prescribed by the Board of Selectmen.
B.
The street furniture, for which a permit is sought,
must not occupy an area greater than nine square feet, nor be more
than 52 inches tall.
C.
The placement of the street furniture shall not result
in less than five feet of pedestrian traffic width on the sidewalk.
D.
The placement of the street furniture shall not be
less than four feet from any road surface, fire hydrant, U.S. Postal
Service receptacle, etc.
E.
The street furniture shall be well maintained and
shall have no sharp edges or corners which are likely to cause personal
injury.
F.
The street furniture must display the following information:
permit holder name, street address, city or town, state, zip code
and telephone number of said permit holder. Said display shall be
prominently displayed on the article of street furniture.
After an application has been approved, the
Board of Selectmen shall issue to each permit holder a decal, which
shall contain the permitted location of the article of street furniture,
the permit number and the expiration date of said permit. Said decal
shall be prominently displayed on the article of street furniture.
[Amended 5-3-2010 ATM
by Art. 15]
All permits issued under this bylaw shall be
valid for a period of not more than 24 months from the date of issuance.
All permits issued for the location of an article of street furniture
shall expire on January 1 of the second year after the initial issuance
of said permit. The fee for each new or renewal permit issued for
each article of street furniture shall be $25 per year.
[Amended 5-3-2010 ATM
by Art. 15]
Any article of street furniture found within any layout of a public way of the Town without a valid permit or decal as required, or for which an application is not pending review, or whose placement is not in compliance with § 355-16 of this bylaw may be removed by the Director of Public Works after 10 days unless the article of street furniture is brought into compliance before the expiration of said ten-day period. The notice of the violation shall be forwarded to the permittee via first-class mail and affixed to the article of street furniture in violation for said ten-day period and shall include the following information, if available: the location and permit number of the article of street furniture in violation of the provisions of the bylaw; statement of the facts causing the violation; and notice that at the expiration of 10 days after receipt of this violation notice, the article of street furniture will be removed by the Director of Public Works unless the violation is corrected within that time period. The permit holder may claim said article from the Director of Public Works upon payment of reasonable storage fees to be determined and from time to time as amended by the Board of Selectmen. The Town shall not be held responsible for lost or damaged articles of street furniture in the possession of the Department of Public Works.
Any persons violating the provisions of this
bylaw shall be punished by a fine of $50 for each offense. Each day
that said violation continues shall be considered a separate and continuing
offense.
Strict compliance with this bylaw may be waived
if the Board of Selectmen finds that the waiver is in the public interest
and is consistent with the intent and purpose of this bylaw.
If any section or provision of this bylaw is
held invalid, it shall not invalidate any other section or provision
hereof. If the application of any provision of this bylaw to any person
or circumstances is held invalid, it shall not invalidate the application
of this bylaw to other persons and circumstances hereof.
