For the purposes of this article, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed herein.
ABANDONED
A newsrack shall be considered to be abandoned if any of
the following conditions exist:
A.
A newsrack has been empty for 30 days.
B.
The distributor has not responded within 10
days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, of the mailing
of an order of violation.
C.
The distributor has not returned a completed
renewal permit within 30 days of the mailing of the renewal permit
to the distributor.
D.
Thirty days have passed since the newsrack has
been impounded.
BLOCK
The portion of the right-of-way located on one side of the
street between two consecutive intersecting streets.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
The head of the Town of Manchester Public Works Department
or his or her designated representative.
DISTRIBUTOR
Any person responsible for the placement, installation, operation
or maintenance of a newsrack in a public right-of-way.
GENERAL MANAGER
The General Manager of the Town of Manchester or his or her
designated representative.
NEWSRACK
Any self-service or coin-operated box, container, storage
unit or other dispenser installed, operated or maintained for the
display and distribution or sale of newspapers, periodicals and other
printed materials.
PERSON
An individual person, firm, partnership, corporation or other
entity.
PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
Any area owned and/or maintained by the Town of Manchester
or any other governmental entity, open for use by the public for vehicular
or pedestrian travel, including, but not limited to, roadways, sidewalks,
streets, alleys, public grounds or other rights-of-way, but does not
include schools, trails, parks, pools, playgrounds and other recreational
facilities.
ROADWAY
The portion of the street improved, designated and used for
vehicular travel.
SIDEWALK
The portion of the street, normally located between the curbline
and the adjacent property line, which is improved, designated and
ordinarily used for pedestrian travel.
STREET
The entire area encompassed by the roadway and the sidewalk.
It shall be unlawful for any person or distributor
to erect, place, maintain or operate a newsrack within any public
right-of-way in the Town of Manchester without first having obtained
a permit from the Director of Public Works.
Each applicant for a newsrack permit shall file
a written statement with the Director of Public Works in a form satisfactory
to the Town Attorney, whereby such owner agrees to indemnify and hold
harmless the Town, its officers, employees and agents from any loss,
liability, damage or claims, including expenses and costs, for bodily
or personal injury, and for property damage sustained by any person
as a result of the placement, installation, operation and/or maintenance
of a newsrack within the Town of Manchester. Said statement shall
also certify that the Town is not liable for any damage to such newsracks.
Each applicant shall affix to the newsrack the
identification tag provided with the approved permit issued by the
Town. The tag shall be placed on the newsrack at the location indicated
in the permit and must be affixed to the newsrack prior to the placement
and installation of the newsrack.
Any newsrack 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 comply
with the provisions of this section:
A. No newsrack shall exceed 50 inches in height, 30 inches
in width and 30 inches in depth.
B. No newsrack shall be used for advertising signs or
publicity for any purpose other than that associated with the newspaper
or periodical being distributed or sold within that newsrack.
C. Each newsrack shall be constructed of materials capable
of resisting the harsh and variable weather conditions presented by
the New England environment.
D. Each newsrack shall be equipped with a sturdy, self-closing
access door.
E. Each coin-operated newsrack shall be equipped with
a coin-return mechanism to permit a person using the machine to secure
an immediate refund in the event the person is unable to receive the
paid-for publication. The coin-return mechanism shall be maintained
in good working order.
F. Each newsrack shall be weighted and balanced so as
to be self-supporting and eliminate the need to secure it to either
the sidewalk or any other structure or device in order to prevent
it from being tipped by the opening of its door or by the impact of
snow cast by a passing snowplow.
G. 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:
(1) It is reasonably free of dirt and grease.
(2) It is reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling and
cracked paint and graffiti in the visible painted areas thereof.
(3) It is reasonably free of rust and corrosion in the
visible unpainted metal areas thereof.
(4) The clear plastic or glass parts through which the
publications therein are viewed, if any, 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.
(7) It shall not contain any materials which pre-date
the current issue of the publication. Such materials shall not be
deposited in any public trash receptacle owned by the Town of Manchester
and shall not be deposited in any privately owned trash receptacle
without the permission of the owner or renter thereof. In the event
that the publication is manufactured from recyclable material, it
shall be discarded in an appropriate manner for that type of recyclable
material.
H. No newsrack shall contain or utilize any electrically
powered illumination or sound.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase of this article is for any reason held to be invalid or
unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction,
such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions
of the article.
The effective date of this article shall be
July 1, 2008.