[HISTORY: Adopted 8-26-1974 Special Town Meeting, Art. 15
(Ch. XI, Sec. 3 of the Revised Bylaws.) Amendments noted where applicable.]
No person shall act as a door-to-door hawker, peddler or transient
vendor within the Town of Great Barrington until he has first obtained
a license from the Board of Selectmen.
[Added 5-24-1994 ATM, Art. 21[1]]
Outdoor coin-operated vending machines dispensing soft drinks
and/or food shall be placed upon private property only after obtaining
a coin-operated vending machine permit from the Board of Selectmen,
which permit shall be issued, provided that the Board of Selectmen
determines that said machine does not interfere with the public health,
safety and welfare and that its physical appearance does not detract
from its surroundings. Outdoor coin-operated vending machines dispensing
soft drinks and/or food shall not be placed upon public property or
upon any public right-of-way.
[1]
Editor's Note: This Article also repealed former § 109-2,
Outdoor vending machines on private property, added 5-4-1989 ATM,
Art. 24.
[Added 5-24-1994 ATM, Art. 21[1]]
A.
Purpose and criteria. The purpose of the following is to promote
the public health, safety and welfare through the regulation of placement,
type, appearance and servicing of newsracks on public property and
public rights-of-way so as to:
(1)
Provide for pedestrian and driving safety and convenience.
(2)
Restrict unreasonable interference with the flow of pedestrian or
vehicular traffic, including ingress into or egress from any building
or from the street to the sidewalk by persons exiting or entering
parked or standing vehicles.
(3)
Provide reasonable access for the use and maintenance of poles, posts,
traffic signs or signals, hydrants, mailboxes and access used for
public transportation purposes.
(4)
Relocate and/or replace newsracks which result in a visual blight
and/or excessive space allocation on public property and rights-of-way
or which unreasonably detract from surrounding aesthetics, including
adjacent properties, landscaping and other improvements, as well as
to have abandoned newsracks removed.
(5)
Treat all newspapers and news periodicals equally, regardless of
their size, content, circulation or frequency of publication.
(6)
Maintain and preserve freedom of the press.
B.
NEWSRACKS
PUBLIC PROPERTY
PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
Any type of unmanned device for the vending or free distribution
of newspapers or news periodicals.
Any municipal building and its adjoining yards located in
the Town of Great Barrington.
Any public street, highway, sidewalk, parkway or alley located
in the Town of Great Barrington.
C.
General placement of newsracks. Subject to the specifications and
prohibitions set forth below, newsracks may be installed on public
property and public rights-of-way and shall be placed parallel to
and no less than 18 inches nor more than 24 inches from the edge of
the curb or near the wall of a building parallel to and not more than
six inches from the wall.
D.
Newsrack specifications.
(1)
Newsracks shall be maintained in good working order at all times,
freshly painted and with unbroken handles.
(2)
The name, address and telephone number of a responsible person who
may be contacted at any time concerning the newsrack shall be displayed
on the hood of the newsrack in such a manner as to be readily visible
and readable.
(3)
News racks shall be either freestanding or shall be bolted in the
place through four standard holes in the newsrack base.
(4)
Newsracks shall carry no cardholders or advertising except the name
of the newspaper being dispensed and/or information promoting the
current issue.
E.
Newsrack prohibitions. No newsrack shall be placed, installed, used
or maintained:
(1)
Within 10 feet of any marked crosswalk.
(2)
Within 20 feet of any fire hydrant, fire call box, police call box
or other emergency facility.
(3)
Within 10 feet of any driveway.
(4)
Within 10 feet ahead of and 20 feet to the rear of any sign marked
a designated bus stop, measured along the edge of the pavement.
(5)
Within five feet of any bus bench.
(6)
At any location whereby the clear space for the passageway of pedestrians
is reduced to less than six feet.
(7)
Within five feet of flowers, shrubs or trees.
(8)
Within five feet of any display window of any building abutting any
sidewalk or in such a manner as to impede or interfere with the reasonable
use of such window display purpose or within 10 feet of any building
entrance.
(9)
Within 150 feet of another newsrack containing the same newspaper
or news periodical, except where separated by a street corner.
(10)
Facing another newsrack, divided only by the width of a sidewalk
or pedestrian walk.
(11)
On or within five feet of signs, street lights or utility poles.
F.
Enforcement.
(1)
Nonconforming newsracks. Within 150 days after this section becomes effective and at any time thereafter, any newsrack in violation of any provision of this section shall be subject to remedy as provided by law, including but not limited to the imposition of fines in accordance with § 1-5 of the Code of Great Barrington.
(2)
Abandonment. In the event that any newsrack installed pursuant to
this section does not contain the publication specified therefor within
a period of 48 hours after release of the current issue or when no
publication is in the newsrack for a period of more than seven consecutive
days, the newsrack shall be deemed abandoned and the Town shall thereafter
remove said newsrack. In the event that a newspaper publishing company
or its distributor desires to voluntarily abandon a newsrack location,
said newsrack shall be completely removed, and the public property
or public right-of-way shall be promptly restored to a safe condition,
leaving no holes or projections in the adjoining surface.
G.
Severability. If any subsection, paragraph, term or provision of
this section is determined to be illegal, invalid or unconstitutional
by any court of competent jurisdiction, such determination shall have
no effect on any other subsection, paragraph, term or provision hereof,
all of which will remain in full force and effect.
[1]
Editor's Note: This Article also repealed former § 109-3,
Outdoor vending machines on public property, added 5-4-1989 ATM, Art.
24.
