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City of Fredericksburg, VA
 
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[Code 1991, § 16-52]
A. 
Specifications. All sidewalk and concrete driveway ramp construction and repair shall be administered by the City Manager and shall be accomplished in accordance with specifications therefor which he shall approve.
B. 
Building permit required. A non-fee building permit is required for the construction of a standard sidewalk or a driveway ramp, and application therefor shall be made to the City Manager. The City Manager is authorized to rule on applications for standard sidewalk and driveway ramp construction, and he may require such plans and specifications as he deems necessary. A copy of this permit shall be submitted to the Commissioner of the Revenue's office.
C. 
Violations; penalty. Any person who constructs a nonstandard sidewalk or driveway ramp without a building permit is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.
[Code 1991, § 16-53]
A. 
Any existing or new sidewalk built at the request of the abutting property owner and not required by the City, and any existing or new sidewalk required by the City but constructed as a nonstandard sidewalk to meet special requirements of the abutting property owner, shall be maintained by such owner.
B. 
The concrete portion of any existing or new sidewalk required by the City and designated as a standard sidewalk by the City Manager shall be maintained by the City.
C. 
The concrete portion of any existing or new driveway ramp shall be maintained by the City.
D. 
This section shall apply only within the public right-of-way.
[Code 1991, § 16-54]
A. 
Removal. All owners or occupants of property within the limits of the City shall remove or cause to be removed the snow or ice from the sidewalks adjacent to their property within 12 hours after ice has formed or snow has ceased to fall. If the ice forms or snow falls during the night or on Sunday, it shall be removed by noon the following day. Sand or other abrasives may be applied to ice if removal is not feasible.
B. 
Penalty. Failure to comply with this section shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $50.
[Code 1991, § 16-55]
A. 
Required. The owners of all buildings within five feet of the inner line of the sidewalk that have a roof, or any portion of a roof, sloping toward the sidewalk, shall construct upon or otherwise equip the roof with a snow guard that effectively prevents snow from falling from the roof upon any sidewalk of the City. This section shall apply only to buildings constructed or reconstructed after September 1, 1984.
B. 
Penalty. Failure to comply with this section shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $50.
[Code 1991, § 15-14]
The packing or unpacking of goods or merchandise on the sidewalks may be done so long as such packing or unpacking does not materially interfere with the traffic on the sidewalks, provided that the time consumed in the packing or unpacking is not unnecessarily prolonged, and provided further that all debris incident to the packing or unpacking shall be promptly removed and the sidewalk thoroughly cleaned.
[Ord. No. 01-02, 3-13-2001]
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this division, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
DOWNTOWN HISTORIC AREA
That portion of the Old and Historic Fredericksburg zoning district known as the downtown historic district, as more particularly defined in Chapter 78,[1] and the 500 and 600 blocks of William Street.
NEWSRACK
Any box, container, storage unit or similar dispensing device installed, used, or maintained to display, sell, or make available to the public written materials, including, but not limited to, newspapers, magazines, flyers, brochures, leaflets, periodicals, advertisements, and similar printed matter.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now Ch. 72, Unified Development Ordinance.
[Ord. No. 01-02, 3-13-2001]
No person shall place, install, construct, maintain, modify, relocate or use all or part of a newsrack on any City sidewalk within the Downtown Historic Area, except under a valid license or written agreement signed by the City Manager or his designee.
[Ord. No. 01-02, 3-13-2001]
A. 
The City Manager shall develop and administer a program for the regulation of newsracks pursuant to this division.
B. 
The City Manager shall designate not less than 10 and not more than 14 locations within the Downtown Historic Area where vendors may install or use newsracks on City sidewalks. He shall further designate a uniform design, size, and color for coin-operated newsracks and a uniform design, size, and color for free newsracks and a uniform method for installing and securing such newsracks.
[Ord. No. 01-02, 3-13-2001]
A. 
The City Manager shall have the authority to enter into agreements with any person seeking to install, maintain, or use all or part of a newsrack on City sidewalks in the Downtown Historic Area or to require any such person to obtain a license from the City's department of public works. No person, however, shall be required to pay any type of application or license fee, but such person shall provide such information on an application as the City Manager may deem reasonably necessary to comply with the provisions of this division.
B. 
Any such application shall include a map showing the locations designated by the City Manager for the placement of newsracks within the Downtown Historic Area. Each applicant shall indicate on the application which location it intends to utilize.
[Ord. No. 01-02, 3-13-2001]
A. 
The City Manager shall enter into an agreement or issue a license pursuant to this division to any person completing an application, if any, and meeting the conditions set forth in this section.
B. 
Every agreement entered into or license issued by the City Manager shall include the following conditions:
(1) 
Each newsrack vendor shall agree to comply with all provisions of this division and with the terms of such agreement or license.
(2) 
Each license or agreement shall be valid for a period of no more than three years and shall be renewable pursuant to application procedures and payment of a reasonable repair and maintenance fee for the newsracks, if any, established by the City Manager.
(3) 
Each newsrack vendor shall provide its own newsrack or portion thereof, except that the City Manager shall have the authority to purchase newsracks for the distribution of free publications and to charge applicants reasonable rental fees to cover the City's capital outlay.
(4) 
Each newsrack vendor shall file a written statement with the City Manager, in a form satisfactory to the City Attorney, agreeing to indemnify and hold harmless the City, its officers, and employees, from any loss, liability or damage, including expenses and costs, for bodily or personal injury, and for property damage sustained by any persons as a result of the installation, use, and maintenance of its newsracks on City sidewalks within the Downtown Historic Area.
(5) 
Each newsrack vendor shall display its name, address, and local telephone number affixed to each newsrack in a place where such information can be easily seen.
(6) 
Each newsrack vendor shall keep its newsracks reasonably clean and free of rust, in good working order, and free of litter.
(7) 
No newsrack vendor shall display any written sign, display, or advertising on any newsrack except on the front thereof, in such manner as the City Manager may reasonably determine.
(8) 
No vendor shall display any publication or printed matter which exposes to public view any pictorial material that is obscene. For purposes of this section, the term "obscene" shall mean any material that depicts or describes sexual conduct which is objectionable or offensive to accepted standards of decency that the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find, taken as a whole, appeals to prurient interests; or material which depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable state law, and which, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
[Ord. No. 01-02, 3-13-2001]
If a newsrack remains empty for a period of 60 continuous days, the City Manager shall have the authority to deem such newsrack abandoned, in which case the City Manager shall notify the newsrack vendor that such newsrack will be removed in accordance with § 66-107.
[Ord. No. 01-02, 3-13-2001]
A. 
Upon a determination by the City Manager that a newsrack has been installed, used, or maintained in violation of this division or of any agreement entered into or license issued under this division, the City Manager may issue an order requiring the newsrack vendor to correct the violation. Such notice shall be mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested, to such person, and shall describe the offending condition, state the actions necessary to correct the condition, and inform the recipient of its right to appeal. Failure to correct the condition or to file an appeal under this section within 10 working days from the date of mailing shall result in the offending newsrack being removed and disposed of as unclaimed property by the City.
B. 
Any person aggrieved by a finding, determination, order, or action taken by the City Manager or his designee under this division may file an appeal within 10 working days from the date of such action or from the date of notice of the right to appeal, whichever is later. Such person shall file such notice of appeal with the clerk of the City Council. The City Council shall hold a hearing as soon as practicable on the appeal, but not later than 30 days after the filing of such notice. The appellant shall have a right to be heard at the hearing and to present evidence as to why the City's decision or action should be reversed. The City Council may affirm, reverse, or modify the decision of the City Manager. The decision of the City Council may thereupon be appealed to a court of competent jurisdiction.