[Prior ordinance history includes portions of Ord. 6 S+FK,
5-6-1987 and 6 S+FE, 10-7-1987.]
[Ord. 6 PSF-B, 3-7-2012]
The unregulated placement of news racks in public rights-of-way
presents an inconvenience and danger to the safety and welfare of
persons using such rights-of-way, including pedestrians, bicyclists,
persons entering and leaving vehicles, whether automobiles, taxi cabs,
private livery or omnibuses, and buildings, and persons performing
essential utility, traffic control and emergency services. These unregulated
news racks are so located as to cause an inconvenience or danger to
persons using public rights-of-way, are unsightly, and constitute
a public nuisance. This chapter requires the issuance of permits for
news racks in the public rights-of-way and provides a uniform set
of procedures for administering the issuance and revocation of permits.
The provisions contained in this local law are in pursuance of and
for the purpose of securing and promoting the public health, morals
and general welfare of persons in the City of Newark in their use
of public rights-of-way; ensure the safety and well-being of the community
and improve the aesthetic environment through the City by increasing
accountability for maintenance, misuse, abuse and vandalism of news
racks.
As used in this chapter:
Shall mean the person responsible for placing and maintaining
a news rack in a public right-of-way.
Shall mean any self-service or coin-operated box, container,
storage unit or other dispenser installed, used or maintained for
the display and sale of newspapers or other news periodicals and commonly
known as "honor boxes." The use of the singular herein shall include
the plural.
Shall refer to a public sidewalk, the right-of-way for a
street or highway, a public park, playground, trail, path or other
recreational area owned or maintained by the City of Newark or its
subdivisions.
Shall mean that area between the sidewalks and the curb or
any street, and where there is no sidewalk that area between the property
lines adjacent thereto, whether open to vehicular travel or not, but
improved, designed or ordinarily used for traffic.
Shall mean any surface provided and intended for the exclusive
use of pedestrians.
Shall mean all that area dedicated to public use for street
purposes and shall include, but not be limited to, roadways, parkways,
alleys, stairs and sidewalks.
[Ord. 6 PSF-B, 3-7-2012; Ord. 6PSF-F, 6-15-2016]
a.
It shall be unlawful for any entity, whether for profit or nonprofit,
to place or cause to be placed a news rack within the City of Newark
right-of-way, without having first obtained a permit from the Department
of Engineering within five business days of the placement of the news
racks. This section shall apply to all existing news racks in the
right-of-way as of the effective date of this amended chapter. An
application for a permit for each such existing news rack shall be
made within 20 days of the effective date of this amended chapter.
Any existing news rack, for which an application for a permit has
not been made within the time provided in this paragraph a, shall
be subject to removal pursuant to this chapter. (This section was
adopted by Ord. 6 PSF-B on March 7, 2012.)
b.
Application for Permit. Applicants for permits shall complete an
application form furnished by the City of Newark, which shall set
forth the following information:
1.
The applicant's name, address and telephone number (must be local
or toll-free);
2.
Whether the applicant is an individual, partnership, corporation,
for profit or nonprofit organization, or such other business enterprise;
3.
Business name, address, telephone number and name and address of
a person authorized by law to accept service of process and other
correspondence on behalf of the business entity;
4.
Description of the news rack, including dimensions, color scheme,
text and graphics that will appear on the news rack, along with a
photograph of all sides of the news rack;
5.
The number of news racks for which the applicant is seeking a permit;
6.
The street address or the location where each news rack is to be
located.
c.
The fee for issuance of a permit to place a news rack shall be $10
for one to 10 news racks; $20 for 11 to 20 news racks; $50 for 22
to 30 news racks; and $100 for 31 or more news racks.
d.
Permits shall only be denied if a permit application is incomplete, the newsrack does not comply with the requirements of Section 29:27-4 of this chapter, or the applicant fails to pay the requisite fee.
e.
Revocation of Permit. Permits may be revoked upon notice, following
an opportunity for a hearing, by the Director for one or more of the
following reasons:
1.
Whenever the application submitted to obtain the permit is found
to be false or intentionally misleading.
2.
Whenever any of the provisions of this chapter are violated.
3.
Whenever the permittee maintains a newsrack at a location other than
that specified in the application.
4.
Whenever the news rack has not been utilized by the permittee for
a period of 20 consecutive days.
No permit shall be revoked without the Director first providing
the owner or permittee with written notification of the intent to
revoke the permit on a date certain, which notification shall state
the specific violation and, if for the reason provided in paragraphs
e,2 or e,3, the notification shall also state that the owner has five
business days in which to correct the violation or, in the case of
paragraph e,4, to resume the use of the news rack. The written notification
shall be served either personally or by certified mail, return receipt
request. Any person shall be entitled to a hearing, if he so requests
one in writing within five business days of the mailing of the notification
or intent to revoke the permit. A request for a hearing shall stay
the revocation of the permit, pending the outcome of the hearing.
[Ord. 6 PSF-B, 3-7-2012]
Any news rack which in whole or in part rests upon, in or over
any public sidewalk or roadway shall be bound by the following regulations:
a.
No news rack shall exceed five feet in height, 30 inches in width,
or two feet in depth.
b.
No news rack shall be used for advertising signs or publicity purposes
other than that dealing with the display, sale, or purchase of the
newspaper or news periodical offered for sale therein.
c.
Each news rack shall be equipped with a coin return mechanism in
good working order so as to permit a person inserting a coin to secure
an immediate refund in the event the newspaper or news periodical
offered for sale therein is not received by that person for any reason.
d.
Each news rack shall have affixed to it in a permanent manner a visible,
legible notice in substantially the following form:
|
IN CASE OF A MALFUNCTION OF THIS NEWS RACK OR AN
ACCIDENT INVOLVING IT OR TO SECURE A REFUND THE DISTRIBUTOR WHO HAS
PLACED AND MAINTAINS IT IS:
|
|
Name of Distributor and Owner
|
|
Number, Street or P.O. Box
|
|
Post Office, Zip Code
|
|
Telephone Number, including area code.
|
|
The telephone number must be either local or toll
free.
|
e.
Each news rack shall be maintained in a neat and clean condition
and in good repair at all times.
f.
No news racks shall be placed or allowed to remain in any location
so that it interferes with the removal of snow or ice or the removal
of leaves or debris, whether the removal is a public or private duty.
[Ord. 6 PSF-B, 3-7-2012]
Each and every news rack which in whole or in part rests upon,
in or over any public sidewalk or roadway shall be further regulated,
as follows:
a.
No news rack shall be placed or maintained projecting onto, into
or over, or resting wholly or partly upon, any portion of the roadway
of a public street.
b.
No news rack shall be placed or maintained in such a manner as to
endanger the safety of persons or property, or in a place used for
public utility purposes, public transportation, or other public or
governmental purposes, or when it interferes with or impedes the flow
of pedestrian or vehicle traffic, the ingress or egress from any structure
or building, whether residential, business or governmental, or the
use of public fixtures, including, but not limited to, utility poles,
mail boxes, fire alarms, traffic signals or control signs, hydrants
or parking meters.
c.
No news rack shall be chained, bolted or otherwise affixed or attached
to any fixture upon, in or over any public sidewalk or roadway unless
that fixture is owned by the distributor.
d.
No news rack shall be placed, installed, used or maintained:
1.
Within three feet of any marked crosswalk;
2.
Within 12 feet of the curb return of any marked crosswalk;
3.
Within 15 feet of any fire hydrant;
4.
Within five feet of any Fire or Police call box, fire alarm or other
emergency communication device, including, but not limited to, public
telephones;
5.
Within five feet of any driveway crossing a City right-of-way;
6.
Within 50 feet of any Fire or Police station;
7.
Within three feet ahead or 15 feet to the rear of any designated
bus stop, taxi stand or place marked for handicapped parking;
8.
Within three feet of any bus bench or shelter.
[Ord. 6 PSF-B, 3-7-2012]
Any person who vandalizes, defaces, damages or otherwise interferes
with the use of the news rack, or uses it to store contraband or engage
in any illegal activity, shall be subject to penalty in accordance
with this chapter.
[Ord. 6 PSF-B, 3-7-2012; Ord. 6PSF-A(S), 1-7-2016; Ord. 6PSF-F, 6-15-2016]
a.
Distributors, Permittees or Other Person or Business Entity.
1.
The Director of the Department of Engineering and duly authorized
designees, all other City Directors, all municipal elected officials
and all law enforcement officers of the Division of Police and sworn
members of the Newark Division of Fire and such other City employees,
are hereby authorized and empowered to perform as law enforcement
officers solely with respect to the enforcement of the provisions
of this chapter by being empowered to issue summons for any violations
thereof in accordance with the Rules Governing the Courts of the State
of New Jersey. The Director of the Department of Engineering is also
authorized to provide a courtesy notification of an existing violation
to the permittee or such other person deemed by him or her to be in
violation of this chapter, and allow an opportunity to correct the
violation within five days. Such notification shall be in writing
and served upon the violator in the same manner as a summons. Such
a courtesy notice is not an administrative prerequisite to the issuance
of a summons or violation notice.
If the violation is not corrected within five business days
and no hearing is requested, the Department of Engineering shall remove
such news rack and place it in storage in a secure place. The cost
of the removal and storage shall be billed to the permittee or the
person in violation of this chapter.
If such news rack is not claimed as provided in the Abandoned
Property Law it shall be disposed of as provided by law.
2.
A fine or penalty of not more than $500 and not less than $100 for
each offense for each and every day a violation of any provision of
this chapter shall continue may be levied by the Municipal Court.
If a person or business entity is convicted of violating this
chapter within one year of the date of a previous violation of the
same chapter and which person or business entity was fined for the
previous violation, such person or business entity shall be sentenced
by the Municipal Court to an additional fine as a repeat offender.
The additional fine imposed by the Municipal Court for a repeated
offense shall not be less than the minimum or exceed the maximum fine
fixed for a violation of this chapter, but shall be calculated separately
from the fine imposed for the violation of the chapter, in accordance
with N.J.S.A. 40:49-5.
b.
Patrons.
1.
Any patron, purchaser or user of a news rack who uses slugs or anything
other than a coin of the proper denomination and valid in the United
States, or who removes more newspapers or periodicals than paid for,
shall be deemed guilty of petty larceny.
2.
Any person who vandalizes or otherwise interferes with a news rack
shall be charged accordingly.
3.
Any person who uses it to store contraband or engage in any illegal
activity, shall be charged accordingly.
c.
Penalty. A fine of not more than $1,000 and not less than $100 for
each offense for each and every day a violation of any provision of
this chapter shall continue may be assessed by the City.
