This chapter shall be known as the "Pay Telephone Regulation
Ordinance" of the City of West Hollywood.
(Prior code § 3900; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)
The purpose of this chapter is to protect the public health,
safety and welfare by:
a. Prohibiting
the placement of pay telephones on unimproved property so as to prevent
their use for and/or contribution to illegal activity;
b. Providing
for nuisance abatement procedures if the City Manager determines that
any pay telephone is being used for illegal purposes; and
c. Maintaining
and protecting the peace, comfort and values of surrounding properties.
(Prior code § 3901; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)
"Controlled substance"
shall mean any drug or substance, listed on any schedule
of the California
Health and Safety Code, including but not limited
to, Sections 11054, 11055, 11056, 11057, 11058, or the successor statutes
thereto.
"Director"
shall mean the Director of Community Development of the City
of West Hollywood or the Director's designee.
"Pay telephone"
shall mean a telephone into which money may be deposited,
or through which a credit card or telephone calling card number may
be entered, for purposes of obtaining a telecommunications link to
communicate with another who receives the communication by any telephone
or pager.
"Pay telephone vendor"
shall mean any person or entity authorized to sell, lease,
install or otherwise contract for the sale, use, maintenance or installation
of a "pay telephone."
"Prohibited noise"
shall mean any sounds or vibrations which are physically
annoying to reasonable persons of ordinary sensitivity or which are
so harsh or so prolonged or unnatural or unusual as to their use,
time, or place as to occasion discomfort to any persons from which
said noises emanate or which interfere with the peace and comfort
of the residents or their guests, or the operators or customers in
places of business in the vicinity, or which may detrimentally or
adversely affect such residences or places of business.
"Public property"
shall mean any public highway, public street, public way
or public parcel either owned by the city or dedicated to the public
for the purpose of travel. The term includes all or any part of the
entire width of a right-of-way, and above and below the same, whether
or not such entire area is actually used for highway purposes.
"Unimproved property"
shall mean any vacant lot, land or other real property that
lacks any building, structure or object constituting a physical feature
of real property, or that lacks any part of such feature.
(Prior code § 3902; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)
No pay telephone shall be installed, located. or maintained
on unimproved property.
(Prior code § 3903; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 93-388 §§ 1 – 3, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)
Any pay telephone used as an instrumentality for, which contributes
to, facilitates or furthers any of the following activities is declared
to be a public nuisance and unlawful:
a. The
transportation, delivery, sale, consumption or transfer of any controlled
substance.
b. The
commission of an act of prostitution or any other illegal activity.
c. The
outdoor consumption of alcoholic beverages on adjoining or nearby
public or private property except where specifically authorized pursuant
to a valid license issued by the California Department of Alcoholic
Beverage Control.
d. The
creation or maintenance of prohibited noise.
e. Any
violation of this chapter or of any other provision of this code.
f. The
maintenance of a pay telephone in disrepair or in an inoperative condition
for any thirty-day period after the effective date of this chapter.
g. The
use of the pay telephone in any manner which adversely affects or
otherwise endangers the public health, safety or welfare.
(Prior code § 3904; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 93-388 § 4, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)
a. Whenever the Director determines that a particular pay telephone constitutes a public nuisance as defined in Section
11.32.050, the Director may, in addition to the exercise of any other criminal or civil remedies which may exist for a violation of this chapter, commence proceedings to abate the nuisance. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the abatement proceedings shall conform to the abatement procedures as outlined in Section
1.32.010 of this code.
b. No proceedings to abate a public nuisance as defined in Section
11.32.050 shall commence unless the Director first makes a reasonable effort to work with the property owner on whose property the pay telephone is located, if applicable, and the pay telephone vendor to eliminate the conditions described in Section
11.32.050 by voluntary measures, including, but not limited to:
2. Only
authorizing 911 emergency calls;
4. Changing
the telephone's location on the parcel;
5. Disconnecting
the telephone so as to make it inoperative;
6. Temporarily
removing the telephone;
7. Changing
the type of enclosure of the telephone;
8. Removing
one or more of the telephones if there are several in the vicinity.
(Prior code § 3905; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)
If the public nuisance to be abated is one defined in Section
11.32.050:
a. The contents of the notice shall conform to the requirements set forth in Sections
19.56.030 and
19.56.040 of this code, and shall also be sent to the property owner, if applicable, and pay telephone vendor, if known or ascertainable by visual inspection of the pay telephone;
b. The hearing notice required by subsection
(a) of this section, and Sections
19.56.030 and
19.56.040 of this code shall also specify that abatement consists of removal of the pay telephone, as well as a one-year ban against installation of a pay telephone on the parcel, or on any contiguous parcel owned by the same property owner, commencing from the date of removal; and
c. Any
decision of the hearing officer ordering abatement shall specify that
a one-year ban, commencing from the date of removal, is imposed against
installation of any pay telephone on the same parcel, or on any contiguous
parcel owned by the same property owner.
(Prior code § 3906; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)
The Director shall maintain, and make available upon request, a list of locations where installation of pay telephones is temporarily prohibited pursuant to Section
11.32.070.
(Prior code § 3907; Ord. 93-377 § 1, 1993; Ord. 95-444 § 1, 1995)