For the purposes of this article, "bench" shall mean a seat located upon public property along any public way for the comfort, convenience, and accommodation of passersby or persons awaiting transportation.
(§ I, Ord. 1183)
(a) 
Required. It shall be unlawful for any person to install or maintain any bench on any street or sidewalk area within the City unless there has been issued, and is in valid existence, a permit therefor from the Director of Field services.
(b) 
Separate permits required for each bench. A separate permit shall be obtained for each bench, which permit shall be valid only for the particular location specified thereon.
(§ I, Ord. 1183)
No bench permit shall be issued except upon a written application filed with, and upon a form prescribed by, the City Clerk. Such application shall contain the following:
(a) 
The proposed location of each bench;
(b) 
The advertising, if any, to appear on such benches;
(c) 
Such other information as the Director of Field Services; and
(d) 
The signature of the owner of the benches for which permits are sought.
(§ II, Ord. 1183)
Each application for a bench permit shall be accompanied by the following data:
(a) 
Detailed plans and specifications for each bench; and
(b) 
A written statement signed by the owner or person in lawful possession or control of the property abutting upon the public street at the place where the bench is proposed to be located, giving his or her consent to the installation and maintenance of the bench.
(§ II, Ord. 1183)
(a) 
The application for a bench permit shall be denied if the Director of Field Services shall find, and the Council concurs, that the maintenance of the bench shall tend to obstruct passage along any public way, create a hazard, or otherwise be detrimental to the public safety, welfare, or convenience.
(b) 
Such application shall be canceled and denied if the applicant fails to deposit the permit fee and accept the permit within 10 days after a notice of the approval of the application by the Street Superintendent.
(§ III, Ord. 1183)
Each permit shall expire at the end of the twelfth month after the date of its issuance, unless renewed. A fee in the amount of $3 for each bench shall be paid at the time of each annual renewal of the permit. Applications for such renewals shall be made prior to the expiration date by the payment of such annual fee.
(§ V, Ord. 1183, as amended by § 1, Ord. 415-NS, eff. January 1, 1987)
(a) 
Conditions of issuance. All permits issued pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be temporary only, shall be revocable at the pleasure of the Council at any time without notice and without liability, and shall be accepted accordingly. No refund of any fee paid prior to such revocation shall be made.
(b) 
Number limited. Not more than two permits shall be issued for any one location and shall be issued to the same permittee.
(c) 
Numbering. Each permit shall bear a separate number.
(§§ I and V, Ord. 1183)
The Director of Finance shall notify the City Clerk for each permit granted or renewed pursuant to the provisions of this article, and the City Clerk shall keep and maintain an index file of all such permits.
(§ XII, Ord. 1183, as amended by § 2 (115), Ord. 624-NS, eff. Dec. 15, 1999)
Whenever a bench for which a permit has been issued has been sold, the title or control thereof assigned or transferred, or the location thereof changed, a new permit shall be obtained for its maintenance.
(§§ II and V, Ord. 1183)
(a) 
Any bench permit may be revoked or the renewal thereof denied by the Council for any violation of any of the provisions of this article, for any fraud or misrepresentation in the application, or for any reason which would have been grounds for the denial of the application.
(b) 
Any such permit shall be canceled and revoked if the permittee fails to install the bench within 60 days after the date of the issuance of the permit.
(c) 
If the abutting owner or person in lawful possession or control withdraws his or her consent to the continued maintenance of the bench and gives a written notice thereof to the Director of Field Services, a renewal of the permit shall be denied at the expiration of the current term of the permit. The City Clerk shall inform the permittee of the receipt of such notice.
(d) 
The application for a permit shall be canceled and denied or the permit revoked, as the case may be, by the Council if 60% of the property owners or persons in lawful control or having their places of business within 200 feet of the location of such bench protest the same.
(§§ III and IV, Ord. 1183)
(a) 
Required. No permit shall be issued pursuant to the provisions of this article unless the applicant shall post and maintain with the Council a surety bond or policy of public liability insurance approved by the Council and conditioned as provided in this section.
(b) 
Conditions. Such bond or policy shall be conditioned that the permittee shall indemnify and save the City and its officers and employees from any and all loss, costs, damages, expenses, or liability which may result from or arise out of the granting of the permit or the installation or maintenance of the bench for which the permit is issued, and that the permittee shall pay any and all losses or damages which may be sustained by any person as a result of, or which may be caused by or arise out of, such installation or maintenance. The bond or policy of insurance shall be maintained in its original amount by the permittee at his or her expense at all times during the period for which the permit is in effect. In the event two or more permits are issued to one permittee, one such bond or policy of insurance may be furnished to cover two or more benches, and each bond or policy shall be of such type that its coverage shall be automatically restored immediately from and after the time of the reporting of any accident from which any liability may there-after accrue.
(c) 
Limits of liability. The limits of liability upon any bond or policy of insurance posted pursuant to the requirements of this section shall in no event be less than $5,000 for bodily injuries or the death of one person nor less than $1,000 for property damages. The permissible limits of liability for bodily injuries or the death of more than one person shall depend upon the number of bench permits covered thereby and shall not be less than the amounts set forth in the following schedule:
Number of Bench Permits
Limits of Public Liability
Limits of Property Damage
1 through 10
$10,000.00
$1,000.00
11 through 50
20,000.00
2,000.00
51 through 100
40,000.00
3,000.00
101 or more
80,000.00
5,000.00
(§ XI, Ord. 1183)
(a) 
After the revocation or expiration of any sidewalk bench permit, the Director of Field Services may remove and store the bench if the permittee fails to remove the same within 10 days after a notice so to do.
(b) 
The permittee may recover the bench if, within 60 days after the removal thereof, he or she pays the cost of such removal and storage which shall not exceed the sum of $2 for removal and $5 per month for storage for each such bench. After 60 days, the Director of Field Services may sell, destroy, or otherwise dispose of the bench at his or her discretion.
(c) 
The provisions of this section shall be at the sole risk of the permittee and shall be in addition to any other remedy provided by law for the violation of the provisions of this article.
(§ X, Ord. 1183)
No person shall install or maintain any sidewalk bench in the following places:
(a) 
In any alley;
(b) 
At any location where the distance from the face of the curb to the property line is less than 10 feet;
(c) 
At any location where the distance is more than 50 feet from the nearest intersecting street; provided, however, whenever, in the opinion of the Director of Field Services, observance of such requirement would result in inconvenience or hardship, such requirement may be waived by the Director of Field Services; and
(d) 
At any place except an existing public carrier stop.
(§ VI, Ord. 1183)
(a) 
No sidewalk bench permittee shall locate or maintain any bench at a point less than eighteen (18") inches nor more than thirty (30") inches from the face of the curb, and each bench shall be kept parallel with the curb.
(b) 
No bench shall be more than forty-two (42") inches high nor more than two (2') feet six (6") inches wide nor more than seven (7') feet long over all.
(c) 
Each bench shall have displayed thereon in a conspicuous place the name of the permittee and the permit number, which name and number shall be applied by the permittee and renewed whenever they become illegible.
(d) 
It shall be the duty of the permittee to maintain each bench at all times in a safe condition and at its proper and lawful location and to inspect each bench periodically.
(§ VIII, Ord. 1183)
(a) 
No advertising matter or sign whatever shall be displayed upon any sidewalk bench except upon the front and rear surfaces of the backrest, and not more than 75% of each such surface shall be so used.
(b) 
No pictures or representations in irregular contours shall appear on any such bench.
(c) 
No advertisement or sign on any bench shall display the words "stop", "look", "drive-in", "danger", or any other word, phrase, symbol, or character liable to interfere with, mislead, or direct traffic.
(d) 
Repealed.
(§ IX, Ord. 1183, as amended by § 1, Ord. 624-NS, eff. Dec. 15, 1999)
It shall be unlawful for any person, with the exception of an authorized City official or the permittee or his or her agent, to tamper with, move, injure, deface, or commit acts of vandalism upon any bench lawfully upon a public way pursuant to the provisions of this article. Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.
(§ XIII, Ord. 1183)