[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the Township of Montclair 1-26-1993
by Ord. No. 93-1 (Art. XV of Ch. 88 of the 1979 Code). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any person responsible for placing and maintaining a pay telephone
in a public way hereinafter defined.
Activity which is proscribed by N.J.S.A. 2C:1-1 et seq. or any Township
ordinance or any federal law or regulation.
Any self-service or coin- or credit-card-operated telephone.
An individual, business, firm, corporation, association, partnership
or other organization or group of persons.
Any surface provided for the use of pedestrians.
All that area dedicated to public use for public street purposes
and shall include but not be limited to roadways, parkways, alleys and sidewalks.
The Township of Montclair.
A.
No person, association, partnership or corporation may place or maintain any pay telephone on or above any public street or sidewalk without having first obtained a permit as provided in this chapter. Permits shall be issued by the Director of Community Services and shall be subject to approval of the location and means of installation of the telephone in accordance with the standards set forth in § 317-5 of this chapter. The permit required by this chapter shall be in addition to any permit required pursuant to the Uniform Construction Code, N.J.S.A. 52:27d-119 et seq., or any street occupancy or opening permit required by any other Township ordinance.
[Amended 6-15-2004 by Ord. No. 04-34]
B.
Before installation, a plan or sketch of the telephone
shall be furnished to the Director of Community Services in sufficient detail
to describe size, location, equipment and means of installation and cabling.
A copy of the permit or the permit number shall be affixed to the telephone.
[Amended 6-15-2004 by Ord. No. 04-34]
C.
The initial fee for a permit shall be $25 per year or
any part of a year and the fee for a renewal permit shall be $10 per year;
provided, however, that no fee shall be charged for telephones furnished by
the Township of Montclair as an accommodation to the public or for permits
issued to any person or entity which pays a franchise fee or tax for the use
of public facilities. Such person or entity shall not, however, be exempt
from the regulatory provisions of this chapter. Permits shall be renewable
annually on January 1 of each year.
D.
The Director of Community Services shall be informed
of the intent of any person to remove or relocate a telephone.
[Amended 6-15-2004 by Ord. No. 04-34]
E.
Before receiving a permit, an applicant shall:
(1)
Execute an indemnification agreement substantially as
follows: The applicant and any other persons on whose behalf the application
is made agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Township of Montclair
against liability for all claims for damage to property or injury to or death
of persons arising out of or resulting from the issuance of the permit or
the control, maintenance or ownership or use of each pay telephone.
(2)
File with the Department of Community Services a general
liability insurance policy of $1,000,000 for bodily injury and $50,000 for
property damage naming the Township as additional insured against any injury,
loss or damage that may result from placing or maintaining the telephone or
telephone equipment on or above any public street or sidewalk.
[Amended 6-15-2004 by Ord. No. 04-34]
F.
The permit fees set forth herein shall not apply to any
public telephone installation subject to an agreement with the Township of
Montclair providing for the payment of any annual commission and a franchise
tax to the Township of Montclair, except that such public telephone installations
shall be subject the Township's right to require the following:
(1)
The removal of an outdoor telephone or the revocation
of a permit; or
(2)
The restriction or limitation upon service to permit
outgoing calls only if a public telephone has the potential to or has illustrated
a propensity to create or contribute to illegal or illicit activity. A presumption
of illegal or illicit activity will be created if during the permit year five
incidents of illegal or illicit activities are associated with the location
or the proposed location of the public telephone.
Telephones shall comply with the following standards:
A.
No booth surrounding a telephone shall exceed eight feet
in height, four feet in width or four feet in depth.
B.
Each telephone shall be equipped with a coin return mechanism
to permit a person using the machine to secure an immediate refund if a call
cannot be placed. The coin return mechanism shall be maintained in good working
order.
C.
Each telephone shall have affixed to it, in a place visible
to everyone using the telephone, a telephone number of the distributor and
the telephone number of a working telephone service to report a malfunction,
to secure a refund or to give the notices provided for in this chapter.
D.
Telephones shall be maintained in a neat and clean condition
and in good repair at all times. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing,
a telephone shall be served and maintained so that:
(1)
It is reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling and
cracked paint in the visible painted areas thereof.
(2)
It is reasonably free of rust and corrosion in the visible
unpainted metal areas thereon.
(3)
Any clear plastic or glass parts are unbroken and reasonably
free of cracks, dents, graffiti, blemishes and discolorations.
(4)
Any paper or cardboard parts or inserts are reasonably
free of tears, peeling or fading.
(5)
The structural parts thereof are not broken or unduly
misshapen.
(6)
The telephone receiver is attached to the telephone.
E.
Any owner or permittee who fails to maintain his, her
or its telephone in working condition may be given a ten-day notice to repair
the telephone by the Director of Community Services. If the telephone is not
in working condition at the end of the ten-day period, the Director of Community
Services may revoke the permit unless the permittee provides assurance that
the telephone shall be repaired or removed.
[Amended 6-15-2004 by Ord. No. 04-34]
F.
Each telephone shall provide a local directory or information
assistance without charge, provided that the distributor is not charged for
such call by the local telephone company.
G.
Each telephone shall, upon written request of the Director
of Community Services, be capable of being restricted to outgoing calls only
within 10 days of the request as provided for herein.
[Amended 6-15-2004 by Ord. No. 04-34]
A.
No telephone shall be permitted to rest upon, in or over
any public street or sidewalk when such installation, use or maintenance:
(1)
Endangers the safety of persons or property;
(2)
Unreasonably interferes with or impedes the flow of pedestrians
or vehicular traffic, including any legally parked or stopped vehicles;
(3)
Unreasonably interferes with the ingress or egress from
any residence or place of business; or
(4)
Interferes with the use of traffic signs or signals,
hydrants or mailboxes permitted at or near said location.
B.
Telephones shall be placed or otherwise secured so as
to prevent their being blown down or around the public street or sidewalk
but shall not be chained or otherwise secured to any traffic or street signs,
signals, hydrants or mailboxes.
C.
No telephones shall be placed, installed, used or maintained:
(1)
Within any marked crosswalk.
(2)
Within three feet of a curb return of any unmarked crosswalk.
(3)
Within 15 feet of any fire hydrant, fire call box, police
call box or other emergency facility.
(4)
Within five feet of any driveway.
(5)
Within three feet of any public area improved with a
lawn, flowers, shrubs, trees or other landscaping.
(6)
At any location whereby the clear space for the passageway
of pedestrians is reduced to less than six feet.
(7)
Within three feet of any building unless written permission
is secured from the property owner and filed with the application.
(8)
Within 10 feet of any entrance to a residence, store
or public building.
D.
In the event that a particular pay telephone does not
fully meet the requirements set forth herein, the Director of Community Services
shall have the discretion to grant a permit upon a showing that the issuance
of such a permit is reasonable in accordance with the provisions of this section
and other provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 6-15-2004 by Ord. No. 04-34]
E.
The Township of Montclair may also consider in applications
for permits and/or require in its consent any of the following: the removal
of an outdoor telephone, the revocation of a permit or the restriction or
limitation upon service to permit outgoing calls only if a public telephone
or the proposed location has the potential to or has illustrated a propensity
to create or contribute to illegal or illicit activity. A presumption of illegal
or illicit activity will be created if during the permit year five incidents
of illegal or illicit activities are associated with the location or the proposed
location of the public telephone.
F.
No telephone or telecommunication device shall be placed on the sidewalk within 600 feet of any other pay telephone or telecommunication device on a sidewalk in any residential district or publicly zoned district as these districts are described in Chapter 347, Zoning, of the Code of the Township of Montclair.
G.
No telephone or telecommunication device shall be placed
on the sidewalk closer than 200 feet to any other pay telephone or telecommunication
device in any business district or any industrial district of the Township.
H.
In the event that an operator wishes to place more than one phone in a given location, in addition to the plan or sketch as required in § 317-2B of this chapter, he or she shall submit economic or demographic data to support the need for the number of phones proposed. The Director of Community Services shall review this data and, after consultation with the Department of Police, shall have the discretion to allow more than one phone to be placed or maintained in the proposed location.
[Amended 6-15-2004 by Ord. No. 04-34]
[Amended 6-15-2004 by Ord. No. 04-34]
Upon receipt of a complaint by a citizen or a representative of the Police Department that the location and use of a telephone interferes with the health and welfare of the public, the Director of Community Services shall conduct a hearing, after providing notices of same to all affected parties, to ascertain if the use of the telephone endangers the health and welfare of the community. If he or she finds by a preponderance of the evidence presented that the use of the telephone constitutes a violation of the standards and conditions of § 317-5 of this chapter or constitutes a threat to the health and welfare of the public, he or she shall revoke any permit issued by his or her Department for the use of the telephone. He or she may also order such other relief as he or she deems fair, including requiring the telephone to be restricted to outgoing calls only.
A.
The owners of existing public telephones shall apply
for the permit required hereunder within 30 days from the date this chapter
becomes final. The Township of Montclair reserves the right to reject any
and all locations submitted for approval based upon their existing nonconformance
to this chapter.
B.
If a permit is not obtained within the time specified
herein, or if the Director of Community Services rejects any application for
a permit, the owners shall forthwith remove said public telephone and all
ancillary equipment. If the owners fails or refuses to remove said public
telephone within 10 days from notification by the Director of Community Services,
the Director of Community Services or his or her designee may cause the public
telephone to be removed. Public telephone equipment removed by the Township
shall be released to the lawful owner thereof upon payment of a fee of $250
to the Township of Montclair.
[Amended 6-15-2004 by Ord. No. 04-34]
C.
If no person makes a claim for return of a public telephone
and/or ancillary equipment removed by the Township under this section within
six months from the date of removal, it may be disposed of pursuant to N.J.S.A.
40A:14-157.
[Amended 5-23-2000 by Ord. No. 00-19; 4-10-2007
by Ord. No. 07-17]
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction
thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding $2,000, imprisonment in the county/municipal
jail for a term not exceeding 90 days, or a period of community service not
exceeding 90 days, or any combination thereof as determined by the Municipal
Court Judge. Each day on which a violation of an ordinance exists shall be
considered a separate and distinct violation and shall be subject to imposition
of a separate penalty for each day of the violation as the Municipal Court
Judge may determine.
