It is not the intent of this article to discriminate
against, regulate, or interfere with the publication, circulation,
distribution, or dissemination of any printed material which is constitutionally
protected. To that end, the content of any material distributed through
a newsrack shall not be used to form the basis for any action taken
to enforce the provisions of this article. The provisions set forth
in this article shall be construed strictly in accord with this intent.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation to erect, place, maintain or operate, on any public right-of-way,
in the Town of West Hartford any newsrack without first having obtained
a permit from the Director of Public Works. One permit may be issued
to include any number of newsracks, and shall be signed by the applicant.
Every applicant for a permit to place a newsrack
on a public right-of-way in the Town of West Hartford shall file a
written statement with the Director of Public Works in a form satisfactory
to the Corporation Counsel, whereby such owner agrees to indemnify
and hold harmless the Town, 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 person as a result
of the installation, use and/or maintenance of a newsrack within the
Town of West Hartford. Such statement shall also certify the newsrack
owner's agreement that the Town is not liable for any damage to such
newsracks.
Every owner of a newsrack who places or maintains
a newsrack on a public right-of-way shall provide the Town of West
Hartford with a certificate of liability insurance coverage issued
by an insurance company licensed to do business in the State of Connecticut
insuring the applicant and the Town of West Hartford against all claims
for damages to bodily injury, including death, and property which
could arise in connection with the installation, operation or maintenance
of a newsrack in the Town of West Hartford. The certificate of insurance
shall state that the coverage afforded thereunder shall be primary
coverage for any claims within its scope. Minimum coverage of such
policy shall be $600,000 aggregate for personal injury claims and
for property damage claims and $300,000 per each occurrence. The policy,
by its terms, shall not be cancelable prior to the expiration date
of the permit without 30 days' written notice to the Town.
Every person who places or maintains a newsrack
on a public right-of-way within the Town of West Hartford shall have
his or her permit number, name, address and telephone number affixed
to the newsrack in a place where such information may be easily seen
before placing said newsrack on the right-of-way.
Any newsrack which rests in whole or in part
upon, or on any portion of a public right-of-way or which projects
onto, into, or over any part of a public right-of-way shall be located
in accordance with the provisions of this section:
A. No newsrack shall be chained, bolted, or otherwise
attached to any fixture located in the public right-of-way, except
to other newsracks.
B. Newsracks may be placed next to each other, provided
that no group of newsracks shall extend for a distance of more than
five feet along a curb, and a space of not less than three feet shall
separate each group of newsracks.
C. No newsrack shall be placed, installed, used or maintained:
(1) Within five feet of any marked crosswalk;
(2) Within 15 feet of the curb return of any unmarked
crosswalk;
(3) Within five feet of any fire hydrant, fire call box,
police call box or other emergency facility;
(4) Within five feet of any driveway;
(5) Within five feet past, or 25 feet prior to, any sign
marking a designated bus stop, according to the direction of travel
on the roadway adjacent to the bus stop sign, except that a newsrack
may be placed immediately adjacent to the end of a bus shelter if
such placement shall not otherwise violate the requirements of this
article;
(6) Within five feet of the end of any bus bench;
(7) At any location whereby the clear sidewalk space for
the passageway of pedestrians is reduced to less than six feet in
width;
(8) Upon or within five feet of any public area improved
with flowers, shrubs, trees or other landscaping, or within five feet
of any display window of any building abutting the sidewalk or parkway
or in such a manner as to impede or interfere with the reasonable
use of such window for display purposes;
(9) Within 500 feet of any other newsrack containing the
same issue or edition of the same publication, within a business or
industrial district;
(10)
Within any single-family residential zone except
with the written permission of the abutting property owner, and except
on a street designated as a major arterial street, minor arterial
street or collector street in the Town of West Hartford Plan of Conservation
and Development as that document may be adopted or amended from time
to time;
(11)
Within 1,500 feet of any other newsrack containing
the same issue or edition of the same publication, within any residential
district;
(12)
On any access ramp for disabled persons.
D. No more than eight newsracks shall be located on any
public right-of-way within a space of 200 feet in any direction within
the same block; provided, however, that no more than 16 newsracks
shall be allowed on any one block. In determining which newsracks
shall be permitted to be located or to remain if already in place,
the Director of Public Works shall be guided solely by the following
criteria:
(1) First priority shall be daily publications (published
five or more days per week);
(2) Second priority shall be publications published two
to four days per week;
(3) Third priority shall be publications published one
day per week.
(4) Fourth priority shall be publications published intermittently
or less frequently than once per week.
Any newsrack which in whole or in part rests
upon, in or over any public right-of-way shall comply with the following
standards:
A. No newsrack shall exceed four feet in height, two
feet in width, or two feet in thickness.
B. The name of the publication being dispensed therein
in accord with the following standards:
(1) On the front of the newsrack, the lettering size shall
not exceed 1 3/4 inches in height.
(2) On the sides and back of the newsrack, the lettering
size shall not exceed 2 1/2 inches in height.
C. No newsrack 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 sold therein.
D. Each newsrack shall be made of metal and shall be
painted in a color scheme consisting of a dark background with white
lettering. Shades of red, yellow, or green similar to those used in
traffic control signs or devices shall not be used on any newsrack.
E. Each newsrack shall be equipped with a coin-return
mechanism to permit a person using the machine to secure an immediate
refund in the event the person is unable to receive the paid-for publication.
The coin-return mechanism shall be maintained in good working order.
This subsection shall not apply to newsracks for publications offered
free of charge.
F. Each newsrack shall have affixed to it in a readily
visible place so as to be seen by anyone using the newsrack, a notice
setting forth the name and address of the distributor and the telephone
number of a working telephone service to call to report a malfunction,
or to secure a refund in the event of a malfunction of the coin-return
mechanism, or to give the notices provided for in this article.
G. Each newsrack shall be so weighted and balanced as
to prevent it from being tipped by the opening of its door, or by
the impact of snow cast by a passing snowplow.
H. Each newsrack shall be maintained in a neat and clean
condition and in good repair at all times. Specifically, but without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, each newsrack shall be serviced
and maintained so that:
(1) It is reasonably free of dirt and grease;
(2) It is reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling and
cracked paint and graffiti in the visible painted areas thereof;
(3) It is reasonably free of rust and corrosion in the
visible unpainted metal areas thereon;
(4) The clear plastic or glass parts thereof if any, through
which the publications therein are viewed are unbroken and reasonably
free of cracks, dents, blemishes and discoloration;
(5) The paper or cardboard parts or inserts thereof are
reasonably free of tears, peeling or fading; and
(6) The structural parts thereof are not broken or unduly
misshapen.
(7) It shall not contain any materials which pre-date
the current issue of the publication. Such materials shall not be
deposited in any public trash receptacle owned by the Town of West
Hartford and shall not be deposited in any privately owned trash receptacle
without the permission of the owner or renter thereof. In the event
that the publication is manufactured from recyclable material, it
shall be discarded in an appropriate manner for that type of recyclable
material.
I. No newsrack shall contain or utilize any electrically
powered illumination or sound.
Upon determination by the Director of Public Works that a newsrack has been installed, used or maintained in violation of the provisions of this article, an order to correct the offending condition shall be issued to the distributor of the newsrack. Such order shall be telephoned to the distributor and confirmed by mailing a copy of the order by certified mail, return receipt requested. The order shall specifically describe the offending condition, suggest actions necessary to correct the condition, and inform the newsrack distributor of the right to appeal. Failure to correct the offending condition within five days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after the mailing date of the order or to appeal the order within three days after its receipt shall result in the offending newsrack being summarily removed and processed as unclaimed property. If the offending newsrack is not properly identified as to owner under provisions of §
155-39 hereof, it shall be removed immediately and processed as unclaimed property pursuant to Chapter
132 of the Code of Ordinances of the Town of West Hartford. An impound fee, which shall be measured by the Town's cost and expense of impounding, shall be assessed against each newsrack summarily removed. The Director of Public Works shall cause inspection to be made of the corrected condition or of a newsrack reinstalled after removal under this section. The distributor of said newsrack shall be charged an inspection fee of $25 for each newsrack so inspected. This charge shall be in addition to any other fees and charges required under this article.
This article shall apply to existing newsracks within the Town of West Hartford, except that the distributors thereof shall have 60 days within which to comply with its provisions or such additional time as may be allowed in the discretion of the Director of Public Works. Newsracks existing within single-family residential districts as of July 1, 2001, shall be permitted to remain in place, provided that their location shall be registered with the Director of Public Works in the manner prescribed by §
155-35 within 60 days following the effective date of this article.
In the event that a newsrack remains empty for a period of 30 continuous days, it shall be deemed abandoned, and may be treated in the manner as provided in §
155-42 for newsracks in violation of the provisions of this article.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase of this article is for any reason held to be invalid of
unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction,
such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions
of this article.