Section 24-4104. MAINTENANCE OF PUBLISHER BOXES ON PUBLIC SPACE

 

4104.1A publisher box on public space shall be maintained in good working order, including the following:

 

(a)Any vandalized or otherwise damaged publisher box shall be repaired within a reasonable time, but no later than thirty (30) calendar days following the occurrence of the damage or within the time allowed by a compliance order sent by the Director;

 

(b)The interior and exterior of the publisher box shall be reasonably clean and free of dents, blemishes, and discoloration;

 

(c)The publisher box’s clear or glass parts, if any, shall be unbroken and reasonably free of cracks, and discoloration;

 

(d)Any lid or door for accessing the publications shall protect the publications from the weather at all times and prevent the publications from littering the surrounding area during windy conditions;

 

(e)The interior of the publisher box shall be kept free of past issues of publications, food, clothing, trash, debris and other solid waste;

 

(f)The exterior of the publisher box shall be kept free of graffiti and pasted bills; and

 

(g)The publisher box shall be stocked with current publications and shall not remain empty of current publications for more than thirty (30) consecutive days.  Any publisher box empty for longer than this period shall be deemed abandoned.

 

4104.2No person shall place a publisher box on public space unless the publisher box placement complies with the following general placement requirements:

 

(a)No publisher box shall be attached to a utility pole, street light pole, traffic signal light pole, regulatory sign, parking meter, trash receptacle, fire hydrant, directional sign, bicycle rack, bike station, bus shelter, street furniture, or other public street fixture, except as allowed by Subsection 4104.3;

 

 (b)No publisher box shall be placed on any space that reduces the width of the pedestrian circulation pathway on the sidewalk to less than the following:

 

(1)Ten feet (10 ft.) on sidewalks having a total width of twenty feet (20 ft.) or more; 

 

(2)Eight feet (8 ft.) on sidewalks having a total width of sixteen feet (16 ft.) to twenty feet (20 ft.);  or

 

(3)Six feet (6 ft.) in other areas.

 

(c)No publisher box shall be placed within five feet (5 ft.) of the edge of a driveway or alley, a fire hydrant, a bus shelter, a bicycle rack, or a designated vending cart location;

 

(d)No publisher box shall be placed on or within two feet (2 ft.) of a manhole cover, meter, or valve box cover or any utility access cover or vent cover for underground utilities or within two feet (2 ft.) of a traffic control cabinet; 

 

(e)No publisher box shall be placed within a designated bus zone or on a streetcar platform; and

 

(f)No publisher box shall be placed on a tree space or on any other unpaved surface adjacent to the sidewalk;

 

4104.3Notwithstanding Subsection 4104.2(a), a publisher box may be attached to a publisher box corral; provided there is available space within the corral for the publisher box.

 

4104.4No person shall place a publisher box adjacent to the roadway curb on public space unless the publisher box placement complies with the following curbside placement requirements:

 

(a)Publisher boxes shall be placed no less than eighteen inches (18 in.) and no more than twenty four inches (24 in.) from, and parallel to, the vertical face of the roadway curb, with the publisher box opening facing toward the sidewalk and away from the roadway;

 

(b)No publisher box shall be placed within three feet (3 ft.) of a parking meter or a multi-space parking meter, as measured parallel to the roadway curb, or within four feet (4 ft.) of a parking meter reserved for persons with disabilities;

 

(c)No publisher box shall be placed upon or within five feet (5 ft.) of a pedestrian access ramp, including the area between any two ramps on a given corner, or within two feet (2 ft.) of a marked pedestrian crosswalk;

 

(d)No publisher box shall be placed adjacent to the curved portion or radius of any roadway curb at the corner of any city block;

 

(e)No publisher box shall be placed within a designated commercial loading zone, taxi stand, valet staging zone, building entrance zone or other passenger drop-off zone as delineated by signage posted at the roadway curb;

 

(f)No publisher box shall be placed at a location where signage designates the curb space as being reserved parking for persons with disabilities; and 

 

(g)Publisher boxes placed side by side, and not located within a publisher box corral, shall be arranged in groups of no more than seven (7) boxes.  A space of at least six feet (6 ft.) shall separate each group of publisher boxes or shall separate a group of publisher boxes from an adjacent publisher box corral.

 

4104.5No person shall place a publisher box at a location on public space which is adjacent to a building or wall unless the publisher box placement complies with the following requirements:

 

(a)A publisher box shall be parallel to and not more than six inches (6 in.) from the building face or wall; and

 

(b)A publisher box shall be located at least five feet (5 ft.) from either side of a building entrance, fire exit, fire hose connection, show window, display window, ATM or sidewalk café.

 

 

authority

Sections 4(a)(5)(A) (assigning authority to coordinate and manage public space permits and records to the Department Director), 5(4)(A) (assigning duty to review and approve public space permit requests to the Department Director), 6(b) (transferring the public right-of-way maintenance function previously delegated to the Department of Public Works under Section III(F) of Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1983 to the Department), 9j (granting the Director rulemaking authority), and 9(j) (authorizing civil fines and penalties) of the Department of Transportation Establishment Act of 2002 (“DDOT Establishment Act”), effective May 21, 2002 (D.C. Law 14-137; D.C. Official Code §§ 50-921.03(5)(A), 50-921.04(4)(A), 50-921.05(b), 50-921.18, and 50-921.19 (2014 Repl.& 2015 Supp.)), Sections 604 and 607 of the Fiscal Year 1997 Budget Support Act of 1996, effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-198; D.C. Official Code §§ 10-1141.04 and 10-1141.07 (2013 Repl. & 2015 Supp.)), Subtitle C of Title VI of the Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Support Act of 2004, effective December 7, 2004 (D.C. Law 15-205; D.C. Official Code §§ 10-1181.01 et seq. (2013 Repl. & 2015 Supp.)), and the Public Space Enforcement Amendment Act of 2014, effective March 11, 2015 (D.C. Law 20-207; 61 DCR 12690 (December 19, 2014)).

source

Final Rulemaking published at 63 DCR 14191 (November 18, 2016).