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District OF COLUMBIA Department of Transportation
Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking
The Director of the District Department of Transportation (“Department”), pursuant to the authority set forth in 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), and 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) 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), and 50-921.05(b) (2009 Repl. & 2012 Supp.)), Section 604 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 (2008 Repl. & 2012 Supp.), and 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.(2008 Repl. & 2012 Supp.), provides notice of his intent to adopt the following proposed rules to amend Chapter 5 (Vendors and Solicitors) and add a new Chapter 36 (Publisher Boxes) to Title 24 (Public Space and Safety) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (“DCMR”).
The purpose of this rulemaking is to regulate the placement of publisher boxes on public space within the District of Columbia to promote public safety and the efficient use of public space, and to require annual permits, public liability insurance, and indemnification of the District in connection with the placement of publisher boxes on public space. This rulemaking will also establish an annual rental fee to cover the administrative costs of permitting and monitoring the placement of publisher boxes on public space. Additionally, this rulemaking will establish a process whereby a person may obtain a public space permit to install and maintain a publisher box corral on public space.
Final rulemaking action to adopt these amendments shall be taken not less than thirty (30) days from the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.
Section 520 (NEWSPAPER VENDING STANDS) of Chapter 5 (VENDORS AND SOLICITORS) of Title 24, PUBLIC SPACE AND SAFETY, of the DCMR is repealed.
A new Chapter 36, PUBLISHER BOXES, is added to Title 24 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 36 PUBLISHER BOXES
3600 PLACEMENT OF PUBLISHER BOXES On public space
3600.1 Any person may place, maintain, or operate a publisher box on public space after first obtaining an annual public space permit from the Director of the District Department of Transportation (“Director”).
3600.2 The Director shall issue an annual public space permit when the following conditions are satisfied:
(a) The Director determines that the information and documentation submitted pursuant to § 3601 are complete and accurate; and
(b) An annual public space rental fee of five dollars ($5) per publisher box has been paid.
3600.3 As a condition of the annual public space permit, the permittee shall indemnify and hold harmless the District of Columbia, its officers, employees or agents from any and all liability, loss, or damage the District of Columbia may suffer as a result of claims, demands, costs, or judgments against it arising from the placement of the publisher box.
3600.4 An owner of an existing publisher box on public space must obtain the annual public space permit required by § 3600.1 by July 1, 2014.
3600.5 Notwithstanding 24 DCMR § 225.1(a), an original or renewal public space permit for a publisher box is not subject to the public space permit application fee.
3601 APPLICATION AND QUALIFICATIONS TO OBTAIN A PUBLISHER BOX PERMIT
3601.1 The owner of a publisher box located or to be located on public space shall submit a public space permit application to the Director on an annual basis. The application shall be accompanied by the following:
(a) A document stating the name, business address, phone number and, if applicable, the email address of the person requesting the annual permit, and, if different, the name, business address, phone number and, if applicable, email address of the owner of the publisher box;
(b) A document stating the name of each publication, periodical, or document distributed from the publisher box owned by the applicant, to be used solely for DDOT confirmation of use of the publisher box by a permitted applicant;
(c) A certificate of insurance naming the District of Columbia, a municipal corporation, its officers, and employees as an additional insured and covering any liability arising from the placement of the applicant’s publisher box on public space for the duration of the permit. The certificate of insurance shall show the following:
(1) The District of Columbia, a municipal corporation as the certificate holder;
(2) Minimum general liability limits of no less than three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000), except that any person who maintains one hundred (100) or more publisher boxes at any one time shall maintain minimum insurance coverage of one million dollars ($1,000,000). These limits shall include a combined single limit for bodily injury, including death and property damage; and
(3) A cancellation clause requiring notice to the District of Columbia, as certificate holder, prior to the cancellation of the insurance coverage.
3601.2 To place a publisher box on public space lawfully, the owner of the publisher box must also have a basic business license with a general business endorsement in accordance with Section 3800 of Title 17 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.
3602 DISPLAY OF ANNUAL STICKER ON PUBLISHER BOXES ON PUBLIC SPACE
3602.1 In addition to the annual public space permit, the Director shall issue an annual sticker for each publisher box owned by the applicant and located on public space. Each sticker shall have the following information:
(a) The permit number of the annual public space permit issued to the applicant; and
(b) The expiration date of the annual public space permit.
3602.2 The applicant shall affix one (1) sticker to each publisher box in a visible location on the front side of the box at least one foot (1 ft.) above the sidewalk grade, unless another location is designated by the Director.
3603 SPECIFICATIONS OF PUBLISHER BOXES ON PUBLIC SPACE
3603.1 It shall be unlawful for any person to place a publisher box on public space unless the publisher box complies with the following specifications:
(a) The publisher box shall be no more than fifty-two inches (52 in.) tall, twenty-five inches (25 in.) wide, and twenty-two inches (22 in.) deep. In determining whether a publisher box is in compliance with these limits, each of the dimensions of the publisher box shall be measured at its widest point, including any coin mechanism; and
(b) The publisher box shall be sufficiently weighted at the base, or attached to other publisher boxes or a publisher box corral, so as to be secure in all weather conditions.
3603.2 The owner of the publisher box or the owner’s authorized agent may use space on the publisher box to display the name and trademarks of the publication the publisher box is being used to distribute.
3604 MAINTENANCE OF PUBLISHER BOXES ON PUBLIC SPACE
3604.1 A 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;
(b) The interior and exterior of the publisher box shall be reasonably clean and free of graffiti, pasted bills, dents, blemishes, discoloration, and debris;
(c) The publisher box’s clear or glass parts, if any, shall be unbroken and reasonably free of graffiti, cracks, and discoloration; and
(d) 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.
3604.2 It shall be unlawful for any person to place a publisher box on public space unless the publisher box placement complies with the following 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 3604.3;
(b) 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 or within two feet (2 ft.) of a parking meter, a multi-space parking meter, or a traffic control cabinet;
(c) 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;
(d) No publisher box shall be placed upon or within five feet (5 ft.) of a pedestrian access ramp for disabled persons, including the area between any two ramps on a given corner, or within two feet (2 ft.) of a marked pedestrian crosswalk;
(e) No publisher box shall be placed adjacent to the curved portion of any roadway curb at the corner of any city block;
(f) No publisher box shall be placed adjacent to the roadway curb within a designated bus zone or streetcar platform;
(g) No publisher box shall be placed adjacent to the roadway curb within a designated commercial loading zone as delineated by signage posted at the roadway curb;
(h) No publisher box shall be placed on any space that reduces the width of the pedestrian pathway on the sidewalk to less than ten feet (10 ft.) on sidewalks having a total width of twenty feet (20 ft.) or more, eight feet (8 ft.) on sidewalks having a total width of sixteen feet (16 ft.) to twenty feet (20 ft.), or six feet (6 ft.) in other areas;
(i) No publisher box shall be placed on or within six inches (6 in.) of a tree box or on any unpaved surface adjacent to the sidewalk;
(j) Publisher boxes placed side by side adjacent to the roadway curb, where no publisher box corral exists, shall be 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 curb;
(k) Publisher boxes placed side by side adjacent to the roadway curb, where no publisher box corral exists, 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;
(l) No publisher box shall be placed on public space within areas of the District zoned R-1-A, R-1-B, R-2, R-3, or R-4 (or the successor thereto) as defined by the Zoning Regulations; and
(m) No publisher box shall be placed adjacent to a roadway curb at a location where signage designates the curb space as being reserved parking for persons with disabilities.
3604.3 Notwithstanding Subsection 3604.2(a), a publisher box may be attached to a publisher box corral; provided there is available space within the corral for the publisher box.
3605 PUBLISHER BOX CORRALS
3605.1 It shall be unlawful for any person to place or maintain a publisher box corral on the public sidewalk or other public space without first obtaining a public space permit from the Director.
3605.2 Unless in conflict with a legal priority established for a business improvement district (BID) concerning streetscape improvements, any person may submit a public space permit application to the Public Space Committee (PSC) for the purpose of installing and maintaining a publisher box corral on public space.
3605.3 An application for the installation of a publisher box corral shall include the following:
(a) The name and contact information of the person that will be responsible for maintaining the publisher box corral;
(b) A site plan drawn to scale showing the location and dimensions of the proposed publisher box corral and any associated new paving, including dimensions to the roadway curb and property line, a dimension specifying the distance to the nearest intersection, and showing all the existing conditions within thirty feet (30 ft.) of the corral location, including any business entrances, transit entrances, bus zones or street car platforms, crosswalks, regulatory signage, light poles, traffic signal lights, traffic control cabinet, and other public street fixtures;
(c) A drawing of the publisher box corral showing the front and side views, the method of anchoring or attaching the corral to the ground, and, if proposed by the applicant, the placement and display of a logo or the name of the organization responsible for the corral;
(d) A proposal for the allocation of space within the publisher box corral and any limits on the number of publisher boxes that allows for the removal or addition of publisher boxes within the corral;
(e) Any required approvals by the U. S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and by the D. C. Historic Preservation Review Board; and
(f) The application fee required under Section 225 of this title.
3605.4 The corral shall be a height of no less than thirty-six inches (36 in.) and no more than forty-two inches (42 in.);
3605.5 The applicant’s proposal for the allocation of space and any limits on the placement of publisher boxes within the publisher box corral shall be content neutral.
3605.6 In determining whether to approve an application, the PSC shall allow as much space for publisher boxes as is consistent with pedestrian and vehicular safety and other lawful uses of the public space.
3605.7 As a condition of the permit, the person responsible for maintaining the publisher box corral shall bear sole responsibility, including the cost, for installing and maintaining the publisher box corral, as well as its removal, should the Director determine that the sidewalk space is needed for another public purpose, such as for a bus zone.
3605.8 The Director shall issue a public space permit for the installation and maintenance of the publisher box corral if:
(a) The application has been approved by the PSC; and
(b) All permit fees, pursuant to Section 225 of this title, have been paid.
3605.9 No person shall place or maintain any advertising on any publisher box corral other than the logo or name of the organization responsible for the publisher box corral.
3699 DEFINITIONS
When used in this chapter, the following terms and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed:
Bus zone – a ten foot (10 ft.) wide strip of sidewalk parallel to the roadway and measured from the vertical face of the roadway curb toward the building line that runs the entire length of the area delineated as a bus zone by signage posted at the roadway curb.
DDOT or Department – District Department of Transportation.
Director – Director of the District Department of Transportation, or the Director's agent, representative, or designee.
Fixture - District government-authorized furniture or equipment that is secured or permanently affixed to public space.
Owner – a person that owns or is in control of one or more publisher boxes placed, installed, or maintained on public space. Each publisher box shall have a single owner for the purposes of this chapter.
Person –an individual or entity.
Publisher box – a self-service or coin-operated box, container, storage unit, display or dispenser installed, used, or maintained for the display, distribution, or sale of newspapers or other periodicals.
Publisher box corral –a fixture, approved by the Public Space Committee, installed on public space for the purpose of controlling the placement of publisher boxes.
Streetcar platform - the public right of way designated for public use as an embarkation/disembarkation or waiting area for the streetcar and which includes streetcar shelters, adjoining stairways, ramps and sidewalks and all attached equipment or fixtures.
All persons interested in commenting on the subject matter of this proposed rulemaking should file comments in writing, not later than thirty (30) days after the publication of this notice in the D.C. Register, with Samuel Zimbabwe, District of Columbia Department of Transportation, 55 M Street, S.E., 5th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20003. You may also send comments electronically to publicspace.policy@dc.gov. Copies of this proposed rulemaking are available, at cost, by writing to the above address, and are also available electronically, at no cost, on the District Department of Transportation’s website at www.ddot.dc.gov.
