Newspaper Box Permits Procedure

Purpose statement

This procedure outlines the Newspaper Box Permit process for placement within municipal right of ways and shall address public safety, traffic egress and ingress and the availability of the proposed location in conjunction with other approved Town activities or other uses of the right of way.

Scope

This procedure applies to the permitted placement of newspaper boxes within a municipal right of way (open or closed), under the jurisdiction of the Town of Oakville (town).

Procedure

Permits and approval for the placement of newspaper boxes within the municipal road allowance and other town properties shall be issued by the Engineering and
Construction department and shall comply with all applicable by-laws, policies and regulations.

Requests for newspaper box permits must be made not less than twenty (20) business days in advance of the proposed installation date and shall include the following:

  1. A signed and completed Newspaper Box Permit Application
  2. Two copies of a detailed scalable (1:500) map on 8.5” x 11” paper showing the proposed location(s). The map shall show all existing topographical features, property boundary lines and shall be labelled with street names, municipal addresses and a north arrow depicting true north. The plan shall show the dimension of the proposed placement location from fixed features (curb lines, property lines, sidewalks, etc., so that such proposed location can be easily be determined in the field);
  3. Payment of all applicable fees;
  4. Copies of all other additional permits from other town departments or public agencies, where required;
  5. A signed application stating the full name and address of the applicant, and, in the case of a corporation, the application shall contain the corporate seal and the address of the head office;
  6. The name and address of the agent of the applicant responsible for the applicant's operations within the Town of Oakville;
  7. An up-to-date inventory map identifying the location of the applicants permitted mail box locations within the Town of Oakville along with a detailed location table that denotes the location number, location description (street name or intersecting street location) and the number of boxes at that location;
  8. A certificate of insurance with a minimum coverage of $3,000,000 to cover bodily injury and property damage, which names the Town of Oakville as an additional insured which shall be maintained during the life of the issued permit;
  9. An indemnification letter to the satisfaction of the town Solicitor that saves the town harmless from any action in connection with the location or operation of any newspaper box.

Should additional approvals be required on an application, the application may be delayed.

Terms and conditions

  1. The issued permit sticker shall be attached to the box in a location that is visible from the street
  2. No person shall place or maintain any box for the dispensing of newspapers or other publications within any portion of any municipal right of way in the Town of Oakville, without first obtaining a permit from the Director of Engineering and Construction and in accordance with the provisions of this policy and procedure
  3. No box for the dispensing of newspapers shall be placed within the right of way:
    1. on a sidewalk so as to reduce the width thereof to less than two metres,
    2. on a bicycle path or multi-use pathway in such a manner as to obstruct or interfere with or pose a hazard to vehicular pedestrian traffic or cycling traffic
    3. within 10 metres of a fire hydrant
    4. in front of any residential property without the written consent of the abutting property owner filed with the town,
    5. in such a manner as to obstruct municipal maintenance activities (e.g. snow clearing),
    6. adjacent to a no stopping zone.
    7. on or within six metres of any driveway entrance,
    8. at any bus stop in such a manner as to obstruct or interfere with passenger movements, or on any concrete pad which forms part of the bus stop,
    9. on any curb, median or shoulder areas,
    10. within 100 metres on the same side of the street from another box of the same newspaper within any commercial zones as established by the zoning by-law, as amended from time to time,
    11. within 300 metres from another box of the same newspaper within all other areas.
  4. No box shall be chained or fastened to any utility apparatus, including but not limited to guy wires and anchors, signals, street lights, hydro or telephone poles, sign posts, parking meters, bus shelters, telephone booths, post boxes, town benches or trees.
  5. Every box shall be securely fastened to a concrete pad provided by the applicant, having a thickness of no less than 125 millimetres or approved equal.
  6. Every permit holder shall maintain all boxes in a proper and orderly manner and shall keep the boxes in a good state of repair and in good working order and free from graffiti or defacing of any type or description.
  7. Surplus newspapers and refuse emanating from the newspaper box shall be picked up at least once per week, and shall not be deposited in any municipal roadside waste receptacle.
  8. In the event that the area around a box becomes eroded due to use of the box, the permit holder shall be fully responsible for the complete cost of restoring the area, including re-sodding, to the satisfaction of the Director of Engineering and Construction. In the event that the area is occupied by more than one box, the cost of restoration shall be equally proportioned among all permit holders.
  9. If at any time the location of a box is deemed by the Director of Engineering and Construction to be inconvenient or inappropriate, the permit may be cancelled and the permit holder shall remove the box upon seven (7) days written notice and restore the area location to conditions set out in the cancellation notice.
  10. In the event the permit holder refuses or fails to remove a box as directed by the Director of Engineering and Construction, the Director of Engineering and Construction is hereby authorized to remove the box and perform the restoration works as deemed necessary. All costs incurred by the Town of Oakville in performing such work shall be invoiced to the permit holder with a 20% administrative fee.
  11. Every permit issued pursuant under this procedure will expire on the 28th day of February unless an application for renewal is received by no later than the 15th day of February. Should no application be received by the 15th day of February, the Town will issue a notice to remove the box by the 28th day of February, being the date of permit expiry.
  12. The director may designate areas of the municipality in which only standardized boxes may be used, said boxes being uniform in colour and size.
  13. The director may limit or restrict Newspaper Box locations.

The terms and conditions placed on permits and approvals shall be at the judgment and discretion of the Director of Engineering and Construction.

Definitions

Newspaper Box: for the purpose of this policy and related procedures means any structure or container for the purposes of distributing newspapers and/or publications containing news, current events, feature articles or advertising.

Responsibilities

The Road Corridor section of the Department of Engineering and Construction is responsible for ensuring compliance, maintenance, interpretation of the procedure and the associated policy.

References

Municipal Rights of Way By-law
Municipal Right of Way Activity Permit By-law
Parking Lot By-law
Newspaper Box Permit Application Form (pdf)

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