Newspaper/Media Box Permits Procedure

Purpose statement

This procedure outlines the Newspaper/Media 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/media boxes within a municipal right of way (open or closed), under the jurisdiction of the Town of Oakville.

Procedure

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

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

1. A completed Newspaper/Media Box Permit Application in the form prescribed by the Director.
2. A detailed scalable (1:500) map:
   1. showing the proposed location(s) of the newspaper/media boxes
   2. showing all above-ground features/street furniture, and property boundary lines
   3. labelling street names, municipal addresses and a north arrow depicting true north; and
   4. showing 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. The applicable permit fee(s) as set out in the town’s current rates and fees schedule;
4. The name and address of the agent of the applicant responsible for the applicant's operations within the Town of Oakville;
5. For multiple locations, 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 newspaper/media boxes at that location;
6. A certificate of general liability insurance covering bodily injury and property damage, which names the Town of Oakville as an additional insured or co-insured as per the town’s Insurance Requirements Procedure, which shall be maintained during the life of the issued permit;
7. An indemnification in favour of the town from and against claims, demands, losses, costs, damages, actions, suits, or proceedings that arise out of,or are attributable to the construction/occupation, which shall be in a form satisfactory to the Town Solicitor; and
8. If the newspaper/media box is to be located in front of a residential property, a copy of the written consent of the abutting property owner.

Permit regulations

1. The Director may:
   1. designate areas of the Town of Oakville in which only standardized boxes may be used, said boxes being uniform in colour and size; and
   2. limit or restrict newspaper/media box locations.
2. The issued permit sticker shall be attached to the newspaper/media box in a location that is visible from the street.
3. No person shall place or maintain any newspaper/media box for the dispensing of newspapers/media within any portion of any municipal right of way in the Town of Oakville, without first obtaining a permit from the Director  in accordance with the provisions of this procedure
4. No newspaper/media box for the dispensing of newspapers/media shall be placed within the right of way: 
   1. on a sidewalk so as to reduce the width thereof to less than 1.5 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, such as 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 newspaper/media box of the same newspaper/media within any commercial zones as established by the zoning by-law, as amended from time to time; and
   11. within 300 metres from another newspaper/media box of the same newspaper/media within all other areas.
5. No newspaper/media 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, mail boxes, town benches or trees.
6. Every newspaper/media 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. 
7. Every permit holder shall maintain all newspaper/media boxes in a proper and orderly manner and shall keep the newspaper/media boxes in a good state of repair and in good working order and free from graffiti or defacing of any type or description.
8. Surplus newspapers/media and refuse emanating from the newspaper/media box shall be picked up at least once per week and shall not be deposited in any municipal roadside waste receptacle. 
9. In the event that the area around a newspaper/media 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. In the event that the area is occupied by more than one newspaper/media box, the cost of restoration shall be equally proportioned among all permit holders.

Permit Expiry and Cancellation

1. If at any time the location of a newspaper/media box is deemed by the Director to be inconvenient or inappropriate, the permit may be cancelled and the permit holder shall remove the newspaper/media box upon seven days written notice and restore the area location to conditions set out in the cancellation notice. 
2. In the event the permit holder refuses or fails to remove a newspaper/media box as directed by the Director, the Director is hereby authorized to remove the newspaper/media 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 per cent administrative fee.
3. 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 newspaper/media box by the 28th day of February, being the date of permit expiry. 

The terms and conditions placed on permits and approvals shall be at the judgment and discretion of the Director. Non-compliance to this procedure and permit conditions will lead to enforcement action in accordance with the Municipal Right of Way By-law, as amended.
 

Definitions

Director, for the purpose of this procedure, means the Director of the Transportation and Engineering Department of the Town of Oakville or their designate.

Newspaper/Media Box, for the purpose of this procedure, 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.