HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-03-09; City Council; 15094; Newspaper Solicitation In StreetsAB# t<;@jY
MTG. 34-49
DEPT. CA
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CITY OF CARLSBAD - AGENDA BILL
TITLE- d DEPT. HD.
NEWSPAPER SOLICITATION IN STREETS CITY ATTY.
C1TYMGR.a
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Accept report, thereby allowing Police Department to continue to enforce state laws and
municipal ordinance preventing newspaper sales by vendors in the street.
ITEM EXPLANATION:
On September 22, 1998, Council heard a presentation by Dick High, publisher of the North
County Times, requesting non-enforcement of City and state law so that members of the
Alpha Project could continue to sell newspapers in Carlsbad in the streets. Council’s action
regarding the presentation was to refer the matter to staff for report. This is that report.
By letter from the City Attorney to the publishers of the Carlsbad Sun, North Countv Times,
and San Dieao Union Tribune dated May 18, 1998 the newspapers were informed that the
Carlsbad Police Department would resume enforcing Carlsbad Municipal Code section
8.28.050 effective August 20, 1998. That section prohibits the distribution or solicitation of
printed material to any person riding in a vehicle in use on any public street in the City for
purposes of travel. Additionally, Carlsbad Municipal Code section 8.28.060 makes it unlawful
for any person to attempt to stop or actually stop a vehicle on a public street for the purposes
of travel, in order to distribute any material or solicit for any business.
These ordinances were lawfully enacted pursuant to Vehicle Code section 21961, which
implements the state law preventing pedestrians from crossing the roadway at any place
except in a crosswalk, and expressly does not preempt similar local ordinances. Vehicle
Code section 21955 makes it unlawful for pedestrians to cross the roadway at any place
except in a crosswalk; section 21453 prohibits a pedestrian facing a red light from entering
the roadway; sections 21461 and 21462 make it unlawful for pedestrians not to obey signs,
signals and laws regarding the conduct of pedestrians; and section 21463 makes it unlawful
to operate a signal device which is established to allow pedestrians to cross roadways for
any purpose other than to cross the roadway. .(An analysis of complaints and observations
indicates that one of the tactics being used by the street vendors was to operate the signal
when there were no pedestrians to cross, in order to stop the flow of cars and create more
opportunities for solicitation, thus significantly disrupting the flow of traffic.) Additionally,
Vehicle Code section 22520.5 prohibits the solicitation, display or offering for sale of any
merchandise or service by a person on a freeway right-of-way; any roadway within 500’ of a
freeway off-ramp or on-ramp; or any sidewalk within 500’ of a freeway off-ramp or on-ramp.
The case law has upheld ordinances such as ours, making no exception to the absolute
prohibition, based on recognition of the significant goal of safety on the roadways. Such
ordinances constitute reasonable time, place and manner content-neutral prohibitions,
Agenda Bill # 15.04 9
Page 2
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The Police Department Traffic Division, Police Chief, and the City’s Traffic Engineer remain
of the very strongly held conviction that the City’s ordinances, and companion state laws,
must be enforced in order to protect the motoring public as well as the hawkers themselves
from the significant dangers posed by pedestrians wandering amongst stopped cars at red
lights for the purpose of solicitation as opposed to lawfully crossing the street within a
crosswalk to get to the other side. A further problem arises when hawkers stand on the
raised median during the green cycle of the traffic signal and attempt to solicit newspapers
from motorists driving past them.
ALTERNATIVES:
The staff recommendation is that Council accept this report and take no action, whereby the
Police Department would continue to exercise its prosecutorial discretion with regard to
enforcement of both applicable state laws and the City’s ordinances.
However, alternatively, the Council initiate action to repeal Carlsbad Municipal Code sections
8.28.050 and 8.28.060. That repeal would leave the Police Department without the tool of
infraction violations of those municipal code sections. However, as pointed out above, that
same conduct would simultaneously also be a violation of one or more Vehicle Code
provisions.
A second alternative, also not recommended by staff, would be to amend section 8.28.050
and 8.28.060 to only apply to certain specified intersections and/or streets which are thought
to be of greater concern.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None by acceptance of this report.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Continued enforcement of the City’s ordinances and companion state law. Prohibitions
regarding solicitation of sales in the streets is not a “project” under CEQA.
TELELPHONE MESSAGE
March 8,1999
TO: MAYOR
CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JOAN AND ALAN KINDLE
RE: NEWSPAPER HAWKERS -AGENDA ITEM 13
Please stand your ground on March 9 and support staffs recommendation. This is
clearly a safety issue that cannot be ignored.
The hawkers are friendly, highly-motivated and energetic - all admirable traits in the
pursuit of earning a living. However, talking to drivers, jumping around and dancing
between cars are inappropriate distractions that could prove deadly. Negotiating traffic
requires the full attention of the driver.
mhs
c: City Manager
City Attorney
City Clerk
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March 9,1999
h&Or hid L8wiS
City of C&bad
Dear Mayor Lewis:
AGENDA ITEM #
c: Mayor
City Council .
City Manager
City Attorney
city clerk
On behalfof the Alpha Project and the North County Times, I am formally asking that you and
the council &lay any action on the staff recommendation issued March 5 concerning
‘Newspaper Solicitation in Streets.” Additionally, I am requesting that the appropriate subcommittee of the council meet with repmsentativ8s ofthis newspaper and the Alpha Project
on this matter.
As you are surely aware, our attempts to discuss safety or any related issue with city staff following the September 22,1998 meeting hav& not been fruitful. We remain interested in
foflowing your suggestion to our publisher, Richard High, that we should meet with the city staE to seek mutuahy acceptable solutions. City staff has not spoken to our staff or requested any
information or suggestions from us, to date. The tie to find good sohrtions is at band.
we dl agree that the tipha hawker program is a spectacularly successfirl “point of light” in
turning derelict homeless men into employed productive citizens. And we agree that the city’s
concerns about safety are legitimate.
We remain confldent that the Alpha program candpezate within acceptable rules of safety. To
force these hawkem to cease activity in Carlsbad til be t.e turn an all-around win for the
community and society as a whole into an enorn@us?oss.
KRD:maw
207 EAST PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE l ESCONDI.DO, CALIFORNIA 92025 l (760) 1339-3333
MAR--88-99 85:28 PW DAVENORINESJGAFOOSE ..I..
THE HONORABLE MAYOR BUD LEWIS
AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS I200 Carlsbad Village Drive
Carlsbad. CA 92008
434 4281
AGENDA ITEM # 1 3
a Mayor
City Council City Manager
Cily Attorney
City Clerk
P.Bl
Dear Mayor Lewis and Council Members:
It has come to my attention that the issue of street Hawkers is coming before you at your regular
meeting on Tuesday. March 9, 1999.
1 cannot tell you how strongly 1 am opposed to the program. The disruption to trafic is terrible.
1 am always so afraid 1 will hit one of them as they do not look out for trafic, even though they
are the ones in the right of way.
1 have seen near misses on many occasions as other drivers are dodging the hawkers. It is only a
matter of time before there is serious injury to one of them and/or one of us. When I set these
people selling newspapers on the street, I feel as though I have been transported out of Carlsbad.
I don’t like it. I don’t like the way it looks or the way it detracts from our wonderful Carlsbad
ambiance.
Moreover, if we allow them to hawk their papers, in short order we will have people wantb to
hawk all sorts of other wares. 1 shudder to think of walking down grand or state and being accosted by street hawkers.
AS a hotelier, I like the peace that having no hawkers affords our tourist. 1 have been told by
more than one guest how much they like C&bad because no hawkers are allowed on the strecls
and the beaches. Others have said they have traveled all over the world that Carlsbad is the one
place where they are not bothered by such hawkers.
Please, lets keep it like that. No street hawkers in our village.
Thank you for all that you do to protect the quality of life that we, the citizens of Carlsbad
treasure.
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