Charleston, S.C., City Code § 17-123 Newsracks.
Sec. 17-123. - Newsracks.
(a) Definitions.
Distributor means the person or entity that owns, is responsible for or directs the placing, installation, or maintenance of a newsrack in the public right-of-way.
Intersection means that portion of the public right-of-way which surrounds the intersecting portion of two (2) or more roadways, extended along each roadway to the midpoint of each block.
Multiple newsrack means a newsrack designed to dispense two (2) or more different publications.
Newsrack means any freestanding self-service or coin-operated box, container, storage unit or other dispenser installed, used, or maintained in the public right-of-way, including a public sidewalk, for the display, sale or distribution of newspapers, periodicals or other publications.
Public right-of-way means land, which by deed, conveyance, agreement dedication, usage or process of law is used or reserved for use as a public roadway, including the sidewalk as hereinafter defined, in the City of Charleston (the "right-of-way").
Sidewalk means the area of the public right-of-way which is designated or ordinarily used for pedestrian travel.
(b) Prohibition.
(1) No person or entity shall place, install, use or maintain any newsrack which rests in whole or in part upon, in, or on any portion of the right-of-way in the city, or that projects onto, into, or over any part of the right-of-way or which attempts to utilize or take advantage of the right-of-way in the city except in compliance with the provisions of this article.
(2) All newsracks shall comply with federal, state and other local laws and regulations, as applicable, and shall be approved by the city prior to their installation as provided herein.
(c) Standards for newsracks placed in the right-of-way.
(1) No newsrack shall exceed fifty (50) inches in height, twenty-seven (27) inches in width, or twenty (20) inches in thickness.
(2) No newsrack shall be placed, installed or maintained within five (5) feet of any marked or unmarked crosswalk, fire hydrant, driveway, alley, loading zone, handicapped ramp or curb cut, on any grating or manhole cover, on any surface where the newsrack shall cause damage to or interfere with the use of any pipes, vault areas, telephone or electrical cables and wires, or within the initial twenty (20) feet of any area used by the Charleston Area Regional Transit Authority ("CARTA") for loading and unloading passengers at a bus stop, measured from the front position of the bus.
(3) No newsrack shall be placed, installed or maintained within two (2) feet of a curb face.
(4) A single or multiple newsrack shall be permitted in a right-of-way of the city on the Charleston peninsula generally from Spring Street to the north; from Concord Street to the east; from Broad Street to the south; and from Lockwood Boulevard to the west and specifically at the locations more fully described on Exhibit A, attached to Ordinance No. 2012-239 and incorporated by reference herein (the "permitted spaces"). In the event the distributor of a single or multiple newsrack desires its newsrack to be located in an area other than a permitted space as set forth on Exhibit A due to a compelling hardship, the distributor shall suffer as a result of its newsrack being located in a permitted space, the distributor may seek permission from the city to locate its newsrack on an alternative right-of-way and shall set forth the reasons why an alternative right-of-way for the placement of the distributor's newsrack is necessary. Any alternative right-of-way location request may only be approved by the city in its sole discretion based upon the following considerations:
i. The current number of newsracks that are located within or near the proposed area shall not create undue concentration of newsracks in such proposed area.
ii. The impact on pedestrian and vehicular traffic and accessibility to public transportation shall not be impacted by the addition of a newsrack in such proposed area.
iii. The impact on and proximity to buildings used for residential purposes shall not be impacted by the addition of a newsrack in such proposed area.
iv. No inconsistency of newsracks and the character of the surrounding streetscape shall occur by virtue of the presence of a newsrack in such proposed area.
v. In determining alternative location requirements, the city shall establish objective criteria relating to the surrounding uses likely to generate a demand for periodicals and other material customarily supplied through newsracks, distances between locations, and the visual compatibility of newsracks with surrounding facades and streetscape improvements. The criteria shall be nondiscriminatory among distributors, but may make reasonable limitations on the number of publications that any one distributor, publisher or its affiliates, may have at any one location when spaces at that location are limited in number. The city may also implement reasonable regulations to promote the full utilization of spaces and to require the forfeiture of spaces when they are not fully utilized. The city may make limitations on the lettering, logos, and graphics that appear on the newsracks, but shall allow a reasonable basis for publications contained within spaces to be readily identified.
(5) Newsracks, whether single or multiple, shall be painted in accordance with Sherwin Williams specifications Historic Charleston Green, PMS #DCR099, exterior Corothane I-Alphatic moisture cure urethane or its equivalent as approved by the City of Charleston.
(6) A newsrack shall exhibit only one graphic comprised of white lettering and/or numbering and covering a surface area no larger than the size of a rack card on the front of the newsrack only and in the same place on the front of the newsrack where a rack card would be inserted. A rack card may also be used in the same place. The one rack card may include a registered trademark and be of any design or color combination.
(7) Excepting the white lettering and/or rack card described in this section, no advertising signs or material shall be displayed on the outside of the newsrack other than signs or material dealing with the name, address and telephone number of the publication contained within the newsrack.
(8) Each newsrack shall be sufficiently weighted and bolted to the sidewalk to provide stability and safety in accordance with the newsrack manufacturer's recommended specifications which shall be submitted to the city with the newsrack encroachment permit application as set forth in subsection (e)(2) of this section. No newsrack shall be chained, tied or otherwise fastened to a tree, signpost, streetlight, telephone pole or other fixture on the right-of-way.
(9) Each newsrack shall be equipped with a coin-return mechanism to permit a person using the machine to secure an immediate refund in the event the person is unable to receive the purchased publication paid for. The coin-return mechanism shall be maintained in good working order. Newsracks dispensing free publications are exempt from this subsection.
(10) Each newsrack shall be made of a metallic or other material as approved by the city and the size, shape, color as set forth in subsections (1) and (5) of this subsection (c), and other design features, including orientation at the site, have been approved by the city. In determining design requirements, the city shall consider compatibility of design features with prevailing facade treatments and with streetscape improvements to the full extent newsracks having such features are reasonably available on the market.
(11) Each newsrack shall be maintained in a neat and clean condition and in good repair at all times. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, each newsrack shall be serviced and maintained so that:
i. It is reasonably free of dirt and grease;
ii. It is reasonably free of chipped, faded, peeling and cracked paint in the visible painted areas thereof;
iii. It is reasonably free of rust and corrosion in the visible unpainted metal areas thereof;
iv. The clear plastic or glass parts thereof, if any, through which the publications therein are viewed, are unbroken and reasonably free of cracks, dents, blemishes and discoloration;
v. The structural parts thereof are not broken or unduly misshapen; and
vi. It is free of graffiti.
(12) Provided the newsracks which are located in the city on the effective date of the ordinance from which this article is derived are not determined to be a public nuisance or dangerous to the public safety, or its health or general welfare, such newsracks lawfully in existence as of the effective date of the ordinance shall be allowed to remain at the same location for a period not to exceed three (3) months from the effective date of the ordinance.
(13) During the three (3) months after the ratification of this article, nine (9) of the thirty-three (33) locations where newsracks currently exist shall be disassembled and permanently removed by the city or its designee. The nine (9) locations of the newsracks that shall be removed during this three-month period are more fully set forth in Exhibit B, attached to Ordinance No. 2012-239, and incorporated by reference herein.
(d) Removal.
(1) If the city determines that a newsrack has been placed, installed or maintained on a right-of-way in violation of this article, the director of livability, a division of the department of planning and preservation (the "department"), shall cause to be placed a notice of violation upon the newsrack. The notice of violation shall state that the newsrack shall be removed and destroyed unless the newsrack is brought into compliance with this article within ten (10) business days of the date of the notice. If the newsrack is not removed or brought into compliance within such ten-day period, and if no hearing has been requested under this section within such period, the department may remove and destroy the newsrack at the expense of the distributor. The notice given under this section shall also state that the distributor may, within ten (10) days of the date of the notice, request a hearing before the committee of traffic and transportation at which time the distributor shall be given an opportunity to contest the allegations of the complaint or to demonstrate that the conditions constituting a violation of this article have been remedied. If, after the hearing, the department determines that a violation of this article continues to occur, the department shall order the distributor to remove the newsrack from the right-of-way no later than five (5) days from the date of the written determination by the committee of traffic and transportation.
(2) Any newsrack that remains on the right-of-way for more than ten (10) days after it has been ordered removed pursuant to subsection (1) above shall be removed and destroyed by the city at the expense of the distributor.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the city may require a distributor to remove or relocate a newsrack when such removal or relocation is necessary to accommodate a public or private construction or repair project or similar activity. In cases where immediate removal of the newsrack is necessary to protect the health or safety of the public, the city may remove or relocate the newsrack at the distributor's expense and promptly give written notice to the distributor at the address identified on the newsrack of such removal or relocation thereafter. In all other cases, the city shall cause a notice to be placed upon the newsrack, or shall give written notice to the distributor at the address identified on the newsrack, stating that the newsrack must be removed or relocated within ten (10) days of the date of the notice and the reason for the removal or relocation. If the newsrack is not removed or relocated within the time specified by the city, the city shall remove and destroy or relocate the newsrack at the distributor's expense. The city may return a newsrack not previously destroyed if the distributor reimburses the city for its costs associated with its removal.
(e) Insurance required: encroachment permit required; encroachment permit not a property right.
(1) Any publisher or distributor wishing to place a newsrack on the public right-of-way shall provide a certificate of insurance to the city which shall evidence a minimum of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00) per person and six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000.00) per occurrence in public liability coverage on the newsrack permitted by the city to be placed on the public right-of-way and which shall name the City of Charleston as an additional insured thereon.
(2) Prior to the placement of a newsrack on the public right-of-way, a publisher or distributor shall obtain an encroachment permit from the city by submitting a newsrack encroachment permit application and a nonrefundable twenty-five-dollar application fee to the city's department of engineering at 75 Calhoun Street, 3rd floor.
All newsracks which are issued a newsrack encroachment permit as set forth in subsection (2) above shall display the name of the publisher or distributor and provide a telephone number to call with any complaints, including problems with maintenance, operation, or location on the outside of each newsrack on a label on the front of the newsrack not to exceed three (3) square inches. Any permit for the use of public space as provided for under this section are not property rights or entitlements of any newsrack owner, publisher or distributor of material found in them.
(f) Penalty for violation. Any person or entity that violates this article shall be subject to section 1-20, General penalty, of this Code.
(Ord. No. 2012-239, § 1, 5-8-12; Ord. No. 2025-023, § 1, 2-25-25)