99-06 ORDINANCE NO. 99-06
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF AVENTURA,
FLORIDA, ADOPTING VEHICLE HANDBILL ORDINANCE
PROHIBITING THE DEPOSIT OR PLACEMENT OF
COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING MATERIAL UPON
VEHICLES PARKED ON STREETS OR PARKED UPON
CERTAIN OFF-STREET PARKING AREAS; PROVIDING
FOR PURPOSE AND LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS;
PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING APPLICABILITY;
PROVIDING PROHIBITION OF VEHICLE HANDBILLS;
PROVIDING SlGNAGE REQUIREMENTS; PROVIDING
FOR INCLUSION IN CODE; PROVIDING FOR
SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR PENALTY;
PROVIDING FOR EFFECTIVE DATE.
IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
AVENTURA, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Ordinance Adopted. There is hereby adopted the City of Aventura
Vehicle Handbill Ordinance, hereinafter referred to as the "Ordinance," to read as
follows:
Section 1.01. Purpose and Legislative Findings.
(a) The City Commission finds that the placement of Handbills upon
Vehicles situated upon Public Streets or Highways and upon Vehicles
situated upon Off-Street Parking Areas provided for the use of patrons,
employees or visitors of private commercial establishments, including
business or shopping centers, constitutes a nuisance and annoyance to
the owners and operators of such Vehicles, to the owners and occupants
of such private premises and to the public, for the reasons described
herein.
(b) The City Commission finds that the placement of Handbills upon
Vehicles, without the consent of the owner, lessee or operator of such
Vehicle, upon or in the vicinity of the windshield of such Vehicle, creates a
potential traffic safety hazard, for the reason that Vehicle operators may
not notice such Handbill until after entering such Vehicle and resuming
operation thereof, and that therefore, such Handbill may remain upon and
obstruct the view of Vehicle operators or may cause operators to abruptly
dangerously exit their Vehicle to remove such obstruction.
Ordinance No. 99-06
Page 2
(c) The City Commission finds that Handbill materials placed upon or
in the vicinity of Vehicle windshields impair the functioning of windshield
wipers by the formation of residue or debris from paper or other like
material of Handbills which interferes with safe and efficient operation of
such windshield wipers.
(d) The City Commission finds that the placement of Handbills
anywhere upon the exterior of an unoccupied Vehicle without the consent
of the owner, lessee or operator thereof, creates an unnecessary risk that
litter will be created by the disposal of unwanted and unrequested
Handbills.
(e) The City Commission finds that: (i) this ordinance seeks to
implement a substantial governmental interest, including the City's interest
in traffic safety and aesthetics, as described above, (ii) directly advances
that substantial governmental interest of the City, and (iii) reaches no
further than necessary to accomplish the City's governmental objective as
stated herein.
Section 2,01. Definitions,
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section shall
have the meaning ascribed to them herein, except where the context
clearly indicates a different meaning:
(a) The term "Street or Highway," as used herein means the entire
width between the boundary lines of every way or place of
whatever nature when any part thereof is open to the use of the
public for purposes of vehicular traffic, and also includes private
roads which are subject to a traffic control jurisdiction agreement
pursuant to Section 316.006(2)(b), Fla. Stat.
(b) "Off-Street Parking Area" as used herein means the entire width
between the boundary lines of any privately owned way or place
used for vehicular travel by the owner and those having express or
implied permission from the owner, but not by other persons and
includes parking lots and parking garages provided by commercial
establishments, institutions or governmental units for the use of
employees, visitors and/or patrons.
(c) The term "Park or Parked," as used herein in reference to a
Vehicle, means the standing of a Vehicle, when not occupied by
any person.
Ordinance No. 99-06
Page 3
(d) The term "Vehicle," as used herein means every device, in, upon,
or by which any person or property is or may be transported or
drawn upon a Street or Highway.
(e) The term "Handbill," as used herein includes any leaflet, circular,
flyer, placard or other device or item containing Commercial
Advertising Material.
(f) The term "Commercial Advertising Material," as used herein means
and includes material distributed for the purpose of advertising any
business, or any goods, or any services, or for the purpose of
attracting the attention of the public or the occupant of a Vehicle to
or advertising for, or soliciting patronage of customers to or for any
performance, show, entertainment, exhibition, sale, service, or
event, or for the purpose of demonstrating any equipment or for the
purpose of conducting a business, or for any other purpose other
than a Non-Commercial Purpose as defined in Section 2.01(g)
below.
(g) The term "Non-Commercial Purpose," as used herein shall mean
the distribution of material for a purpose which is exclusively a
political or religious purpose.
Section 2.02. Applicability.
The prohibitions of this ordinance shall not be applicable to Handbills
distributed in accordance with law for solely a Non-Commercial Purpose,
as defined in Section 2.01 (g) above.
Section 2.03. Prohibition of Vehicle Handbills.
(a) No person shall deposit or place or cause the deposit or placement
of any Handbill anywhere upon the exterior of any unoccupied Vehicle
while such Vehicle is Parked upon any Street or Highway.
(b) No person shall deposit or place or cause the deposit or placement
of any Handbill anywhere upon the extedor of any unoccupied Vehicle
while such Vehicle is Parked upon any Off-Street Parking Area, as
described in Section 2.01(b) above, provided that signs are posted in
accordance with Section 2.04 below.
(c) No person shall deposit or place or cause the deposit or placement
of any Handbill anywhere upon the exterior of any unoccupied Vehicle
Parked upon any Off-Street Parking Area after having received notice that
such activity is prohibited pursuant to Section 2.04(a)(2) below.
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Ordinance No. 99-06
Page 4
(d) This section shall not be applicable to Handbills which are
otherwise lawfully placed upon a Vehicle by the owner, lessee or operator
of such Vehicle or to official citations or notices placed pursuant to
governmental authority.
Section 2.04. Signage Requirements Applicable To Off-Street
Parking Areas.
As a condition precedent to the enforcement of the prohibition set forth in
Section 2.03(b) above, it shall be required that the owner or lessee of an
Off-Street Parking Area provide signage complying with the following
requirements:
(a) Notice shall be posted on the property at which Vehicle Handbills
are prohibited, and shall fulfill the following requirements:
(1) Notice, in the form of a sign structure, shall be prominently
placed at each driveway access or curb cut allowing Vehicle
access to the property, within five feet from the public right of
way line. If there are no curbs or access barriers, signs shall
be posted not less than one sign for each 25 feet of lot
frontage. One sign shall also be posted at a primary
pedestrian access point for the property, if such point is
separated from the area of the driveway or curb cut. The
sign structures shall be permanently installed with the
bottom of the sign not less than four feet above ground level
and the top of the sign not more than 10 feet above ground
level, and shall be continuously maintained on the property
for not fewer than 24 hours before the Vehicle Handbill
prohibition may be enforced. The notice shall clearly
display: not less than two inches high, light-reflective letters
on a contrasting background, that: "Placement of Handbills
upon Vehicles is Prohibited by City Ordinance".
(2) The posting of notice requirements of this section shall not
be required where notice is personally given (verbally or in
writing) by the owner of the premises (the "Owner") or by an
agent of the person in control of the premises (the "Agent"),
in the presence of a law enforcement officer or in the
presence of a security guard employed by such Owner or
Agent or employed by a licensed security guard service
company retained by such Owner or Agent, to the person
attempting or intending to place Handbills upon Vehicles,
that the placement of Handbills upon a Vehicle is prohibited
by City Ordinance.
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Ordinance No. 99-06
Page 5
Section 2. Penalty. Any person who violates any provisions of this Ordinance
shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine not to exceed $500.00 or imprisonment in
the County jail not to exceed sixty (60) days or both such fine and imprisonment. Each
day that a violation continues shall be deemed a separate violation. This Ordinance
shall be subject to enforcement under the Local Government Code Enforcement Act,
Chapter 162, F.S., as amended, and City Code Section 2-331, et.seq., as amended.
Enforcement may also be by suit for declaratory, injunctive or other appropriate relief in
a court of competent jurisdiction.
Section 3. Severability. The provisions of this Ordinance are declared to be
severable and if any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance shall for any
reason be held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity
of the remaining sections, sentences, clauses, and phrases of this Ordinance but they
shall remain in effect, it being the legislative intent that this Ordinance shall stand
notwithstanding the invalidity of any part
Section 4. Inclusion in the Code. It is the intention of the City Commission, and it
is hereby ordained that the provisions of this Ordinance shall become and made a part of
the Code of the City of Aventura; that the sections of this Ordinance may be renumbered
or reletterad to accomplish such intention; and that the word "Ordinance" shall be changed
to "Section" or other appropriate word.
Section $. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall be effective immediately upon
adoption on second reading.
Ordinance No. 99- 06
Page 6;
The foregoing Ordinance was offered by Commissioner Beskin, who moved its
adoption on first reading. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Rogers-Libert, and
upon being put to a vote, the vote was as follows:
Commissioner Arthur Berger yes
Commissioner Jay R. Beskin yes
Commissioner Ken Cohen yes
Commissioner Jeffrey M Perlow yes
Commissioner Patricia Rogers-Libert yes
Vice Mayor Harry Holzberg yes
Mayor Arthur I. Snyder yes
The foregoing Ordinance was offered by Commissioner I~eskJ_n , who
moved its adoption on second reading. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
R.o§ers-Libe~'t: , and upon being put to a vote, the vote was as follows:
Commissioner Arthur Berger 7es
Commissioner Jay R. Beskin 3,es
Commissioner Ken Cohen ~es
Commissioner Harry Holzberg yes
Commissioner Jeffrey M. Perlow 7es
Commissioner Patricia Rogers-Libert 7es
Mayor Arthur I. Snyder no
PASSED AND ADOPTED on first reading this 2nd day of March, 1999.
PASSED AND ADOPTED on second re~his_,~6.th~.
TERESA M. SMITH, CMC
CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND
LEGAL SUFFICIENCY:
CITY AI't'T'O RN EY
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