2010-10ORDINANCE NO. 2010-10
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 38 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF
FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA, BY ADDING THERETO A NEW ARTICLE VI, ENTITLED
DELIVERY OF UNSOLICITED PUBLICATIONS
BE IT ORDAINED, by the City Council of the City of Fairfax, Virginia, that Chapter 38 OF
THE Code of the City of Fairfax, Virginia, is hereby amended by adding thereto a new Article
VI, as follows:
"Article VI. Unsolicited publications
Section 38-80 Definitions.
As used in this article:
(a) Deliver means to deliver, distribute, deposit, throw, cast or place, or cause or
permit to be delivered, distributed, deposited, thrown, cast or placed, a publication, directly or
indirectly by contractor, agent, employee or otherwise, but shall not include delivery by the
United States Postal Service, delivery by handing or transmitting directly to the owner or
occupant then present on the property, or delivery by placing within a receptacle or container
expressly maintained by the owner or occupant of property for the receipt of newspaper
deliveries.
(b) Distributor means an entity who engages in the business of circulating or
delivering publications, as hereinafter defined.
(c) Publication means any printed material issued monthly or more frequently,
whether printed in broadsheet, tabloid or other sheet or booklet form, and shall include
without limitation a newspaper of general circulation as defined by general law, any
newspaper duly entered with the United States Postal Service in accordance with statute or
regulation, any collection of advertising or solicitations appended together in booklet or
magazine form and any newspaper distributed without cost to or subscription by the recipient.
(d) Publisher means a person who engages in the business of printing and issuing for
circulation, or causing to be printed and issued for circulation, a publication.
(e) Registry means the list of all city residents who have requested non-delivery of
unsolicited materials.
(f) Registry Enforcement Official means the city manager or his designee.
(g) Unsolicited publication means a publication to which no owner or occupant of the
premises to which it is delivered currently subscribes or has not requested current delivery.
Section 38-81 Obligations of publishers and distributors.
(a) Any publisher delivering or causing delivery of an unsolicited publication to a
location within the city shall:
(1) provide reasonable methods, including but not limited to, telephonic means, e-
mail means and regular mail means, to allow owners and/or occupants of premises located
within the city to communicate to the publisher that they do not wish to receive the
unsolicited publication issued by the publisher; notice of all such methods shall be regularly
included in, on or with the unsolicited publications issued by the publisher;
(2) implement a Registry whereby the addresses of all persons making requests for
no delivery pursuant to section (a)(1) hereto are timely communicated to any and all
applicable distributors responsible for distributing the unsolicited publication issued by the
publisher;
(3) timely communicate the address of all persons making requests for no delivery
made pursuant to section (a)(1) hereto to all applicable distributors pursuant to the process or
system implemented pursuant to section (a)(2) hereto;
(4) implement and communicate to the requesting person a means of tracking
requests for no delivery made pursuant to section (a)(1) hereto, including, by way of example,
the assignment of a tracking number or some other reference system, so as to allow all
persons making such requests to reference same in the event there is the need for follow-up or
further communication;
(5) implement and utilize a process or system to timely follow up with all applicable
distributors to ensure compliance with requests made pursuant to section (a)(1) hereto;
(6) upon written request from the Registry Enforcement Official, provide the city
with contact information for any applicable distributor to allow the city to follow up with that
distributor on any complaint received by the city from a resident regarding delivery of an
unsolicited publication after making a request pursuant to section (a)(1) hereto; and
(7) the requirements set forth in sections (a)(1) through (a)(6) hereto shall not apply to
requests made by residents for temporary cessation of deliveries.
(b) Any distributor delivering unsolicited publications in the city shall:
(1) not distribute to any address where the owner or occupant has made a request for
no delivery pursuant to section (a)(1) hereof and such request has been communicated to the
distributor by the publisher pursuant to sections (a)(2) and (a)(3) hereto;
(2) in making deliveries, use their best efforts to place publications in proximity to
the entrances of the units to which the distributor intends delivery; unsolicited publications
(other than those in properly located and maintained newspaper boxes or racks) should not be
placed on streets, sidewalks, public rights-of-way, or other public property and shall not be
distributed by placing them at intervals along a block, or by placing several pear the entrance
to a multi-unit building, other than in direct relation to the number of publications requested
by the occupants of the block or building;
(3) implement and utilize a system or procedure for tracking and executing a
publisher's direction regarding requests for no delivery made pursuant to section (a)(1)
hereto;
(4) upon written request from the Registry Enforcement Official, use their best
efforts to provide the Registry Enforcement Official with facts and details related to
complaints received by the city from a resident regarding delivery of an unsolicited
publication after making a request pursuant to section (a)(1) hereto;
(5) take any corrective measures requested by the Registry Enforcement Official after
its completion of any investigation into complaints received by the city from a resident
regarding delivery of an unsolicited publication after making a request pursuant to section
(a)(1) hereof and
(6) the requirements set forth in sections (b)(1) through (b)(5) hereto shall not apply
to requests made by residents for temporary cessation of deliveries.
Section 38-82 Removal. If the publication can be located, the distributor thereof shall
remove any publication delivered in violation of Section 38-81 within twenty-four (24) hours
following notice and demand by the owner or occupant of the premises or by the Registry
Enforcement Official.
Section 38-83 Enforcement by the city.
(a) Any resident of the city wishing to make a complaint regarding delivery of an
unsolicited newspaper in violation of this article to the property at which they reside or which
they own shall provide the following information to the Registry Enforcement Official:
(1) the name of the requesting person;
(2) the address that was the subject of the request;
(3) the date of and method used to make the request;
(4) the tracking number or other reference information provided by the publisher in
response to the request; and
(5) the name and publication date of the unsolicited publication that is the subject of
the complaint.
(b) Any resident of the city wishing to make a complaint regarding a publisher's
failure to provide a tracking number or other means of reference for a no delivery request in
violation of this article shall provide the following information to the Registry Enforcement
Official:
(1) name of the requesting person;
(2) the address that was the subject of the request;
(3) the date of and method used to make the request; and
(4) the name and publication date of the unsolicited publication that is the subject of
the complaint.
(c) Any person wishing to make a complaint unrelated to a no delivery request and
regarding improper placement of unsolicited publications by a distributor of unsolicited
publications in violation of this crticle shall provide the following information to the Registry
Enforcement Official:
(1) the name of the complaining person;
(2) the location of the alleged improper placement and time the condition was
observed; and
(3) the name and publication date of the unsolicited newspaper that is the subject of
the complaint.
(d) Any person wishing to make a complaint for failure to remove an improperly
delivered unsolicited publication in violation of article shall provide the same information as
is required in Section 38-76(a) plus the date, time and manner of communication of the
request to remove.
The city shall have no obligation to take any action on a complaint that does not
contain the required information set forth above.
Section 38-84 Penalties.
Any person who commits or permits any violation of Section 38-81 or 38-82, whether
by act or omission, shall be subject to a civil penalty of $50.00 for the first violation or any
subsequent violations arising from the same set of operative facts. The civil penalty for
subsequent violations not arising from the same set of operative facts within twelve (12)
months of the first violation shall be $200.00. Each business day during which the same
violation is found to have existed shall constitute a separate offense. In no event shall a series
of specified violations arising from the same set of operative facts result in civil penalties that
exceed a total of $3,000.00 in a twelve month period."
This ordinance shall become effective as provided by law.
INTRODUCED: January 26, 2010
PUBLIC HEARING: May 11, 2010
ENACTED: May 11, 2010
ayor
g
D to
ATTEST
City Clerk
Votes
Councilwoman Cross Aye
Councilman Drummond Aye
Councilman Greenfield Aye
Councilman Meyer Aye
Councilman Rasmussen Aye
Councilman Stombres Aye