Subtitle 19 – Newspaper Vending Boxes in Downtown Area
Current through 2026-07-17. Source: City of Balt., Md., Ord. 26-129. Published by the Baltimore City Department of Legislative Reference.
Balt., Md., Code art. 15, § 19-1 (2026)
§ 19-1 Definitions.LinkCopy Citation
(a)In general.
Whenever the following words and phrases are used in this subtitle, they shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section.
(b)Commissioner.
“Commissioner” shall mean the Commissioner of Housing and Community Development or his or her designated representative.
(c)Distributor.
“Distributor” shall mean the person responsible for placing and maintaining a newspaper vending box in a public right-of-way in the downtown area.
(d)Downtown area.
(1)
“Downtown area” shall mean that area of Baltimore City within the following boundaries:
Beginning at the intersection of Fallsway and Madison Street, thence in a general southerly and southeasterly direction along Fallsway to Baltimore Street, thence westerly along Baltimore Street to West Falls Avenue, thence southerly along West Falls Avenue to Pratt Street, thence easterly along Pratt Street to East Falls Avenue, thence southerly along East Falls Avenue to Aliceanna Street, thence westerly along an imaginary line connecting the intersection of East Falls Avenue and Aliceanna Street to the intersection of Light Street and Lee Street, thence westerly along Lee Street to Russell Street, thence northerly along Russell Street to Greene Street, thence northerly along Greene Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, thence northwesterly along Pennsylvania Avenue to St. Mary Street, thence northeasterly along St. Mary Street to Eutaw Street, thence southerly along Eutaw Street to Madison Street, thence easterly along Madison Street to its intersection with Fallsway, the point of beginning.
(2)
This area is identical to the boundaries of the Downtown Fire District, as described in the Baltimore City <cite data-path="|building-codes|II">Building Code</cite>.
(3)
The area shall include both sides of each street referred to in the above description establishing the boundaries of said area.
(e)Newspaper vending box.
“Newspaper vending box” shall mean any self-service or coin-operated box, container, storage unit, or other dispenser installed, used, or maintained for the display, sale, or distribution of newspapers or similar publications.
(f)Parkway.
“Parkway” shall mean:
(1)
the area between the sidewalk and the curb of a roadway;
(2)
where there is no sidewalk, that area between the edge of the roadway and the edge of a public right-of-way; and
(3)
any area within a roadway that is not open to vehicular travel.
(g)Public right-of-way.
(1)
“Public right-of-way” shall mean any place of any nature which is dedicated to use by the public for pedestrian and vehicular travel.
(2)
“Public right-of-way” includes, but is not limited to, a street, sidewalk, curb, gutter, crossing, intersection, parkway, highway, alley, lane, mall, court, way, avenue, boulevard, road, roadway, viaduct, subway, tunnel, bridge, thoroughfare, park, square, and any other similar public way.
(h)Roadway.
“Roadway” shall mean that part of a public right-of-way that is designated and used primarily for vehicular travel.
(i)Sidewalk.
“Sidewalk” shall mean that part of a public right-of-way that is designated and ordinarily used for pedestrian travel.
History: Ord. 86-859
Balt., Md., Code art. 15, § 19-2 (2026)
§ 19-2 Compliance with subtitle required.LinkCopy Citation
No person shall knowingly place, install, use, or maintain any newspaper vending box which rests in whole or in part upon, in, or on any portion of a public right-of-way in the downtown area or which projects onto, into, or over any part of a public right-of-way in the downtown area, except in compliance with the provisions of this subtitle.
History: Ord. 86-859
Balt., Md., Code art. 15, § 19-3 (2026)
§ 19-3 Standards for vending boxes.LinkCopy Citation
(a)In general.
Any newspaper vending box which rests in whole or in part upon, in, or on any portion of a public right-of-way in the downtown area or which projects onto, into, or over any part of a public right-of-way in the downtown area, shall comply with the standards set forth in this section.
(b)Maximum dimensions.
(1)
No newspaper vending box shall exceed 60 inches in height, 30 inches in width, and 24 inches in depth.
(2)
Where the volume of newspaper sales or the bulk of the particular publication being sold warrants, double boxes or additional boxes at the same location are permitted.
(c)Unrelated commercial advertising prohibited.
No commercial advertising signs or material other than those dealing with the name of the publication contained within the newspaper vending box or anything related to the information conveyed by that publication shall be displayed on the outside of any newspaper vending box.
(d)Coin-return mechanism required.
Each newspaper vending box shall be equipped with a coin-return mechanism to permit a person using the machine to secure immediate refund in the event he is unable to receive the publication for which he has paid. The coin-return mechanism shall be maintained in good working order.
(e)Posted name and telephone number.
Each newspaper vending box shall have affixed to it in a readily visible place, so as to be seen by anyone using the newspaper vending box, a notice setting forth:
(1)
the name of the distributor; and
(2)
the telephone number of a working telephone service to call:
(i)
to report a malfunction;
(ii)
to secure a refund in the event of a malfunction of the coin return mechanism; or
(iii)
to give the notices provided for in this subtitle.
(f)Maintenance.
(1)
Each newspaper vending box shall be maintained in a neat and clean condition and in good repair at all times.
(2)
Specifically, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, each newspaper vending box 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 paper or cardboard parts of inserts thereon are reasonably free of tears, peeling, or facing; and
(vi)
the structural parts thereof are not broken or unduly misshapen.
History: Ord. 86-859
Balt., Md., Code art. 15, § 19-4 (2026)
§ 19-4 Location of vending boxes.LinkCopy Citation
(a)In general.
Any newspaper vending box which rests in whole or in part upon, in, or on any portion of a public right-of-way in the downtown area, or which projects onto, into, or over any part of a public right-of-way in the downtown area, shall be located in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(b)Placement in roadway prohibited.
No newspaper vending box shall be located in whole or in part in any roadway.
(c)Other prohibited placements.
(1)
The provisions contained in paragraph (3)(i) to (v) of this subsection shall not apply if such provisions would prohibit the placement of newspaper vending boxes for a distance of 100 feet on the same side of the street in the same block.
(2)
“Crosswalk” means the area marked by the outside edges of the 2 parallel lines indicating the crosswalk, and not by the car stop line running parallel to the crosswalk.
(3)
No newspaper vending box shall be placed, installed, used, or maintained:
(i)
within 12 inches of any marked crosswalk;
(ii)
within 12 inches of the line marked by the extension of the interior edge of the sidewalk, in the absence of a marked crosswalk;
(iii)
within 3 feet of either end of any bus stop bench located within 3 feet of the curb;
(iv)
within any designated bus stop along the curb;
(v)
within 75 feet of any other newspaper vending box on the same side of the street in the same block containing the same issue or edition of the same publication, unless the box be a double box or 2 boxes located together as provided for in § 19-3(b);
(vi)
within 3 feet of any fire hydrant or 3 feet from the front of any fire call box, police call box, or other emergency facility;
(vii)
within 3 feet of any driveway; or
(viii)
at any location where the clear space for the passageway of pedestrians is reduced to less than 4 feet.
(d)Near curb, roadway, or structure.
(1)
Newspaper vending boxes shall be located only:
(i)
near the curb or, if there be no curb, the edge of the roadway; or
(ii)
along the building, wall, or other structure.
(2)
Newspaper vending boxes located near the curb shall be located no less than 12 inches nor more than 24 inches from the roadway edge of the curb.
(3)
Newspaper vending boxes located adjacent to a building, wall, or other structure shall be located parallel to and not more than 6 inches from the wall thereof.
(e)Groupings.
(1)
Newspaper vending boxes may be placed next to each other, provided that no group of newspaper vending boxes shall extend for a distance of more than 8 feet along a curb, and a space of not less than 3 feet shall separate each group of newspaper vending boxes.
(2)
No newspaper vending box shall be located on a sidewalk or parkway directly opposite another newspaper vending box unless the distance between them is at least 8 feet.
(f)Attachments — special fixtures erected by City.
(1)
The City may, after notice to (or request from) and consultation with each newspaper distributor who has a newspaper box or boxes at any particular location, erect structural tube pipe fixtures (U-shaped type or post type) to which newspaper vending boxes may be attached.
(2)
The City shall, to the extent possible, place any such fixtures in the proximity to the location of existing newspaper vending boxes, the corner of the intersection, and pedestrian traffic so as to maximize the convenience and availability to the public of any newspaper vending boxes to be attached to any such fixtures.
(3)
When such a fixture has been erected by the City, no newspaper vending box shall be placed on the same side of the street on the same block within 75 feet of that fixture if a vacancy exists in the fixture. If no vacancy exists, then newspaper vending boxes may be placed at any location otherwise in compliance with the provisions of this section.
(g)Attachments — use of existing fixtures.
(1)
Newspaper vending boxes shall not be attached to any:
(i)
fire hydrant, fire call box, police call box, or other emergency facility; or
(ii)
sign post with a diameter of 2½ inches or less.
(2)
A newspaper vending box may be attached to any other fixture located in the public right-of-way, at any point on the post, if:
(i)
its location is in compliance with the provisions of this section; and
(ii)
so as to minimize lateral movement, it is securely cinched to said fixture by means of a vinyl-coated cable that is:
(A)
color coded to match the box or fixture; and
(B)
designed to avoid damage to the fixture.
(h)Attachments — to ground.
(1)
A newspaper vending box may be free-standing or may be attached to any concrete City sidewalk by bolts or other devices if its location is in compliance with the provisions of this section.
(2)
Upon removal of any such box, any bolt holes or other damage to the sidewalk shall be repaired by the newspaper distributor whose newspaper vending box caused the holes or damage.
History: Ord. 86-859
Balt., Md., Code art. 15, § 19-5 (2026)
§ 19-5 Minor privilege requirements not affected.LinkCopy Citation
This subtitle shall be deemed to have no effect on the minor privilege application process required by <cite data-doc="City of Baltimore, Md., Charter" data-path="VIII">Article VIII of the City Charter</cite>.
History: Ord. 86-859
Balt., Md., Code art. 15, § 19-6 (2026)
§ 19-6 Enforcement.LinkCopy Citation
(a)Order to correct.
(1)
Upon a determination by the Commissioner that a newspaper vending box has been installed, used, or maintained in violation of any of the provisions of this subtitle, he or she shall cause an order to be issued to the distributor to correct the offending condition.
(2)
The order shall be:
(i)
telephoned to the distributor; and
(ii)
confirmed by mailing a copy of the order by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the distributor.
(3)
The order shall:
(i)
specifically describe the offending condition;
(ii)
suggest actions necessary to correct it; and
(iii)
advise the distributor of its right to appeal the order pursuant to § 19-7.
(b)Removal by Commissioner.
(1)
If, within 5 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after receipt of the order, the distributor fails to properly correct the offending conditions or request an appeal hearing before the Board of Estimates, the Commissioner shall cause the offending newspaper vending box to be summarily removed and processed as unclaimed property under applicable provisions of law relating thereto.
(2)
If the distributor of the offending newspaper vending box cannot be identified, the newspaper vending box shall be removed immediately and processed as unclaimed property under applicable provisions of law.
(3)
The foregoing provisions are not exclusive and are in addition to any other penalty or remedy provided by law.
History: Ord. 86-859
Balt., Md., Code art. 15, § 19-7 (2026)
§ 19-7 Appeals.LinkCopy Citation
(a)Right to appeal.
Within 5 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) of receipt of an order of the Commissioner pursuant to § 19-6, any party affected by the decision may file with the Clerk to the Board of Estimates of Baltimore City a written request for a public hearing before the Board of Estimates.
(b)Notice and hearing.
(1)
Upon the filing of such a request, the Clerk to the Board of Estimates shall set a time and place for the hearing and shall notify the parties thereof at least 5 days before the hearing date.
(2)
The hearing shall be held within 30 days after the request is filed.
(3)
The decision of the Board of Estimates shall be final in the absence of fraud or collusion.
History: Ord. 86-859
Balt., Md., Code art. 15, § 19-8 (2026)
§ 19-8 Summary correction of minor violations.LinkCopy Citation
In the case of minor violations of this subtitle that can be corrected on the spot, any City employee, as an alternative to the removal of the newspaper vending box, is authorized to correct the violation summarily.
History: Ord. 86-859
Balt., Md., Code art. 15, § 19-9 (2026)
§ 19-9 Abandonment.LinkCopy Citation
In the event a newspaper vending box remains empty for a period of 30 continuous days, the same shall be deemed abandoned, and may be treated in the manner as provided in § 19-6 for newspaper vending boxes in violation of the provisions of this subtitle.
History: Ord. 86-859