TUSTIN : Council Suspends Ban on News Racks

Tustin City Council members voted 3 to 2 Monday night to suspend enforcement of the city’s ban on sidewalk news racks but ordered the city attorney to draw up a new law aimed at news racks displaying sexually explicit material.

The new ordinance is due back before the council in two weeks.

Councilmen Earl J. Prescott and John Kelly dissented on both the suspension of the existing ordinance and on the vote to target only sexually explicit material.

James G. Rourke, city attorney, told the council, “If you attempt to enforce the present ordinance, you will find yourself in court in a matter of a day or two, and it’s my opinion you surely will lose.”

Although the existing city ordinance bans literally all news racks from city sidewalks, that 16-year-old law had never been enforced until a month ago. Then, however, city officials ordered that some news racks be removed from the streets.

The Times Orange County Edition, the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner all threatened legal action, arguing that the action was unconstitutional and forcing the council to re-examine its policy.

Tustin’s city attorney, after telling the council that the city would lose in court if challenged, drafted another ordinance which would define where news racks could be placed and would bar any sexually explicit material from being visible.

At the public hearing Monday night, most of the speakers from an audience of about 150 people argued that sexually explicit newspapers should be banned from sidewalks.

Kittie Billings said that she bought some of the papers and that “it was so degrading to women, it was so obscene to me and everyone that I’ve showed them to.”