CYPRESS : City Acts to End News-Rack Clutter

In a move to regulate what they described as a clutter of outdoor news racks, the City Council last week gave first reading to an ordinance to control the outdoor vending machines.

“A lot of citizens have complained about these news racks,” said Councilwoman Gail H. Kerry, adding that residents have been particularly upset because of the large number of the racks outside the Post Office.

“It’s ridiculous,” she said.

City Atty. John E. Cavanaugh, however, told the council that constitutional free-speech, free-press guarantees limit what a city can do in regulating newsstands.

“Although a city may not be able to ban all news racks from public property or selectively exclude certain newspapers in news racks in favor of others, a city is empowered to impose a content-neutral ordinance regulating size, placement and maintenance of newspaper racks on the public property,” Cavanaugh said.

The ordinance conforms to those restrictions, he said. The new ordinance would require the following:

* An annual permit if the news rack is placed on a public right of way, such as a sidewalk or in front of a public building such as the Post Office.

* The owner have liability insurance.

* A fee to cover the cost of investigating the facts contained in the application.

* News racks meet design and style requirements.

* The number of news racks in any one location will be limited.

If the ordinance is given a final reading this month, it would become law in late February. The city government staff would then set the design standards and recommend the fees.

Cavanaugh said the ordinance is aimed at aesthetics and not censorship. “The desire is to regulate the mechanics, not the contents,” he said.