BREA : City Imposes Fee on Newspaper Racks

City Council members decided this week to require newspaper rack owners to pay an $85 fee to sell papers in the city.

No one opposed the council’s action, which was prompted by residents who complained of pornographic tabloids being sold in racks throughout the city.

The city’s new newspaper rack ordinance goes into effect next month.

In addition to establishing the annual installation fee, it also sets fees for impounds and appeal hearings.

It further restricts how materials are displayed and where the newspaper racks may be placed.

Under the new law, racks containing pornographic materials must have blinders placed on them so explicit sexual acts or genitalia cannot be seen by the public.

Moreover, newspaper racks must be placed out of the public right-of-way and maintained in a “clean and neat condition.”

Violators could face fines of up to $1,000 and six months in jail.

Councilwoman Kathryn E. Wiser said she would have liked to get all newspaper racks out of the public right-of-way, especially the pornographic racks that children have walked by and seen, but she was told that an outright ban on the freedom of the press is illegal.

“This is the most we can restrict,” City Atty. James L. Markman said of the new ordinance.

“It keeps the (newspaper racks) from proliferating on the streets,” Wiser said.