Laserfiche WebLink
Council Agenda Item Cover <br />___________________________________________________________ <br />MEETING DATE: <br /> September 22, 2008 <br />AGENDA ITEM TITLE: <br /> News Box Ordinance <br />AGENDA SECTION: <br /> New Business <br />CAN THIS ITEM BE RESCHEDULED? : <br />Yes <br />BACKGROUND REVIEW: <br />You may recall that lawyers for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and USA Today <br />protested the Council’s enactment of Ordinance No. 6722 regulating news boxes, <br />claiming that the ordinance contained several constitutional flaws. Because of the <br />complaints, we suspended enforcement of the ordinance pending a meeting with <br />the newspapers’ lawyers. <br />While the newspapers’ constitutional criticisms were greatly overstated, staff <br />became convinced of the need to clarify the ordinance to avoid unintended <br />misinterpretations. To ensure that the process and regulatory provisions could be <br />understood and followed by all in the spirit of the original ordinance, we are <br />recommending the attached revision. It clarifies both the fee structure, ensuring <br />that fees are intended as partial recoupment for costs rather than as a revenue <br />generator (for purposes of both the Hancock Amendment and the First <br />Amendment), and the process for approving and denying news box and <br />accompanying right-of-way permits. <br />One issue that is of significant importance to the two newspapers is the color of <br />their existing and future boxes. The ordinance originally required neutral colors, <br />to avoid extreme coloring and to establish some uniform news box appearances <br />on city streets. The newspapers complained that this would decrease their <br />visibility in an already tight market, weaken their branding and trademarks, and <br />lead to significant costs of repainting ($300/box) or buying new boxes (about <br />$450 each). The newspapers argued that the requirement would likely lead the <br /> <br />