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# City Council will allow ‘drab’ racks
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-council-will-allow-drab-racks/
- Published: 2008-09-18T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T21:02:53.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Updated law will permit flexibility for news racks*

CITY HALL In the world of newspaper rack aesthetics, woodgrain panels are about to be so last month.

After hearing concerns from local publishers and distributors about the difficulty and high expenses in maintaining vandalized racks, the City Council on Tuesday took the first step toward easing the burden.

The issue concerns an existing law that dictates how all 1,100 news racks citywide should appear and where they should be placed on sidewalks. Current regulations require that news racks all have woodgrain panels on all sides and the mounts be painted a glossy black. The 1979 law requires that vendors pay a $35 permit fee for each rack and to maintain their own.

Publishers argue the woodgrain is difficult to maintain because it degrades quickly, pointing out that it is also one of the most expensive substrates on the market, costing about $100 to replace each panel.

The council adopted an ordinance on first reading changing the regulation to allow news racks be painted in an “olive drab” color, which publishers said would be easier to clean. The item is expected to come back for a second reading and ratification at an upcoming meeting. The ordinance would go into effect 30 days from adoption.

“This gives vendors a little bit more flexibility in the type of news racks that is provided,” Public Works Director Leon Swain said last week. “It’ll make it easier to maintain without having to replace the wood grain panels.”

The council was unanimous in their approval of the ordinance, though some seemed to have some reservations about the name of the color, which is a dark brownish green.

“The era for plastic woodgrain is over,” Councilmember Ken Genser joked.

The ordinance would also modify insurance coverage for the news racks from the existing $300,000 to $500,000\. The insurance coverage is a requirement in order to occupy a public right-of-way.

Residents have complained to City Hall about the appearance of the racks, which in parts of the city have been spray painted, broken and used as trash receptacles.

“Some are very old and we hope this can help all of these folks to keep them up more easily,” Joan Akins, the assistant director of public works, said. “They’re weathered.”

The racks are monitored by Public Works staff, who are required to notify the vendor if there is a box out of compliance. About 20 companies occupy racks citywide.

The cost to replace the woodgrain panels are expensive with each panel costing $100 and boxes having six panels a piece. Replacing the entire box costs about $300, a discount for buying in bulk.

Painting on the other hand would be about $30, according to Santa Monica Daily Press Publisher Ross Furukawa.

He pointed out that the ordinance would result in all racks in Santa Monica looking better.

“I’m applauding the city for doing this because it’s one of those common sense solutions that benefits everybody,”Furukawa said.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 18, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/091808.pdf?ref=smdp.com)