Hoy news racks turn bids green as ordinance nears.

The long simmering tug of war between the city and local publishers on updated rules for news racks appears to be coming to an end, but not without a final whiff of controversy.

Just as the Los Angeles City Council is poised to adopt an ordinance spelling out color, size and spacing requirements for racks bolted to city sidewalks, Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times, has spent more than $1 million to install thousands of news racks for its start-up Spanish-language newspaper Hoy.

The Hoy racks are blue, not the "ivy green" required under the ordinance due to come up for a vote on March 31. The proposed ordinance requires all of the city's 30,000 racks to be of a uniform color within three years of its passage.

By early March, Tribune had set up nearly half of its planned 6,000 Hoy boxes, which by one industry estimate cost $350 each, not including installation.

Tribune spokeswoman Christine Hennessey said it was "premature" to comment on the ordinance since it had not yet been approved. Hennessy added, however, "We are concerned about any ordinance that affects the distribution of news racks."

The present ordinance requiring news racks to be brown has been widely ignored and enforcement has been lax at best.

Under the proposed ordinance, there are a few exceptions to the color requirement. The exceptions depend on streetscape plans adopted by local business districts, according to Janice Wood, a commissioner with the city's Board of Public Works, the agency that will enforce the new rules.

A draft of the ordinance was approved in February by the council's public works sub committee, chaired by 12th District City Councilman Greig Smith. Mitchell Englander, Smith's chief of staff, said there were sufficient votes on the 15-member council to pass the ordinance by at least a simple majority.

"There are at least eight votes, and that's the magical' number," Englander said. "We are confident."

Three-year window

There's a three-year window to comply with the proposed ordinance, which could buy time for Hoy to establish itself as a rival to L.A.'s leading Spanish-language newspaper, La Opinion.

"We were shocked to see the blue racks, especially after knowing that the Tribune knew this ordinance was coming down the pike," said Steven Sann, co-founder of a coalition of business districts and neighborhood groups.

Kerry Morrison, executive director of the Hollywood Entertainment District, said she and others were under the impression that green would be the color for all Tribune Co. racks.

Hoy has known about this for months, said Morrison. "It's a slap in the face of everything we have been trying to accomplish."

Gary Marnien, manager of retail technology and manufacturing for the L.A. Times who oversees its news rack network, declined to discuss the blue Hoy boxes.

Hoy and the Times operate independently, and Marnien, who attended many of the meetings discussing the ordinance, said he had no input in the creation of the Spanish-language paper's boxes. "The Hoy situation is an entirely different part of Tribune. I handle only news racks for the Los Angeles Times," he said. Calls to Hoy officials were not returned. Darlene Kuba, a lobbyist for the Coalition for Print Media, which represents MediaNews Group Inc., owner of the Daily News of Los Angeles; USA Today owner Gannett Co.; Tribune; La Opinion and others, did not return telephone calls.

The news rack controversy has simmered for years. The problem emerged in the late 1990s as several Los Angeles neighborhoods struggled to implement streetscape improvements, but couldn't find places to install benches or plant trees because of the news rack congestion on some street corners.

It was also difficult for neighborhood groups to settle on color schemes because of the rainbow of news racks, including those placed illegally by adult-oriented newspapers, rental guides and job listings.

The effective date of the ordinance would be 30 days after passage, with enforcement of penalties for failing to comply 90 days later. The amount of the penalties still must be decided.

If approved, publishers would have three years to get their racks painted green or seek an exemption to comply with local neighborhood streetscape plans. Financial hardship must be proven to get up to two one-year extensions.

Racks already installed will not be grand-fathered under the ordinance, said John Lee, chief legislative deputy for councilman Smith.

The proposed ordinance also requires publishers to register each rack location with the city's Public Works department. Publishers also must get their racks permitted and have bar codes installed, Lee said. "We don't want to punish anyone," said Lee of the ordinance's purpose.