County to replace Las Vegas Strip newsracks with its own racks by January

Clark County commissioners on Tuesday approved an ordinance that will put a county-owned system of uniform newsracks in place on the Strip.

Currently, newsrack owners put their own devices on the Strip after receiving county permits for the location.

The county’s newsracks are anticipated to be in place in January 2015. Applicants will still be able to seek permits to use the newsracks on the Strip. When the county installs its newsracks, the owners who be notified and can remove and keep their property.

The ordinance is part of the county’s efforts to address newsracks on the Strip and improve the tourism center’s aesthetics. The newsracks now come in different designs, shapes and colors.

The cost for the newsracks is estimated at $300,000 to $400,000. The money will come from the resort corridor room tax for hotels, not the general fund.

County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak said the uniform newsracks will improve the aesthetics on the Strip.

The designs are also intended to cut down on litter. The newsracks also will have a rounded, pointed or sloped top, which will prevent partiers on the Strip from leaving beer cans and bottles atop the devices.

Eddie Munoz, owner of Strip Advertising, has newsracks in the impacted area.

He raised concerns about the change, saying owners have invested thousands of dollars in their property to meet past county regulations and the two sides could have worked out an alternative solution.

“We can paint them all the same color where it wouldn’t be a burden on the taxpayers,” he said.

Newsracks on the Strip don’t carry traditional newspapers such as the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Instead, they typically hold pamphlets and magazines offering advertisements for a variety of services, from escorts to strip clubs. The county’s new ordinance doesn’t regulate the content of the newsracks.

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said the county should consider changing the name for the devices to reflect something more accurate.

The county’s newsrack effort comes following a 2012 resort corridor study it completed. Although the plan has critics, it doesn’t compare to the outcry when the county proposed in 2013 a plan to ban newsracks on the Strip. That idea died without a vote.

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-405-9781. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1.