by Timothy Rutt
County inspectors are now after new prey: unpermitted news racks lining Lake Avenue.
Sussy Nemer, field deputy for Supv. Michael D. Antonovich, said that news racks along sidewalks need to have permits, and there are a slew of racks that haven't gone through the process along Lake Avenue.
As part of the permit process, the county's public works department looks at things like placement on the sidewalk, and whether the rack is obstructing the view of traffic.
"The purpose of permitting anything is otherwise you'd have them all over and there's some sense of order and that they don't obstruct any uses on the public right of way," Nemer said. But, she added, sometimes someone will just bolt a rack to the sidewalk without seeking permission from the county or the the business owner -- sometimes at three o'clock in the morning.
"There isn't anything really new, they've always been required to get a permit," Nemer said. "Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't -- it's actually not a difficult permit to get."
Unpermitted news racks are a recurrent problem, Nemer said, but it could be worse: occasionally someone will but up an unpermitted advertising bus bench. Nemer said that La Crescenta once had five unpermitted bus benches in one location.
Pictured: a news rack with a ticket in front of the Altadena Post Office on Lake Avenue.
