The ban takes effect August 9. The commission approved the measure at last month’s meeting, contingent on the addition of wording allowing for possible future construction of news “condominiums,” or kiosks that would distribute multiple newspapers as part of the city’s yet-to-be-developed “street furniture” program. At that meeting, newspaper representatives (including one from the Phoenix), who were afraid of losing customers and anxious to protect free speech, faced off against a band of local residents, led by the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, who thought the boxes unsightly.

Yesterday’s vote was essentially a formality, so the passionate debate that marked last month’s meeting was notably absent. Only a handful of people attended the hearing, and none spoke when commission chair Anthony Gordon asked if there were any comments.

City Councilor Mike Ross of the Fenway, who also represents the Back Bay and spoke in favor of the news-box ban at the last meeting, raced in 15 minutes late. That would have been fine for a normal hearing, but in the absence of testimony, the commission had already voted. Nonetheless, he was allowed to testify. He told the group he has been working with the city’s Basic Services Department, which coordinates the street-furniture program and hopes soon to have the outline of a pilot news-condominium program that could serve the Back Bay. “Let’s try to get a pilot program up and running before the ban takes effect, or at least to minimize the time that newspapers are not available,” he said.

Some committee members, such as Barry Hoffman, dubbed Ross’s call for a pilot program an “excellent suggestion”; but others, including Gordon, were skeptical. “It’d be nice to see what the streets look like without anything on them,” he said. “We haven’t had a chance to do that for a while.” He raised the point that news condominiums won’t be able to accommodate every newspaper that wants space, and he said the selection process could be difficult. “I guess my feeling is to try and rush into something just to get it in place before this guideline takes effect could be careless,” he said.

After the meeting, Ross was less sanguine about chances for speedy approval of a pilot program — which hasn’t yet been fully hammered out by Basic Services, and which must be formally presented to the commission for its approval. Winter-construction regulations prevent building after November, he pointed out: “We may have a proposal ready to go, but it may not be able to be implemented until spring 2002.” In short, the next time you grab a paper on Newbury Street, enjoy it while you can.