San Juan Capistrano : City Repeals Fortune-Telling Ban on Basis of Court Ruling

In response a state Court of Appeal decision, the City Council has repealed an ordinance banning fortune telling.

The council’s decision last week to repeal the ordinance comes about a year after a state appeal court ruled that an ordinance in the City of Azusa banning fortune telling was unconstitutional, in violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

“As we understand it, because of the court decision, cities can no longer regulate fortune telling,” said David DeBeauvais, senior administrative assistant with the city manager’s office. “The council decided to repeal the ordinance, but it also recommended that a zoning study be conducted to address the potential conflicts between fortune telling . . . and other adjacent business uses.”

In the Spiritual Psychic Science Church of Truth Inc. vs. the City of Azusa case, which has been appealed to the state Supreme Court, fortune telling was defined as speech and therefore could not be regulated by a government body.

However, Azusa City Attorney Peter Thorson said Azusa considers its ordinance on fortune telling still valid, pending a state Supreme Court decision next month on the matter.

“Our view point is that the city only regulated fortune telling for a fee, which we consider a business, like any other business that can be regulated,” Thorson said. “If you define fortune telling for a fee as freedom of speech, it would leave government with no authority to regulate doctors or lawyers or any businesses where speech is involved as a business service.”

San Juan Capistrano officials said fortune telling is addressed in several different sections of the municipal code and a repeal of the ordinance banning fortune telling also affects the regulation of massage parlors, adult book stores and motels. While the state Supreme Court considers the Azusa case, the Planning Department is considering zone studies on land uses, hoping to maintain some control over these businesses in the interim.