Costa Mesa

Ban Advances: A proposal to repeal a ban on fortune-telling has won preliminary City Council approval, as have proposed amendments to zoning regulations that would permit palm-reading parlors and similar businesses in commercial districts. Costa Mesa, like other California cities, is moving to repeal such laws in the wake of a state Supreme Court decision last month overturning local ordinances that forbid fortune-telling. “Basically what we are planning to do is to treat fortune-telling like any other office or retail use,” senior planner Perry Valantine said Tuesday. He said that if the ordinance is given final approval, officials will rewrite zoning regulations to specifically mention fortune-telling. Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and San Juan Capistrano have already scrapped laws prohibiting fortune-telling.