Santa Ana’s Costly Fight to Oust Adult Theater Rolls On

The crowd of 421 at the Mitchell Bros. theater in Santa Ana on Friday had paid to see “The Oui Girls” and “Ten Maidens.”

It was an average turnout for the 17th Street movie house, where about 150,000 people a year see X-rated films, according to manager Phil Brady. And Brady says that ought to be enough to convince the Santa Ana City Council to drop its 10-year fight to close the theater.

“We don’t know who the people are that call up the city to complain. They don’t call us,” Brady said. “But, hey, here’s 150,000 people in the area who support us.”

Santa Ana’s legal effort, which has included at least seven lawsuits, has cost the city $225,000 so far.

Recommendations Ignored

And the council recently voted to pay James J. Clancy, a private attorney specializing in anti-pornography litigation, another $200,000 to press on with the battle.

The vote ignored recommendations by City Manager Robert C. Bobb and City Atty. Edward C. Cooper that the city drop the case. Faced with the recent dismissal of a lawsuit that attempted to have one of the theater’s films ruled obscene, Cooper and Bobb had proposed dropping the case if the theater chain would agree not to seek attorneys’ fees--which could run more than $1 million--from the city.

Council members say they have persisted in the litigation because nearby residents and business owners feel strongly that it is a bad influence on Santa Ana teen-agers and should not be located in a shopping area near homes and a church. The residents are vocal about the issue, with calls running about 25 to 1 against the theater.

‘Just a Matter of Time’

Last week, Clancy announced that he will file a lawsuit against the theater every Tuesday seeking to have that week’s films ruled pornographic.

Councilman John Acosta, who represents the ward surrounding the theater at 17th and Bristol streets, said he believes that “sooner or later, we’re going to prevail on this thing. It’s just a matter of time.”

A Mitchell Bros. spokesman claims the council’s persistence is simply a political effort to show that council members are not “soft” on pornography.

“They clearly are afraid to do what’s right because of political pressure and their own political aspirations,” said Tom Steel, the Mitchell Bros. attorney. He noted that three council members are campaigning for reelection in November, and Mayor Dan Griset is running for the Assembly.

Steel said he believes the council members will suffer more if they eventually lose the case “and then get socked with (the theater chain’s) attorneys’ fees.”

Griset admitted that the city is at risk. “While there are certain financial risks, we’re not convinced that the community wants us to stop this effort. The only voices we’re hearing all ask us to continue the fight,” he said.

However, Acosta said the council sentiment during the closed-door session with Bobb, Cooper and Clancy three weeks ago was swinging against the case. “I was the one that almost single-handedly turned this thing around because the council was ready to drop it,” he said.

Acosta said the theater’s films are a public nuisance because of their alleged effect on young residents. He noted that theater employees reportedly have handed out free passes to students at Rancho Santiago College.

Legal Cost Called Issue

Brady, however, said he approves all free passes, makes sure that none go to anyone under 18 and knows of no distributions on the Rancho Santiago campus.

He argued that the legal cost is the real issue. “So far, the only public nuisance is this man Mr. Clancy, who’s spending a lot of taxpayers’ money without any hope of success,” he said.

A few cities have managed to close adult theaters. In Hialeah, Fla., a theater closed last October because it violated an ordinance prohibiting such businesses near homes, churches or schools. A Phoenix theater closed its doors in August in exchange for the Maricopa County district attorney’s office dropping obscenity charges.

Other cities are watching for the outcome of a zoning case in Renton, Wash., where the City Council attempted to ban adult businesses within 1,000 feet of any residential area, church or school. The ordinance was struck down by a federal appeals court, but the city has taken the case to the U. S. Supreme Court. A ruling could produce new guidelines for regulation of adult businesses.

Clancy, who assisted Renton officials in the case, said Santa Ana passed a similar law after the Mitchell Bros. moved in, but the law cannot be retroactive.

Resident’s Complaint

Most residents who have complained to the council echo Acosta’s concerns about the effect on the young. Mary Carlson, who lives a few blocks away on Washington Avenue, said she believes teen-agers get in to the theater even though the minimum age is 18.

“That’s supposed to be the rule, but anyone that would operate a place like that probably doesn’t follow too many rules,” she said. “Just knowing it’s around bothers me.”

The Rev. Norman Conner, senior pastor at First Christian Church, 1720 W. 17th St., a few doors from the theater, said churches in the area have long opposed the theater’s proximity to the college and a residential area. He said church leaders encourage parishioners to write the City Council to keep up the fight.

“My position is that if someone wants to spend their money to see this trash, that’s their right and privilege,” he said. The theater has a First Amendment right to show the films, he said, but not in a residential area. “If it was down on Harbor Boulevard, I probably would never have gotten involved.”

Employers and workers in the shopping center, which council members described as “rundown,” either declined comment or expressed little interest in the theater. Lincoln American Savings & Loan Assn., which has a branch office on nearby Bristol Street, recently contributed $25,000 to help the city pay attorney fees, but representatives of the firm declined comment.

‘A Very Big Sign’

Alfred Hanna, owner of Mollie’s Coffee Shop on 17th Street, said, “I really don’t care one way or the other” about the theater because it has little effect on his business. “I’ve never been there. The only way I even know it’s there is because I see the sign. It’s a very big sign.”

At the Sav-On Drug Store, manager Mark Macauley said theater employees “came in once, handed out some free passes and left a bunch at the door. We cleared ‘em out the next day after we realized what they were.”

But Brady said that some employees in neighboring businesses often solicit free passes. And the films the theater shows, he said, “serve a social purpose.

“I think there is an effort in our society to make violence the norm. This is an alternative, in my opinion, to all the detective and cop shows and even the hateful soap operas.

“What we offer is simply a depiction of human sexuality. The human body is beautiful and human sexuality is beautiful. What’s wrong with that?”