La Habra : Council Updates Law on Indecent Exposure

To bring an indecent exposure law up to date, the City Council last week gave tentative approval to an ordinance that prohibits exposure of female breasts and other private parts in establishments serving alcohol.

The current ordinance, which makes it a misdemeanor to be exposed in public places or in establishments with food and drinks, is too broad and vague , deputy City Manager Bob Burns said. The new law, approved tentatively last week, bans indecent exposure in businesses serving alcoholic beverages but does not address other places.

But that doesn’t mean that “you can walk down the street topless,” City Atty. Richard Jones said. State law already prohibits indecent exposure in public places, he said. The new law, once adopted, will conform with recent court decisions, he said.

Jones said he suggested updating the law after reviewing it during a recent court fight with a local bar owner. But the change, the attorney said, was not related to the legal battle with the Casbah A Go Go bar.

Casbah took the city to court last year after its entertainment permit was revoked. The city took away Casbah’s permit because police on two occasions found waitresses wearing French-cut bikinis dancing atop the bar while customers placed money in their outfits.

The city told the bar owner that he had a permit for pool tables and a juke box, but not for live entertainment. The bar owner said the city violated the business’s First Amendment rights and filed suit.

In January, a Superior Court judge ruled that Casbah could have its entertainment license reinstated if it agreed to not offer live entertainment, Jones said.