Whittier : Movie Zoning Struck Down

A zoning ordinance aimed at closing the X-rated Pussycat Theater in Uptown Village has been ruled unconstitutional by U.S. District Judge Manuel Real. It was the third time in recent years that the Los Angeles judge has ruled against the Whittier ordinance which prohibits X-rated movie theaters within 1,000 feet of churches, schools or homes. On two earlier occasions, higher courts overturned Real’s decisions.

In his most recent decision, Real said the city again failed to prove that the Pussycat Theater “poses any special threat to the city’s legitimate interests.” Whittier officials and Uptown merchants have complained that the theater discourages people from shopping in the city and is a blight on the community.

Walnut Properties, a Hollywood-based company that owns the statewide chain of 33 X-rated theaters, purchased the Wardman Theater on Greenleaf Avenue in 1977, changed its name and converted it to show adult movies. Soon after, the city passed its adult business ordinance, prompting Walnut Properties to file a lawsuit. The matter has been tied up in courts ever since.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a similar case involving an adult theater in a Seattle suburb, ruled that communities may use zoning ordinances to relegate X-rated theaters to isolated areas. The decision essentially reversed Real’s 1984 ruling that the Whittier zoning ordinance was illegal. After the Supreme Court ruling, the Whittier case was sent back to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-justice panel then sent it to Real, who issued his latest ruling last week.

Attorneys for Whittier contend that Real’s decision last week was inappropriate because the full Court of Appeals had not decided yet whether to hear the case again. Katherine Stone, an attorney for the city, said no decision has been made whether to appeal Real’s decision.