Bathhouse Near School Appeals Closure Order

The only homosexual bathhouse in the southern half of Los Angeles County is trying to stay open in the face of opposition from its Wilmington neighbors.

Glen’s 1350 West, a bathhouse at 510 W. Anaheim St., has been ordered to close under a Los Angeles city ordinance, enacted two years ago, that prohibits massage parlors, adult entertainment stores and other sexually oriented establishments within 500 feet of homes, schools and churches.

The establishment’s owner has appealed to the city for an extension that would allow it to operate for another three years. A public hearing is scheduled for today, and residents are expected to oppose the request.

No representative of the bathhouse could be reached for comment.

Signatures Gathered

Leading the fight is Joann Wysocki, a community activist who said she has gathered more than 1,000 signatures in opposition to the bathhouse. She said the names include 18 members of the clergy, one of whom runs an elementary school near the bathhouse.

The bathhouse is “not complementary to the community of Wilmington,” Wysocki said. “I resent it. I don’t believe in the location of bathhouses in the community I live in or anywhere else.”

Glen’s 1350 West is one of 12 bathhouses in the county--all of them within city limits--and is the only one south of Venice Boulevard, according to county health officials.

It has operated in Wilmington since 1986, shortly after owner Glen Moering shut down another bathhouse he owned, the 1350 Club in Long Beach.

The latter business ran into trouble when Long Beach officials required the removal of all doors and beds from its 50 private rooms. Rather than comply, Moering closed the business. He then reopened his Wilmington bathhouse--which had not been operating for two years--as Glen’s 1350 West.

The Wilmington bathhouse is across an alley from a residential district and is 275 feet from St. Peter-St. Paul School, a Roman Catholic elementary school. In a letter to city officials, its principal, Sister Ena Maguire, wrote that “the presence of an establishment like Glen’s does not contribute to the betterment of our town.”

Wysocki said the bathhouse creates parking problems, hurts “normal businesses” and does not serve local residents.

“When you take a look at the cars, they’re Mercedes-Benzes and Cadillacs,” she said. “They are not from this community.”

The lawyer for the bathhouse was unavailable, and Moering, who lives in Idaho, could not be reached. A call to the manager requesting comment was not returned.

Los Angeles police say the bathhouse has not created a problem for vice officers. Although Wysocki called the bathhouse a health hazard that contributes to the spread of AIDS, county health officials say that, with one exception, it is in compliance with their regulations.

The regulations require among other things that patrons in private rooms be monitored through viewing ports and that those found engaging in “unsafe” sex--defined as oral or anal sex--be asked to leave.

Health inspectors have never seen the prohibited sexual activity at Glen’s 1350 West, according to Consuelo Olds of the county’s public health programs office. However, she said, the bathhouse was recently cited because its viewing ports may be locked from the inside of the rooms, preventing monitoring by the manager or inspectors. The violation has not been corrected, she said.

Olds said that before taking further Health Department action against Glen’s 1350 West, county officials are waiting for the outcome of a county lawsuit against the owners of two other bathhouses that have been ordered closed for health violations. Those bathhouses, one in Silver Lake and the other in Hollywood, have ignored the county’s orders.

Olds said the county will probably not intervene in the city’s efforts to close down the Wilmington bathhouse, adding that county officials are concerned with health matters, whereas the city is enforcing a zoning ordinance.

The city ordinance was enacted in 1986 but included a 2-year grace period. It permits businesses to file for extensions to remain open until March, 1991, if the owners can prove they have a binding lease, need more time to recoup their investments, or cannot find comparable locations in non-residential areas.

In the case of Glens’ 1350 West, Moering’s lawyers state in city documents that the lease does not expire until 1993. The owner of the building, listed as Pacific States Growth Assn. of Idaho, also could not be reached.

City officials say about a dozen South Bay businesses have been ordered to close as a result of the ordinance. Two--the Shanghai Lady, a topless bar in the Harbor Gateway, and an adult motel on Imperial Highway--have closed rather than comply. The others have asked for extensions, according to Erchel Bean, a city building inspector.

One request, for the Front View Cabaret topless bar in Harbor City, will be heard today. Joeann Valle, president of the Harbor City Coordinating Council, said Harbor City residents are opposing the extension.