Local News in Brief : X-Rated Theater Wins Court Ruling
A federal appeals court has struck down a Whittier ordinance banning sexually oriented businesses within 1,000 feet of churches, schools and parks.
In invalidating the ordinance, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it effectively drove such businesses out of Whittier because there are only three areas in the city where they could relocate.
Whittier passed the ordinance in 1977 after Walnut Properties Inc. bought a local movie theater and began showing X-rated movies. Walnut immediately sued to invalidate the ordinance, and the legal battle has continued since then in state and federal courts.
The only remaining avenue of appeal for the city, which has spent $221,000 defending the ordinance, is the U.S. Supreme Court. City officials have said such an appeal is unlikely.
Ironically, Walnut announced several months ago that the theater would abandon its X-rated format for feature films after completing earthquake repairs this year, leaving Whittier with no sexually oriented businesses.
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