Panel Rules That Adult Bookstore Is Beyond Reach of Distance Law

A Van Nuys adult bookstore, which had been ordered to close because it violated a Los Angeles ordinance prohibiting such shops within 500 feet of homes, is instead open for business--thanks to a change in city measurement policy.

In a unique case, city zoning officials decided that Adult World bookstore in the 6400 block of Van Nuys Boulevard could remain open because there is enough space--510 feet--between it and a four-unit apartment complex across a parking lot. A previous city measurement had showed the distance to be 429 feet.

The Dec. 13 decision has angered representatives of the Van Nuys Homeowners Assn. They vowed to find a way to change the ruling, although the city attorney’s office said such decisions by the Board of Zoning Appeals are final and cannot be appealed.

“We will be looking for any way to bring this issue out again,” said Don Shultz, a member of the association’s board of directors. “We feel the city should have ruled in a conservative manner on this case. The community does not benefit from this type of business.”

Councilman Joel Wachs, who represents the Van Nuys area, is looking into the decision to determine whether he should introduce an amendment to the city law clarifying how measurements should be taken, said Renee Weitzer, his land-use aide.

Buddy Green, owner of Adult World, and his attorney, Roger J. Diamond, convinced the zoning board that the back wall of the building, which is 510 feet from the apartments, should be used as the marker.

City inspectors had measured the distance from Adult World’s property line, which is 429 feet away. Based on that measurement, the city ordered Green to close his 4 1/2-year-old business. Green and Diamond appealed the order based on an ambiguity in the city ordinance that does not state what the points of measurement between a residence and an adult business must be.

City inspectors had been measuring from the lot line of businesses to the lot line of homes, said James Carney, chief building inspector. As a result of the decision, he said, inspectors will now measure from the walls of businesses.

However, that decision will not affect six other city cases in which the owners of adult entertainment businesses are appealing orders to close because of their proximity to homes, schools or parks, he said.

“I’m not aware of any cases that are this close,” Carney said, referring to the distance between Adult World and the apartments.

Matter of Interpretation

Nikolas Patsaouras, chairman of the Board of Zoning Appeals, said the panel interpreted the 1986 city ordinance to mean that the measurement, in the Adult World case, should be taken from the building and not the lot line.

“The code says 500 feet away from the establishment,” Patsaouras said. “It doesn’t make sense” to measure from the property line because the Adult World parking lot buffers it from the apartments.

“We did not try to rule on the morality of this,” Patsaouras said. “You and I may be opposed to these kinds of things, but the board considers land-use matters, not moral matters.”

None of the tenants of the apartment complex, along the 6400 block of Sylvan Street, protested the proximity of Adult World. From their porches, it is difficult to read Adult World’s back-lot sign. One woman said she was not bothered by the shop and wasn’t aware that the apartments were involved in the dispute.

Green, a member of the Van Nuys Chamber of Commerce, said that he “wants to be a good neighbor” and will tone down the sign in front of his building by removing the “XXX” letters and changing “25 cent movie arcade” to “25 cent movie.”

“I run my store like a normal everyday business,” Green said. “We are not out to wave any red flags. We want to cooperate with our neighbors.”