GARDEN GROVE : Council Outlaws ‘Phoenix’ Booths

A ban on “Phoenix-style” booths in adult video arcades--booths that screen the customer from outside view--has been approved by the City Council in the latest of a series of revisions to its “peep show” ordinance, aimed at curbing problems associated with the adult businesses.

The council earlier banned doors on adult video booths, but on Monday night officials voted unanimously to prohibit video arcade booths designed without doors but shaped so that the customer cannot be seen from the outside. Such booths were originally designed by a company in Phoenix.

At least one adult video arcade in Garden Grove adopted the Phoenix configuration in the face of the city’s ban on doors or curtains on booths.

According to city officials, a person sitting in the video booth must be able to clearly see the building’s exit, for public safety reasons.

Garden Grove police say that much of the lewd conduct at adult video arcades occurs in enclosed or screened booths.

Included in the ordinance is a requirement that arcades next to residential areas shut down from 10 p.m. until 8:30 a.m. unless they have a special city permit. To obtain the permit, there will be an application, review and appeal procedure.

“These revisions will make the ordinance about as tight as it can be,” said City Atty. Stuart B. Scudder. The final form of the city’s adult-use regulations await study by a city committee. In addition, two related legal actions will be heard April 9 by Superior Court Judge John C. Wooley.