GARDEN GROVE : 5 Video Arcades to Get Day in Court

Attorneys representing five adult video arcades are expected in Superior Court today to argue for special permits to operate.

A Garden Grove ordinance requires the permits for adult video arcades. A hearing officer denied permit applications from all but one of the seven peep show operators in the city, and that action was upheld by the City Council. Monday’s trial will include a review of the council decision.

The ordinance, among other provisions, requires that the booths of the arcades (which typically show snippets of X-rated films for a quarter on video screens) have no doors or other obstructions to view, be at least a minimum size and have fire-resistant walls. At a recent council meeting, the ordinance was revised to require that video arcades next to residential areas obtain an additional operating permit to be open any time between 10 p.m. and 8:30 a.m. Many of the peep shows are open 24 hours.

“The only peep show business that has complied with the ordinance has been the Party House,” said Stuart B. Scudder, attorney for the city. “There have been very few problems there, and it demonstrates that you can run one of those businesses without being a nuisance to the community.”

But attorney Roger Diamond, representing the arcade owners, said the city is refusing to cooperate with the video arcade operators.

“They’ve made it impossible to comply with the ordinance. Every time a contractor goes to the city planning division to get a permit for construction to comply with the ordinance, either the right person isn’t in, or they refuse to issue the permit,” Diamond said.

The “real purpose is to force these businesses out of the community,” he said.

Diamond, who represents A-Z Books, Mike’s Hip Pocket Adult Bookstore, the Bijou, the Adult Bookstore and the Garden of Eden Bookstore, maintains that they can’t be held responsible for problems occurring off their property.