Adult Bookstore Kept Out-for Now

At the request of Ventura officials, a downtown business group and several church groups, the landlords of a vacant downtown building have decided against leasing space to an adult bookstore.

Arnold Meyerstein, co-owner of the vacant building in the 500 block of Main Street, said Wednesday that he and his partner have halted lease negotiations with a Woodland Hills company that planned to start the area’s second adult bookstore. In return, Meyerstein said, he is asking area merchants and city officials to help find another tenant.

“I’ll be patient enough to wait for six months,” said Meyerstein, a businessman based in Commerce. “After that, we are going to rent it to whoever knocks on our door. It’s an economic hardship.”

Councilman Gary Tuttle, who has been leading the city’s effort to persuade Meyerstein to find another tenant, applauded the decision. He said the adult bookstore would have crippled the city’s plan to turn Main Street into a premiere shopping area.

Tuttle said the city does not have an ordinance restricting where adult bookstores can be located. As a result, Tuttle said, the decision was left up to Meyerstein and his partner, Eugene Weiss.

“The city of Ventura should be in the forefront of helping them find another tenant,” Tuttle said. “This is best (economically) for the city of Ventura and especially the downtown area.”