County Issue / Regulating Adult Businesses...

Scott Montgomery, Councilman, Moorpark

Absolutely, these laws are necessary. These types of facilities have tremendous adverse impacts on existing residences and businesses and, to the greatest extent possible, I believe we need ordinances that will minimize the impacts. The key is to strike a balance between what has been upheld in court and what is being mandated by the U. S. Supreme Court as far as being required to provide areas for these types of businesses. I am not in favor of these types of businesses at all. Frankly, I don’t see any place in Moorpark where a business like this could be located without incurring severe adverse impacts to residents and businesses. The courts mandate that there simply must be the availability of having one. I think the courts are wrong. With these types of ordinances, at least there will be guidelines to minimize the kinds of adverse effects of these kinds of businesses on the community.

*

Greg Stratton, Mayor, Simi Valley

We look at it as a zoning problem in the sense that we want to try and keep a type of industry in the correct zone. That includes distances from other incompatible uses such as homes and schools and churches. But if you attempt to use zoning as a method of totally eliminating a particular use, you’re going to end up with some real trouble, especially in this case, where the courts have said you can’t do that. You do have to make sure there’s a place for them. As much as I believe that the community is not supportive of these kinds of businesses, there are constitutional issues. We have to provide an opportunity for them to be here if they so choose. But if they do come, you have to make sure that they are in the right location, so they have the minimum conflict with other uses. We had an ordinance a few years ago that was, in fact, very strict and it was immediately challenged and it was immediately wiped out in the courts. So you end up going to court and you wind up without any ordinance at all and then they can go anywhere.

*

Christian Menard, Oxnard attorney who advocates the legalization of prostitution

If the point is to keep these places away from minors or churches, to me, most churches are in residential areas and they’re not in the commercial areas where these shops would be. I think the real issue is trying to eliminate these places in total, which is wrong, denying people the right to choice. The purpose isn’t to keep them away from a church; the purpose is to deny someone the ability to sell a commodity and there is an established market for it. Our society’s prurient interest is enough to warrant these businesses being in existence. You don’t want it in a residential area; you don’t want it where kids are going to be walking home from school. There are plenty of places where these businesses can be unobtrusive. I don’t think such laws are necessary because I think common sense generates the location. You want a busy street with a lot of passing traffic so a guy can come by and say, ‘I feel like picking up a stag movie to show the wife tonight.’ You’re not going to get that kind of exposure on a quiet street.

*

Paul Lawrason, Mayor, Moorpark

We want to be prepared for that time in the future when someone looks at our city and believes that it’s a viable location to put a business that falls in that category. We have nothing on the books right now to contend with that situation. I think it’s pretty obvious that we’re generally opposed to any kind of business like that in our city. But you begin to tread on people’s constitutional rights when you make it physically impossible for them to locate in your city. Until there is a body of law or court decision out there that begins to uphold these restrictions, you have to be rather lenient in the provisions of an ordinance like this to keep it from being challenged. I don’t think it’s wise for us to put an extremely stringent ordinance in place that will, without a doubt, be challenged. We just have to be really careful, and what would come out of this is an ordinance that would regulate these businesses to some extent. Probably not to the extent that most people would want to see.

*

Duke Podulka, Owner, Snooky’s Bar in Simi Valley

I think to a point some laws are necessary. You can’t have adult businesses running rampant. If you’re 21 and you want to do a certain thing, I think within reason you should be able to see any kind of entertainment you want. I wouldn’t want it to go any further than bikini dancing, if I had the opportunity, I don’t think I would. I think this is clean entertainment. I’m restricted by the alcoholic beverage commission and by Simi Valley. I get patrolled here too much by the local cops and I don’t think it’s their doing; I think they’re being told to do it . . . . You don’t want to be in a residential neighborhood, you don’t want to be right next door to a church, simply because there are two conflicting interests there. I think we should be sort of isolated because then if you know where the place is and you want to go there, you go. You’re not going to stumble in there accidentally.