SIMI VALLEY : Freeze Approved for Adult Businesses

The Simi Valley City Council, concerned about a proposed nude dancing club, on Monday imposed an immediate freeze on the opening of any new adult or sexually oriented business.

City officials said the moratorium was needed to prevent such businesses from opening before the council adopts a new law that would regulate adult businesses in Simi Valley.

Earlier this month, residents protested to the council a Las Vegas businessman’s plan to open a nude bar called the Simi Dan cing Bear in a Los Angeles Avenue shopping center. City planning officials subsequently revoked a zoning clearance that the club needed to open.

Deputy Planning Director Wolf Ascher said Monday that his office needed to receive more information on parking plans before a building permit for the club could be issued.

The council’s 4-1 vote Monday night imposed a 45-day freeze on the opening of a nude club or other businesses such as an adult theater, adult motel, massage parlor or escort agency.

The urgency ordinance required at least a four-fifths approval to take effect immediately.

Councilwoman Sandi Webb voted against the measure, saying she had not had time to read a 600-page study by city staff that was used to justify the ban.

The moratorium could be extended for as long as two years, but city staff members said that if the freeze continues for a long period of time, the city could be accused of interfering in a free-speech activity.

City planners are expected to present a new ordinance on adult businesses to the council in six to eight weeks. It is expected to include rules regarding where such businesses can be located.