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Burbank Slaps Moratorium on Fitness Clubs

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

The Burbank City Council has imposed a moratorium on new fitness centers after receiving hundreds of complaints from members of a club that suddenly shut its doors earlier this year.

Passed this week on a 5-0 vote, the 90-day moratorium will give the city staff time to create “mechanisms that will protect the consumers from problems that may occur with workout clubs,” said Robert M. Tague, community development director.

“Some of these clubs have closed down, left town, and members who paid money into an account lost their dues,” Tague said.

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During the moratorium period, the city will not accept any applications or issue new licenses to “any new health club facility, gymnasium or health studio” that has an application on file.

Since 1990, at least four Burbank fitness clubs have closed, each time leaving behind members who accused club owners of failing to provide promised services and failing to provide refunds.

Most recently, the Family Workout fitness center closed unexpectedly in September, leaving behind hundreds of angry customers.

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“There were people who bought memberships and did not get the benefit of that membership,” Tague said.

Family Workout fitness center is also the gym where recently captured fugitive Douglas Oliver Kelly once worked. Kelly has been charged with murder in the death of Sara Weir, a 19-year-old production assistant who met Kelly at the gym.

After the club closed, about 375 members accused the owners of fraud and misrepresentation and filed complaints with the Burbank Police Department, said Detective Cheryl Skinner.

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“It’s very frustrating for these people,” Skinner said.

Two months ago, Family Workout, owned by Joe Ochoa, applied for a license to open a new center in Burbank on Victory Boulevard at the site of another closed gym. Under the moratorium, that license will not be granted, Tague said.

The council ordered a study of potential regulatory safeguards, such as mandatory security bonds, which would be used to ensure that club members receive any money that is due to them if the gym closes. Also under consideration are background checks of club owners, conditional-use permit requirements and mandatory consumer rights education.

The council also moved to create a task force made up of fitness club owners, members of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce, and city staff.

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