Permit Rejected for Nude-Dancing Bar
The City Council on Monday rejected a permit for what would have been the city’s first nude-dancing bar.
After passionate pleas from residents urging them to reject the bar’s application, the council members voted unanimously to deny a permit to the Mermaid, at 4248 Martingale Way, in Newport Place Planned Community.
Ronald Talmo, attorney for the owners of the Mermaid, said he will probably file a federal civil lawsuit against the city, alleging that the action of the council members violated his client’s First Amendment rights.
Talmo had claimed that the Mermaid, which would offer live nude and topless dancing, would be a theater and therefore protected.
Ironically, the City Council used the same theater argument to keep the Mermaid from opening.
According to City Atty. Robert Burnham, the zoning standards for the Newport Place Planned Community do not allow for a theater.
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