WEST COVINA : Council Seeks to Limit Adult Businesses

West Covina’s City Council recently passed ordinances that limit adult-oriented businesses to areas zoned for manufacturing and require them to obtain permits and pay an application fee.

The ordinances approved last month establish a $55 hourly fee for city staff to process such applications, said Liza Virata, the city’s senior planner. Virata was unable to estimate how long processing would take.

West Covina has no adult bookstores or theaters, but concern has run high for three years since a restaurant--which has since closed--began staging shows with models in lingerie. “The lingerie was not opaque; certain anatomical parts could be seen,” Virata said.

City officials said they received numerous complaints from surprised patrons who had brought children to the restaurant. In response, the city enacted a temporary ordinance regulating such activities until a permanent version could be drafted.

The ordinance has three pages defining which businesses fall under its provisions, including adult bookstores, adult hotels and motels, stores that sell adult merchandise, massage parlors, escort services, adult dancing establishments, venues where certain body types are exposed or stores that devote more than 15% of their wares to adult-oriented materials.