SIMI VALLEY : Group to Fight Plans for Nude Dance Club

Concerned about plans for a nude dance club in Simi Valley, a group of residents have formed Simi Citizens ‘R’ Against Pornography and vowed to picket the site of the proposed club.

A Las Vegas real estate developer, who has filed a $1.5-million lawsuit against the city, has resubmitted plans to build the club. The developer, Philip Young, filed the suit last year after the city blocked his attempt to open an adult cabaret in a vacant strip mall in the 900 block of Los Angeles Avenue.

Young had received a zoning clearance for the club, which was to be called The Dancing Bear, but it was revoked after residents complained. The City Council then passed a strict ordinance that prohibited construction of a club at that site, said Roger Diamond, Young’s Los Angeles attorney.

In December, 1994, Young filed a federal lawsuit stating that the city violated his right to free speech and due process when it revoked the zoning clearance.

Last week Young applied for another permit to open a club down the street, at 585 Los Angeles Ave., and his attorney said the lawsuit would not be pursued while the city reviews the application.

“Now they probably feel like they are on the horns of a dilemma,” Diamond said.

The city is allowed to regulate where adult-oriented business are located. But, according to Diamond, the U. S. Supreme Court has ruled that those ordinances cannot be so restrictive that they bar adult businesses altogether.

“That’s a violation of the First Amendment,” he said.

The city’s Planning Department will determine if Young’s application is complete. If it is deemed complete, Young’s request will go before the Planning Commission for a public hearing.

If the city can’t stop the club, the new citizens’ group hopes to do everything in its power to stop the club from opening in Simi Valley, said Steve Frank, a spokesman for the group and Republican candidate for the State Assembly.