A Beach Cleanup : Anaheim Targets Prostitution at Motels Along the Boulevard

When a prostitute and her john meet along this stretch of Beach Boulevard, they don’t have to travel very far for a little privacy.

Some motel owners in the area are more than willing to rent rooms by the hour at a bargain rate; some may even have colored condoms available at the front desk for a dollar, according to police and city code enforcement officials.

“The prostitute works it into the deal of the solicitation: $40 for the sex act and $15 for the room,” said Anaheim Police Sgt. Steve Walker, who works vice detail in the area. “It’s pretty obvious to the motel owner what is going on.”

But lately, the city has begun cracking down on the most troublesome of these motel owners by slapping them with a host of restrictions that have resulted in a noticeable decrease in prostitution activity in the area, police and city officials said.

Among the restrictions are requiring the targeted motels to hire costly security guards and limiting the hours for room rental.

But some motel operators complain that since their businesses are so far away from city tourist attractions like Disneyland and Anaheim Stadium, they have trouble attracting customers. They are trying to comply with laws and are struggling to stay in business, they said.

“Sometimes, you can’t say no,” said Jitendra Shah, owner of the Silver Moon Motel, one of nearly two dozen motels along the mile-long stretch of Beach Boulevard. “I may rent a room to [a prostitute] but they pay the full price as anyone else. I need to make money. . . . By not renting, I’m not curing the problem.”

Three weeks ago, the Pacific Inn Motel, which police and city officials contend is the source of many problems in the area, was ordered to hire 24-hour-a-day armed security guards. The motel also has been prohibited from renting out a room more than once every 12 hours.

These and other restrictions had already been placed next door on the Ruby Inn, where new owners have taken charge and are complying with the new requirements. In addition, a public hearing has been set next month for the Calico Motel, which also has been the subject of numerous citizen complaints, officials said.

“Any type of criminal activity, whether it be narcotics or prostitution, usually takes place when owners condone or welcome it, and that’s what we see going on out there,” Anaheim code enforcement officer John Poole said. “You can keep arresting drug dealers and prostitutes but you need to eliminate the source of the problem, and that is, giving them a place to go.”

The three motels, located near the northeast corner of Beach Boulevard and Orange Avenue, have been identified by city code enforcement and police as the worst of 19 motels on the west side of town that officials consider a problem.

“It’s just like it is in the movies,” said resident Carole Stanley, a member of Beach Boulevard Concerned Citizens, a grass-roots organization that formed last year to push for improvements in the area.

“We see prostitutes in their tight spandex pants loitering around,” Stanley said. “We see the pimps manhandling their prostitutes.”

In the past 12 months, 467 females and 254 males have been arrested in connection with prostitution citywide. Police estimate that 75% of those arrests took place near the motels.

Because of the repeated complaints from nearby residents, the city’s code enforcement department began focusing more on the motels and on individual motel owners. Officials asked the Planning Commission to step in this spring and impose strict conditions to the motels’ operating permits.

“It’s a long process, taking the motels one-by-one to the Planning Commission,” said Donald Yourstone, a senior code enforcement officer with the city. “We want to make the motel owners responsible for who they are renting out to.”

Pacific Inn Motel owner Suman Patel, who was required by the city to hire guards this month, complained last week that the restrictions will make it difficult for him to stay in business.

“It’s very hard,” Patel said. “We have to pay the security, which is very expensive, and we can’t rent rooms after 9 p.m. I don’t think we can make it.”

Patel was convicted in 1990 for pimping and was sentenced to 300 hours of community service. Police reported to the Planning Commission this month that Patel continued to rent out rooms hourly up until early July--an allegation that Patel denies.

“You don’t know who is a hooker or who’s not a hooker,” Patel said. “You’ve got to rent it out. This motel is not a problem.”

Ownership of the Ruby Inn has changed hands since commissioners took action against it in April. Police say the new owners, who inherited a host of problems, have complied with all of the new requirements, which include daily maid service, no rooms rented after 9 p.m., and a valid driver’s license from each guest.

The security guards they were required to hire cost $3,000 a month, which has become a financial hardship, the motel’s new owners said.

“This place was a nasty place when we bought it,” said Arun Bhakta, who helps his brother run the motel.

Security guard Nick Ames said the motel is now a far different place than it was when he arrived there in April.

“The property had been foreclosed and was totally infested with drug users and dealers,” Ames said. “Nothing was up to code and prostitutes were in and out constantly. Now, they know security is here and the new owners have come in.”

A night clerk at Calico Motel, who asked not to be identified, said it is difficult to know whether one is renting a room to a prostitute.

“Even though they come in, we can’t tell because it is the gentleman who checks in,” the clerk said. “He’ll say his girlfriend is with him and that they are tired and need a room. I can’t say, ‘Is your girlfriend a prostitute?’ ”

The owners of the Calico Motel could not be reached for comment.

The area has long been frequented by both local prostitutes, who might live nearby, and “circuit prostitutes,” who stop in Anaheim to make some money for awhile as they work their way from Seattle to San Diego, police said.

The prostitutes themselves said they have noticed changes since the crackdown began.

“A month ago, you’d see 20 [prostitutes] standing over there,” said a 21-year-old prostitute, who was working Beach Boulevard last week. There are fewer of them now, she said. “They’ve put the fear in me.”

A 31-year-old prostitute named Lanette, who spoke on the condition that her last name not be used, said she had become accustomed to renting a room in one of the motels and taking up to 10 customers there in one day.

“[The managers] really didn’t say much,” she said. “But now, they stay out front and won’t let you bring anyone in.”

Still, Lanette was back on Beach Boulevard last Thursday morning, looking for customers. She said the encounters will now have to take place in a car, an act that could result in an arrest for lewd behavior.

Making it difficult for prostitutes to conduct their business has been one of the goals of the Beach Boulevard Concerned Citizens, who came together last June and began working with the city to clean up the thoroughfare that abuts their neighborhoods.

“I thought about moving every single day,” said resident Phyllis Greenberg. “The only reason I didn’t move was because of the economy. This is not the time to sell a house so the fight came out in me. I felt like as long as I was going to stay here, I was going to fight.”

Some residents in the city’s west side have long complained that city officials have been too preoccupied in recent years with issues such as planning Disneyland’s expansion, fighting to keep the Los Angeles Rams in town, and building a new indoor arena.

“We have felt like the forgotten stepchildren of Anaheim and we’ve pushed to make things happen,” resident Tim Ewing said. “You can have monuments like Disneyland, but what does it all mean when the people who live in the city see their lifestyles deteriorate?”

Group members have testified at each of the Planning Commission meetings when a motel’s conditional use permit was under fire. They have gathered petitions, done detailed research on each business and worked in partnership with police and code enforcement to bring about some changes.

“They are not just complaining, they are actively suggesting improvements,” Mayor Tom Daly said. “They have a lot of constructive programs going on. You are seeing more city attention to problems in West Anaheim than has occurred in many years.”

Recently, the group succeeded in having street lights installed along a darkened stretch of Beach Boulevard, across the street from some of the motels. They have also succeeded in having bushes in the center medians along the street trimmed low, making it impossible for drug dealers to hide there.

“We’ve got a little bit of clout now,” Stanley said. “We’ve learned that you can’t do it by yourself. You’ve got to do things within the system.”

Despite the progress that has been made, Walker warns that things could quickly change.

“These [motel owners] are in the business to make money,” he said. “If the police, code enforcement and citizens aren’t watching, they will be back renting rooms by the hour.”

Ruby Inn operators vow that this will not be the case.

“We don’t believe in renting rooms by the hour or in prostitution or in drugs,” Arun Bhakta said. “We are thinking there is potential here and that one day we won’t have to pay for the security and be able to make a living.”

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Boulevard Stops

Prostitution arrests in Anaheim have steadily increased, rising 52% from 1990 to 1994. The trend: (see newspaper for graphic)

1994: 681

Source: California Department of Justice