West Valley : Residents’ Complaints Clear Strip Club Ads

Under pressure from outraged residents in the west San Fernando Valley, a media firm began Friday to remove 63 provocative billboard advertisements for a strip club.

The ads for Industrial Strip in North Hollywood depicted a scantly clad woman--an image that so offended some nearby neighbors that they pressured the billboard firm, Vista Metropolitan Outdoor Media, to take down all 63 ads, most of which were in the Valley.

A representative of the billboard firm said it had received about 20 calls from complaining residents. The spokesman said the firm expected some controversy when the ads recently went up and included a clause in the contract with the strip club that gave the firm the right to remove the ads if they generated complaints.

“We were aware that there could potentially be problems with it,” he said.

In fact, about 30 complaints about the ads were also lodged with the office of Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick. In response, her field deputy Eric Rose called the billboard firm to notify it about the complaints.

One of those calls came from Kathy Smith of West Hills, who said the billboard ad in her neighborhood is located near several schools.

“It offended a lot of people,” she said.

But a representative for Industrial Strip said the club is not taking the matter lightly and has threatened legal action against the billboard firm.

Mark Solum, general manager of the club, said he would have understood if the billboard firm had removed one or two ads that generated the most complaints. But he said the billboard firm should not have taken them all down.

“We are going to take all the money we have spent on billboards and spend it on lawyers,” Solum said.