FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Council Considers Adult Business Zone

Establishing an adult entertainment district might be the most effective way to oversee such businesses and to minimize their effect on the community, some city leaders said this week.

The City Council and Planning Commission met to review eight locations proposed for establishment of businesses such as topless nightclubs and adult bookstores and theaters.

Some officials favor designating an industrial area near Slater Avenue and Newhope Street, bordering the Santa Ana River, for such businesses. They say no youth recreation facilities are in the area, which has no freeway visibility and is about 250 feet from homes within Los Caballeros development.

“Given all the choices, this seems to be the best solution,” Councilman John J. Collins said at the meeting Tuesday. “I can’t think of any place in Fountain Valley where you’re not going to be close to homes.”

But Planning Commissioner Steve Goodman expressed concerns that concentrating adult businesses in one zone could actually attract them to town.

“If we make Fountain Valley a more desirable place to come to, we’ve created a mall for this particular business,” he said.

Cities cannot ban adult entertainment businesses but can regulate their location.

“There is a law of this land that you have to make room for them in the community,” Collins said. “Our responsibility is to control this situation and to make sure it has a minimum impact to the family fabric of our community.”

A city moratorium on adult entertainment expires in February. A new ordinance to regulate the businesses will be drafted in the next few months.

The first public hearing on the issue will be on Sept. 27.