LA HABRA : City Denies Plan to Open Nude Juice Bar

Siding with La Habra and Fullerton residents and business owners, the Planning Commission has denied a proposal to open a nude juice bar.

After a 3 1/2-hour public hearing on the matter Monday, the commission voted 4 to 1 to reject the Pelican Theater, a proposed club at a former bank property on Imperial Highway that would have featured nude dancing.

“While the city of La Habra does have areas that allow this type of establishment, this particular spot is just not the right spot,” said Planning Commission Chairwoman Joan Jonson said, echoing more than 25 people who spoke in opposition to the juice bar.

Commissioner Patrick M. Kelley cast the lone dissenting vote against rejecting the nude dance hall, but offered no explanation.

City officials said more than 300 people have called City Hall to protest and more than 2,200 signatures on a petition against the club were presented to the commission.

About 200 opponents packed the commission’s chamber during the hearing.

“It’s a cheap, sleazy way to make a buck,” said Steve Jones, a pastor of a local church. “It’s indecent. It’s immoral. It’s immodest.”

Added resident Daniel D. Schiefelbine: “We do not need this type of pollution in our city.”

But Akbar Mehr, a partner of the property owners, countered: “Alcohol is the mother of all evils. Dancing is not.” He said the club would not serve alcohol.

Mehr, who said it is his constitutional right to open a nude theater, also challenged some recommended conditions the city said the operators must meet before getting approval to operate, including paying a $236,400 fee.

Mehr accused the city of treating the proposal unfairly and called the fee outrageously high.

The commission’s decision is final unless it is appealed to the City Council by Sept. 21 or a lawsuit is filed.