FULLERTON : Plan Would Restrict Adult Businesses

An ordinance that would prohibit adult businesses from opening within 750 feet of any church, school, park, playground or home in the city has received preliminary approval.

The measure would confine bookstores, video stores, bars or theaters to industrial zones on the north tip of town east of Harbor Boulevard, the west end by the Fullerton Municipal Airport, and the southeast end off of Raymond Avenue.

The locations border Anaheim, Buena Park and La Habra. City Council members this week asked city staff members to check whether any churches, schools, homes or parks in the other cities abut the locations.

If so, the council said it will vote to reduce the available space, which currently makes up 6.5% of the city.

“I think [the ordinance] was carefully crafted to pass constitutional muster and yet make it very, very difficult to locate in the city of Fullerton,” City Manager Jim Armstrong said.

City officials wrote the ordinance after a topless bar was allowed to open on Raymond Avenue. The business, Woody’s, is the only topless bar in the city. It generated numerous complaints from residents who asked the city to crack down on such establishments. That area, however, would remain legal for adult businesses.

The proposed ordinance imposes a number of restrictions and requires adult businesses to obtain operating permits, which must be renewed every two years. A final decision is expected next month.