City Temporarily Bans Adult Businesses

After receiving an application for a lingerie shop that would offer nude modeling, the City Council has declared an emergency moratorium on sexually oriented businesses.

The ban, approved unanimously, will last for 45 days while attorneys revamp the city’s ordinances regulating adult entertainment in light of recent court cases.

No adult businesses exist in the city, officials said, though zoning in some areas would allow them.

The Planning Department recently received an application from a business called 707070 Corp., based in Redondo Beach, for a conditional-use permit to open the lingerie shop in the area of Main Street and Town and Country Road, where commercial zoning allows adult businesses.

The telephone number given on the application has been disconnected, and the applicants could not be reached for comment.

Assistant City Atty. Stan Soo-Hoo said that recent court rulings in California and other states have stated that conditional-use permits are unacceptable to govern adult businesses. Under that system, city planners set conditions for businesses to open, a process that courts say is too subjective.

“Essentially, the court cases have made it obvious that the most effective way to regulate adult businesses is to establish standards,” Soo-Hoo said.

Other cities facing legal challenges have submitted reports to courts stating that, according to their studies, adult businesses can increase crime and blight in surrounding areas.

“We know that adult uses bring negative side effects,” Soo-Hoo said. “We need this moratorium for us to amend the ordinance so it is legally defensible.”