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Anti-Prostitution Measure Considered

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After years of waging war on prostitution, Long Beach is considering a controversial ordinance even its author doesn’t wholeheartedly support.

At the urging of her constituents, Vice Mayor Doris Topsy-Elvord last week recommended that a city code be amended to allow hotels and motels to rent rooms only once in any 24-hour period. The idea is to prevent the rapid turnover of rooms in the seedy areas along Pacific Coast Highway where prostitutes commonly work, Topsy-Elvord said.

The measure ran into trouble with the major hotels along the waterfront and with the Long Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, which is recommending that the proposal be sent back to committee for more study. And, after a week of careful consideration, Topsy-Elvord says, she too isn’t certain the ordinance is the best solution. On Tuesday the matter was referred to the City Council’s Public Safety Committee.

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Topsy-Elvord said she would like to explore other aggressive measures to stop prostitution, including revoking the business licenses of motel operators who permit illegal activities.

Steve Hammond, chief operating officer of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the ordinance would prevent hotels and motels from renting rooms for a couple of hours at a time as hospitality suites, and from serving many other customers who legitimately rent rooms for short periods, including airline flight crews and truck drivers.

“This is a very sensitive issue,” Hammond said. “The ordinance would definitely have a negative impact on the majority of legitimate people who do business in Long Beach.”

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