Zoning Restriction Will Come Under Review
Fearing the city will be inundated with lawsuits, the City Council this week instructed the city attorney to review a proposed zoning code that limits the locations of sexually oriented businesses.
“As the ordinance is written, it will not pass constitutional muster,” predicted G. Randall Garrou, a Los Angeles-based lawyer whose firm specializes in defending sexually oriented businesses.
Garrou, who is representing Talbert & Beach Inc., said his client had made substantial investments to open an unspecified business in Huntington Beach abiding by the original zoning code but finds itself in a bind because the city wants to change it. “The city is singling out this business,” he said.
The proposed zoning code would allow such businesses only in industrial-zoned areas.
City Attorney Gail Hutton will review the matter. The council will revisit the issue next month.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
