Council Extends Ban on Mud Wrestling

Note to local bar and restaurant owners: Don’t even think about mud wrestling for the next 10 1/2 months.

That was the message sent by the Simi Valley City Council on Monday night. By a 5-0 vote, the council extended an existing temporary ban on mud wrestling and similar pursuits until zoning laws can be rewritten.

“Given the litigious nature of this society, it’s important to have a carefully worded ordinance,” said City Councilman Paul Miller before the vote.

Tim Drury, the owner of Schooner’s restaurant, requested a permit to allow bikini-clad women to mud wrestle at his establishment. The request sparked the short-term ban, which has been in place since Sept. 4., even though Drury’s request has since been withdrawn.

Extending the moratorium gives city staffers time to rework an ordinance that deals with drinking establishments. The Planning Commission will see the changes to that ordinance at its Wednesday meeting. The ordinance could land on the council’s agenda by November.

The mud-wrestling moratorium is the latest salvo in this family-minded city’s fight against salacious, adults-only businesses.

For years, the city has sought to limit possible locations for a proposed strip joint by using zoning laws that forbid adult businesses close to schools, churches or youth-oriented businesses.

A federal judge recently struck down that ordinance, prompting the city to appeal and to adopt another temporary moratorium--this one banning strip clubs and adult bookstores.