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Store Given Deadline to Meet Zoning Code

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The City Council has given a thrift store until Sept. 1 to meet zoning requirements that prohibit such shops from locating within 1,000 feet of each other.

To stay open, Out of the Closet, which is run by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, must prove it is a “specialty store,” said Bill Meeker, the city’s chief of planning.

“They need to come forward with a proposal that identifies the majority of their floor area as dedicated to specialty merchandise,” said Meeker.

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Out of the Closet, part of a chain, opened in May at 225 Pacific Coast Highway, between a Goodwill thrift shop and a children’s second-hand clothing store. Officials said that siting violated a 3-year-old code that bans clusters of such stores that might drag down property values.

Ged Kenslea, a spokesman for the foundation, said his organization will work with city officials to meet the requirement.

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