Judge’s Action Keeps La Habra Nude Juice Bar From Opening

La Habra officials declared another victory Thursday in their fight to keep a nude juice bar from opening.

City Atty. Richard D. Jones announced that Orange County Superior Court Judge John C. Woolley has signed an order denying a preliminary injunction that would have allowed the Pelican Theater to open for business.

“I think it’s great,” Mayor Dorothy Rush said of the ruling, the latest in a series of legal actions over the controversial business. “It’s what the people want.”

Owners of the Pelican, a former bank on Imperial Highway just west of Harbor Boulevard, were denied permission by the City Council in 1995 to open a nude club. They sued in federal court, alleging violation of their 1st Amendment rights.

In late 1996, a federal jury found that the city did, indeed, have a right to prevent the adult business from opening. Residents who had protested at City Council meetings and on the street at the site where the business was proposed, hailed the decision and held a celebration.

But the owners filed an appealed the jury’s verdict to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. That case is pending.

One of the Pelican’s owners, Sam Moussa, expressed disappointment Thursday. “I hoped for a better decision,” he said. “I believe we’ll be successful at the appeal.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that cities cannot ban adult businesses but can limit them to certain areas and impose other restrictions. In La Habra, adult businesses are not allowed within 275 feet of any church, school or park. The Pelican meets that requirement.