Lake Forest to Try Again for New Strip Club Ordinance

Lake Forest is backing down from a proposed ordinance that would have eliminated table dances and direct tipping at local strip clubs, a change city officials said was prompted by a recent court ruling that declared similar restrictions in La Habra unconstitutional.

The ordinance would have prohibited exotic dancers from being within six feet of a patron and outlawed table dancing and lap dancing. The restrictions also would have required patrons to place their tips in a jar at least six feet from the stage, prohibiting them from slipping cash in a dancer’s costume.

“Any tweaking we are doing is solely based on a recent court decision and not because of any negotiating with the adult entertainment industry or any letter-writing campaign,” said Mayor Richard T. Dixon.

The manager of Captain Cream, an adult night club off the San Diego Freeway, had been fighting the proposed ordinance and was pleased with the city’s decision.

“This is exactly what we had hoped for,” said Les Hawthorne, Captain Cream’s chief operating officer. “Whatever their motivating factor was, we’re happy to go along with it.”

Hawthorne said the proposed restrictions would have created a financial hardship for the business, which employs 121 dancers.

Officials in Lake Forest say that they had no intention of closing down adult entertainment businesses, that they were simply intent on eliminating activity that could lead to “secondary effects,” such as prostitution and drug use.

But once city attorneys became aware of a November appellate court decision scrapping La Habra’s ordinance, they realized their proposed restrictions could be successfully challenged in court.

“We’ve gone from one of the toughest ordinances around to one that’s really going to be loosened,” Dixon said.

La Habra’s adult entertainment ordinance was similar to the one proposed in Lake Forest, and in November portions of it were struck down by the state 4th District Court of Appeal because it “punishes innocent behavior.” The court ordered La Habra to more narrowly define its laws pertaining to the clubs.

The Lake Forest City Council will consider a redrafted ordinance Feb. 4. “I anticipate the city may take a more cautious approach,” said Deborah Fox, the city’s special counsel. “The court of appeals has left the doors oh-so slightly open for the adult-use businesses.”

Lake Forest seeks to strengthen the no-touch laws already in effect, permitting only incidental touching between customers and performers. Captain Cream’s Hawthorne said those guidelines are there to help protect the exotic dancers.

“The girls appreciate those kind of laws,” he said. “It minimizes the deliberate kind of touching such as groping, fondling and putting a tip down a performer’s costume.”

Hawthorne said the city’s attempted restrictions have awakened many of his employees. “This whole thing has created a groundswell of political awareness by our dancers,” he said. “That part has been very positive.”