Council Takes New Shot at Stricter Strip Club Rules
By DAVID GREENBERG
Staff Reporter
A proposed ordinance that would effectively ban lap dancing in L.A.’s strip clubs has gained new momentum in the wake of an LAPD report detailing solicitations of sex-for-pay.
The council is expected to vote during the week of Sept. 8 or 15 on the measure that would force dancers to stay at least six feet away from customers during a lap dance, or so-called “private dance.”
The ordinance, proposed by Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, would also mandate more stringent self-policing of adult video arcades and make caf & #233;, entertainment and show permits for all adult businesses subject to annual review. Currently, applications are reviewed just once before a permit is issued.
If passed, the ordinance would likely draw legal challenges from First Amendment advocates and club owners who say it would put them out of businesses.
Miscikowski claims to have lined up 10 of the 12 votes needed on the 15-member council to gain approval on the first vote. Only 10 votes are needed to force a second vote, when a majority is required for final approval.
After an initial flurry of controversy, the ordinance had been placed in a subcommittee for review in June, its outlook uncertain. But last month the Los Angeles Police Department sent the council a report detailing numerous instances of dancers soliciting sex-for-money arrangements with patrons. Vice officers also witnessed acts of violence between strip club employees and customers.
Offers of sex
Private rooms with curtains or doors at some clubs obstruct the views of others, making it easier for dancers to solicit customers, police said.
“An undercover officer was offered a topless lap dance for $20 and $40 for a full nude lap dance,” the report cited in one case, without mentioning the club. “During the lap dance, the dancer agreed to give the officer (oral sex) for $400 and sex and (oral sex) for $500.”
After the report came out, a joint committee voted unanimously to send the proposed ordinance back to the full council. But dissenters and those on the fence still question whether the ordinance would be enforced as written.
“What are you going to do? Have LAPD sitting in there to make sure (dancers) are six feet away?” said Councilwoman Jan Perry, who was undecided.
She said she opposes assigning additional undercover police to monitor adult businesses when the 9,000-officer department is already at least 1,000 officers short to fill its needs.
Under existing city codes, adult businesses must be sited at least 500 feet from residential neighborhoods, churches or schools. But residents routinely complain about finding drug paraphernalia and used condoms in and around the parking lots of adult businesses. Also, they see patrons of adult video arcades parking on neighborhood streets and engaging in lewd sex acts.
Club owners say the ordinance would punish those who follow the rules for the actions of others. “Not of all the clubs have violations,” said Roger Diamond, a Santa Monica attorney representing 25 L.A. strip clubs. “Would you close all the restaurants because some might have violations?”
Proponents of the ordinance say there are enough violations at enough clubs to warrant new restrictions.
Councilman Dennis Zine (photo), a retired 33-year LAPD veteran, compared the matter to the federal consent decree the LAPD is mandated to implement following crimes committed by only a handful of Rampart division officers.
“The undercover vice investigations didn’t occur in just one or two clubs,” he said. “They occurred in numerous clubs citywide. I don’t believe the city of Los Angeles needs to condone acts of prostitution in these clubs.”
Lap dancing did not become the norm until the 1980s, first in the club’s main room and later in adjacent rooms that were in view of employees. The 1990s saw the evolution of the VIP rooms, which entailed more intimate touching by dancers and, according to police, periodic solicitations for sex.
“The effect of those businesses in such a close proximity is having hugely negative impact on our area,” said Cristi Walden, a Westside community activist who has six clubs within a three-quarter-mile radius of her home. “We call the police all the time. They don’t get there quick enough to catch them in the act.”
While the ordinance will likely face challenges, similar cases involving strip clubs have withstood legal scrutiny in Newport Beach and Kent, Wash.
“If the council were to adopt this ordinance as currently drafted, we believe we could successfully defend it,” said Cecilia Estolano, an assistant city attorney working on the case. Lawyers for adult businesses have suggested they might then call for a ballot referendum.
