Rebuttal

Gail Hutton

On July 29, 1999, columnist Ron Davis told your readers about Bobo,

a canary whose target of choice for the bottom of his cage is Davis’

column and photo from this newspaper. That Bobo is one smart canary.

Davis, who was a landslide loser in the last election for City Attorney,

continues to use the Independent as a campaign platform for another run

for that office in the next election. In his July 29 column, Davis makes

a reckless attempt to blame me for a so-called nude juice bar to be

constructed on Beach Boulevard (“Council members stripped of blame at

nude juice bar,” July 29).

It is unfortunate that the Independent, which should know better than

anyone that a column should be supported by at least some facts, would

allow such a column to be printed, given the total absence of facts to

support Davis’ naked assertions of blame.

The truth is that the decision of what zoning to employ in different

areas of the city and the content of our adult-business ordinance are

policy decisions entirely within the power of the City Council. The nude

juice bar is going to be constructed on Beach Boulevard because the City

Council decided in 1986 to include Beach Boulevard among the areas in the

city zoned for such establishments and it fell within our adult-business

ordinance. As Davis should know, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that

cities may not exclude such businesses entirely.

The City Council had it within its power between the initial zoning of

Beach Boulevard in 1986, and 1996, when the nude juice bar made its

sexually-oriented-business application, to change the zoning on Beach

Boulevard or to amend our adult-business ordinance. It chose not to.

Davis attempts to lay blame on me for “not advising” the City Council of

changes in the law that might have affected zoning or regulation of

businesses on Beach Boulevard. Guess what? I did give such advice to the

appropriate city departments with responsibility to make such

recommendations to the City Council. And the City Council always had it

within its power to make whatever changes it deemed appropriate.

What the City Council decided to do or not do is not within my power

because, as the city’s charter states, my elected office is independent

of the council and other city departments and without the power to rule

on such issues.

It is interesting to note that Davis initially inferred blame on the City

Council, perhaps carelessly, for the nude juice bar in his July 22

column. Why he then chose to backtrack and try to apologize for blaming

the City Council, I do not know.

I do know two things: the voters of this city wisely rejected Davis at

the polls last fall, and Bobo is one smart canary.

GAIL HUTTON is the Huntington Beach City Attorney.