Nudity ban may nix all-nude bar

Kenneth Ma

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Plans to open an all-nude, no-alcohol bar on Beach

Boulevard were sidetracked Monday when the City Council voted 7 to 0 to

pass an ordinance banning nudity in all public places, including bars and

restaurants.

The ordinance will reappear before the council for a final decision

Aug. 7.

“They have made a serious mistake,” said Randy Garrou, an attorney

representing the Flamingo Adult Theater on Beach Boulevard.

Since June, Talbert and Beach Inc. of Huntington Beach has been trying

to open the strip club, which would feature nude exotic dancing. The club

at 18121 Beach Blvd. -- site of a former French restaurant -- is still

undergoing its final inspections, said Ross Cranmer, the city’s director

of building and safety.

The club could be the first business in the city to provide live adult

entertainment. Patrons must be at least 18 years old to visit, and the

club would not serve alcohol.

However, that could change if the club’s dancers have to wear

G-strings and pasties during performances.

The club will seek a liquor license and litigation against the city if

the ordinance passes, Garrou said. He also said the ordinance would

invite near-nude sunbathers to visit city beaches because they could wear

skimpy clothing in public places.

Councilwoman Shirley Dettloff said she doubts near-nude sunbathers

would flock to Surf City’s beaches.

“I think there are some beaches in South County that allow it, but it

won’t happen here,” she said. “I don’t think the morals in our community

would allow it.”

Dettloff said the council has long tried to stop the club from opening

in the city.

“We are trying to do all we can to reflect what the citizens want

[Huntington Beach] to be: a family-oriented community,” she said. “This

business does not fit in the type of community we live in.”

Councilman Ralph Bauer said he is not overly concerned about the

club’s intention to seek an alcohol permit from the state Alcohol

Beverage Control agency if the ordinance is approved.

He said it is tough to get a permit from the state agency and many

guidelines would need to be followed even if a permit was granted.

The ordinance is “good in a sense that we are able to legitimately

regulate a business,” Bauer said. “As long as [the club] follows the

rules and [the city] follows the rules, we are in business.

Councilman Tom Harman has said he is concerned that such a business

could attract prostitution, drugs and other vices to the neighborhood.

Garrou said such vices would not exist because the club will adhere to

all city restrictions separating dancers and customers.

Councilman Dave Sullivan said he would rather not have such as a club

in Surf City. But the council did all it could to regulate clothing on

the dancers.

“Anything that will lessen the impact of that establishment will be a

plus for the neighborhood,” Sullivan said.

Last year, council members considered a similar ordinance to ban

public nudity but decided to delay action on the advice of City Atty.

Gail Hutton. She said action should be delayed pending the outcome of

federal and state court cases involving sex-oriented businesses versus

cities.

In March, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the city of Erie, Pa.,

in its decision to ban public nudity at a sex-oriented business.

A city staff report cited a Supreme Court ruling that “public nudity

was not inherently expressive conduct, [and] public nudity ordinances are

not ‘content based’ restrictions on speech that are subject to ‘strict

scrutiny’ by the Court.”

Neighboring Newport Beach was also successful in defending its laws,

which require exotic dancers to wear G-strings and pasties.