SR-11-C (18)
CA RLK:SSS.i
Counell ~eet 3-25-80
Santa MtlPicat Californla
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ZPC-ot:J5
MAR 2 5 1980
STAFF R::CPORT
TO: ~ayor and Clty COUDCll
FROM: Clty Attorney and City Staff
SUBJECT: ~oratorlum on Adult Entertalnment Uses
INTRODUCTIO~
ThlS transmlts lnformatloD about the prollferatlon of
"adult entertainment establlshments" partlcularly massage parlors,
wlthln the Clty, and recommends that the COUDCll dlrect the Clty
Attorney to prepare an urgency ordlnance delarlng a moratorlum
on these establlshments pendlng actlon on an adult use zoning
ordlnance, WhlCh wlll be presented to the Plannlng Commlsslon
lh Aprll. The Clty Counell dlrected the Clty Attorney to prepare
such a zonlng ordlnance In June, 1979; It has not prevlously
consldered an urgency ~oratorluro.
BACKGROUND
The Chlef of Pollce has advlsed the Clty Staff that there
are now flfteen llcensed massage parlors lD the Clty and two more
massage parlors WhlCh have recently been approved by the Pollee
Department. There are four massage parlors In the downtown area;
two on Wllshire Blvd.; two on Santa Monlca Blvd.; flve on P1CO
Blvd.; one on ~ontana Ave.; and one on MalD Street.
Since the flrst of the year, we are averagLng one massage
parlor appllcatlon per month, and one masseuse or masseur llcense
per day. Investigatlon by the Pollee Department has revealed
that of the present flfteen licensed massage parlors In the Clty,
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only two are conducting therapeutlc massage.*
The others are conductlng prostltutlon and other commerclal
sexual actlvlty. ThlS lS lndlcated by arrests and pollce lnCl-
dent reports.
A recent Court decision that massage parlors are consldered
a prlvate place lf the cubicle used 1S not open for publlC Vlew
has hampered enforcement of the "lewd act" provision of the Penal
code.
Section 6120 of the Munlclpal Code permlts the revocatlon
of a pollee permlt If an immoral act has been conducted In connec-
tlon wlth a massage parlor or masseuse license. ThlS process,
which lnvolves an admlnlstratlve hearlng before the Llcense Revlew
Board, 1S cumbersome. The enforeement of our ordlnance settlng
llcenslng requlrements for ~assage parlors has been prelimlnarlly
en]olned by the Superior Court~ we are experlenclng a heavy lnflux
of massage parlors and masseuse permlts in the Clty.
There have been two formal cltizens eomplalnts and several
lnformal complaints regardlng massage parlor operations. Many of
these complalnts stem from publlClty concernlng a shootlng lnvo1vlng
a pollce offlcer durlng an attempted armed robbery at a parlor
at 2512 Wllshlre.
In 1978 there were approxlmately 135 l1censed masseuses ln
Santa ~onlea. At the present rate, the pollce department enV1Slons
nlnety more masseuse and masseur llcenses and three more massage
parlors, for a total of about 20 massage parlors, and nearly 400
masseuse and masseur 11censes before thlS summer.
*These two are located on r10ntana Ave. and Main Street.
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A survey of other cltles and ]urlsdlctlons of comparable
size, reveals the followlng:
CITY
NO. OF PARLORS
Burbank
Glendale
Inglewood
LAPD Hollywood
LASO- West Hollywood
Long Beach
Redondo Beach
Whlttler
one
none
none
ten
elght
nlneteen
one
two
Santa Monlca flfteen (two pendlng)
Burbank, Glendale, and Redondo Beach have passed zonlnq
ordlnances Slffillar to the one that wlll be presented to the Plannlng
Commlsslon. Whlttler has reduced ltS massage parlors from thlrteen
to two wlthln two years through a process of eminent domaln, a
new zonlng ordlnance, and vlgorous red llght abatement.
Because of a recent Court of Appeals decislon upholding the
rlghts of Cltles to llcense massage parlors by procedures slmilar
to our eXlstlng ordlnance, we belleve that the current In]Unctlon
wlll be Ilftedl and antlClpate flllng appropr~ate papers In
Court by Aprll 1. A decls10n would be antlcipated within a month.
A favorable declslon wlll enable the Clty to have more power to
regulate the parlors; the pollce department belleves that wlth
strlct enforcement of the llcenslng ordinance, many parlors would
close and seek other locatlons.
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The adult entertalnment zoning ordlnance wh~ch will be
presented to the Planning CommlSSlon 1S prlmarlly based on the
ordlnance In effect In Redondo Beach, and was drafted by
Charles J. Post, the drafter of the Redondo Beach ordlnance.
The model for thlS ordlnance lS the Detrolt Law that was upheld
by the Unlted States Supreme Court In the case of Amerlcan
Mlnl-Theaters v. Young. The ordlnance wlll prohlblt the establish-
men t of " adult entertalnment" bUSlnesses \..,1 thln 1,000 feet
of another such buslness or wlthln 500 feet of any church,
school, par~s, playground, or area zoned for resldentlal use.
The adult entertalnment buslnesses are: adult bookstores,
adult mlnl-motlon pleture theaters, adult motels, adult motlon
plcture arcades, cabarets, wassage parlors, model StUdlOS, and
sexual encounter centers. Eaeh of these uses lS deflned as
havlng an emphasls on "speclfled sexual conduct" or "speclfled
anatOffilcal areas".
These terms are descrlbed In detall, as
requlred by the Supreme Court.
ALTERNATIVES
The COUDCll may dlrect the Clty Attorney to prepare a
moratorlum on the establlshI11ent of "adult entertalnment" uses
within the Clty, to be effeetlve until flnal resolutlon of
the ordlnance to be submltted to the Plannlng Commlsslon, or
May awalt the presentatlon of such ordlnance wlthout lmposing
a moratorlum In the lnterlm.
RECOm-1ENDATION
It lS respectfully recommended that the Clty Counell
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dlrect the Clty Attorney to prepare an emergency morator~um
on adult entertainment uses at the next City Counell meetlng,
to be effectlve untll the resolut1on by the Councll of the
adult entertalnment zon~ng ordinanee.
Prepared by:
Stephen S. Stark
Charles J. Post
John Jalili
James Keane
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