Paul Clinton
CIVIC CENTER -- Not a single strip club or X-rated bookstore dots
Burbank's landscape, a fact which didn't deter city officials from
crafting a tough new set of ordinances governing adult businesses.
On Tuesday, with Councilman Dave Golonski absent, the City Council
voted 4-0 to put in place strict rules about where and how strip clubs
and other adult businesses can operate.
It's not a question of what's already here, city officials said, but
what could enter a town that prizes its squeaky-clean image.
"This prepares us and protects us if and when this ever does happen,"
Councilman David Laurell said. "It's pretty clear and obvious Burbank is
not the type of city that would welcome an adult business."
With the U.S. Supreme Court having previously ruled that adult
businesses can not be banned outright, the council tightened the zoning
rules governing the establishments. Adult clubs can not be located within
1,000 feet of public parks, churches or schools. They also can not be
located within 1,000 feet of each other.
The ordinances establish six categories of adult businesses -- arcade,
retail store, cabaret, hotel/motel, modeling studio and motion picture
theater. They exclude massage parlors -- of which there are several in
the city -- by creating a separate category for those businesses.
In addition to zoning restrictions, the ordinances also require
adult-business owners and performers to obtain city permits. They must
consent to background checks and annual reviews of their business
license.
The council approved the ordinances without discussion.
"Adult businesses are bad for the city, bad for the social
environment," Vice Mayor Bob Kramer said after the vote. "Hopefully,
they'll go elsewhere."
The ordinances follow the council's Sept. 1999 approval of operating
standards directed primarily at strip clubs. The clubs can only operate
from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., dancers must maintain a 10-foot distance from
club patrons and no direct touching is permitted.
Taken together, the ordinances give Burbank a sufficient insurance
policy against the negative effects of strip clubs and other like
businesses, Chief Assistant City Atty. Juli Scott said.
"We wanted to make sure we were as up-to-date as possible and as
restrictive as we could be," Scott said. "Although we can't bar them. We
can regulate them."
