Restrictions Urged for Nude Club

With a panel set today to approve a nude juice bar on Oxnard Street, a council member and dozens of residents called for additional restrictions to control what they fear will be adverse effects in their Van Nuys neighborhood.

Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski said she will ask the Police Permit Review Panel to delay a decision 30 days to give neighbors more time to organize their case against the Spearmint Rhino at 15004 Oxnard St.

Opening a second front in the political battle, Miscikowski also proposed an ordinance Tuesday requiring juice bars (which do not serve alcohol) to prohibit dancers from having physical contact with patrons.

The ordinance would also prohibit dancers from accepting tips from patrons and require nude dancers to perform on elevated platforms at least 10 feet from patrons.

Mike Gray, manager of the club that has advertised its opening for Thursday, said restrictions on contact would hurt the club. He declined to elaborate.

The ordinance would apply to all nude clubs, which Miscikowski said are opening all over the city. Three similar clubs have opened in West Los Angeles, she said.

Seconded by Councilman Joel Wachs, the motion was inspired by court decisions upholding similar ordinances in Newport Beach and Kent, Wash., Miscikowski said.

“This will help control the adverse effects of these kinds of adult entertainment businesses in our neighborhoods,” Miscikowski said. “These effects include introducing an element not conducive to the quality of life that we want to encourage on our schools and playgrounds.”

Gray said should the council pass such an ordinance, it would be fought in court.

“Of course it would be challenged,” Gray said. “We’re operating within our 1st Amendment rights.”

“We are very upscale. We have a good business operation,” he said.

Miscikowski said she wants to eliminate “lap dancing” and “table dancing,” practices in which dancers perform in close proximity to patrons.

Miscikowski said an appellate court on Dec. 30 upheld the Newport Beach ordinance, determining “the city could reasonably conclude that separating entertainers from customers reduces the opportunity for prostitution and drug dealing.”

The court ruled the restriction is “no more than necessary, for the message of the erotic dance is not lessened by allowing customers to look but not touch.”

Al Bales, who lives on Lemona Avenue near the club, said 200 residents and business owners have signed petitions opposing the police permit.

“We’ve got a lot of kids in our neighborhood and we’re concerned about the bad influence of having to go by that business,” Bales said.

The concern is heightened by the fact that another adult business--Ero’s Station--last year opened two blocks from the site of the Spearmint Rhino club.

Ken Ferber, a spokesman for the police panel, said Gray has complied with all zoning regulations for entertainment businesses. The panel has the authority to impose some restrictions, but Ferber declined to state what if any would be proposed.

Neighbors want limited operating hours, armed guards and a ban on club patrons using Lemona Avenue.

Miscikowski earlier proposed a ban on adult businesses within 1,000 feet of residences, doubling the current restriction. The Spearmint Rhino club is just beyond the current 500-foot limit.

Gray said he is hopeful the police panel will approve the permit today. He said he believes the panel cannot delay a vote for a hearing because a 30-day public comment period has ended.