Adult Clubs May Hinge On Ruling
A case before the state Court of Appeals could decide how far cities can go in regulating the locations of nude dancing clubs and other adult businesses.
The city of Everett recently was ordered to pay $77,858 in legal costs to a businessman who successfully argued that the city’s “adult entertainment” zoning left him nowhere to operate except in remote corners of town.
Everett has appealed the case. It’s the latest in a string of Puget Sound-area cases in which civic officials are caught between constituents who want such establishments kept out of town, and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that nude dancing is a constitutionally protected form of expression.
Everett’s legal battle stems from a 1986 decision in which the Supreme Court said the city of Renton had the right to prohibit adult entertainment in certain zones.
The question now is: How far can a city go before its zoning effectively makes it impossible to operate such a business?
John Wallock proposed about two years ago to add “non-obscene nude and seminude entertainment” to his downtown Everett business, Mr. Paddywacks.
When the city balked, Wallock sued, claiming the city’s zoning left him no place to operate.
Everett prohibits adult establishments within 1,000 feet of residential property, schools, parks and other specified areas. Wallock argued that left only a handful of undesirable locations, such as an old garbage dump owned by the city.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Anita Farris agreed, saying the places where Mr. Paddywacks could offer nude entertainment “are not part of the generic commercial real estate market.”
While the 1986 Supreme Court decision said it’s OK to regulate adult entertainment, a city “cannot zone the right to such expression out of existence,” Farris said.
Assistant city attorney Jim Iles said he couldn’t comment on what the city might do if higher courts uphold Farris’ decision.
During the Wallock trial, Everett never answered questions about how much crime and other problems are caused by adult entertainment.
“To the best of my knowledge, there’s no evidence that would support any of those claims (of problems),” said Wallock’s Bellevue attorney, Jack Burns.
Burns also represents several businesses that want to overturn a Bellevue ordinance that limits how dark adult cabarets can be and how close dancers can get to customers. That case is pending before the state Supreme Court, after a King County judge upheld Bellevue’s rules.
A number of cities, including Everett, Seattle, Bothell and Snohomish, have moratoriums to prohibit any new adult enterprises while the legal questions are being sorted out.
In many cities, the issue is moot for now. Few applicants are seeking to start new adult businesses, perhaps because of the wide availability of X-rated videos, attorneys say.
In Tacoma, for example, Pacific Avenue used to be lined with strip clubs and other adult businesses. Today, none remains.