ADULT ENTERPRISES PROHIBITED WHILE SIMI AWAITS RULING.

Byline: Douglas Clark Daily News Staff Writer

The City Council has unanimously approved a 45-day moratorium on sexually oriented businesses while it awaits a federal court ruling on whether a zoning ordinance is constitutional.

``Basically, it was approved because we didn't want to encourage anyone to apply for a permit when we're without an ordinance,'' Mayor Greg Stratton said Tuesday. ``No firing while the shields are down.''

Despite the council's swift action Monday night, City Attorney John Torrance said he is reserving judgment about revising the ordinance until U.S. District Judge William Rea issues a formal ruling, possibly this week.

``Until we know what the final order is, we don't know what to do to the ordinance,'' he said.

The city's vote was an effort to forestall a years-long effort by businessman Philip Young to open a nude-dancing club in Simi Valley.

Young had challenged the city's ordinance banning topless and nude dancing nightclubs near religious or youth-oriented businesses. Rea tentatively ruled July 21 that the ordinance is unconstitutional because it places unfair restrictions on the few sites in Simi Valley where an adult club could be located.

Young's club was rejected by the Planning Commission and City Council because it would have been within 500 feet of a children's karate studio and 1,000 feet of a Bible study organization that opened shortly after Young's plans were made public.

Stratton said he disagrees with an argument by Young's attorney, Roger Diamond, that the city wants to make it it impossible to open an adult entertainment club.

``We are trying to put in a set of rules that reflect a balance between community zoning rights and his (Young's) right to free speech,'' he said. ``All the courts are trying to do is walk a fine line. And we're trying to follow.''

But doing so could take time, said Stratton who noted that the city can extend its moratorium for up to a year.

``If we really have to go back and do a big revision (of the ordinance), it could take six months,'' he said. ``But there are a lot of what-ifs in this whole thing.''

A serious revision would be necessary, he said, if Rea rules there are not enough viable sites in Simi Valley for adult entertainment businesses.

Torrance said there are now three designated areas where such businesses can be located: Los Angeles Avenue and First Street; the Mervyns/Target shopping plaza on Cochran Street between Sycamore Drive and Galena Avenue; and a commercial area southwest of Tapo Street and Los Angeles Avenue - the intersection where Young planned to build.

If the city is ordered to expand the number of acceptable sites, Stratton said the City Council would have to reconsider using areas that are zoned for industrial purposes - a move the council deemed inappropriate when the ordinance was created.

``We thought we had more than the number of areas rejected by the courts (in previous cases),'' he said. ``But we'll try and fix whatever he says to fix.''

But despite the city's willingness to go back to the drawing board, Torrance said it will be difficult balancing various needs in Simi Valley.

``The idea is to insulate sensitive uses from adult businesses. The question is, how do you do that,'' he said.