COURT FIGHT VOWED OVER NUDE CLUB : BUSINESSMAN SAYS COUNCIL'S REJECTION OF APPEAL VIOLATES CONSTITUTION.Byline: Terry Kanakri Daily News Staff Writer A local businessman vowed Tuesday to pursue his case in court after the City Council blocked his plans to open a nude dancing bar in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. . Phil Young Phil Young (born in Canterbury, New South Wales) was an Australian rugby league player for the Canterbury Bulldogs and the Newtown Jets in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership competition. said the council's rejection of his appeal of a Planning Commission Noun 1. planning commission - a commission delegated to propose plans for future activities and developments commission, committee - a special group delegated to consider some matter; "a committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours" - Milton Berle vote against his project violated his First Amendment rights and will be overturned after it is challenged in court. ``We're going to sue, we're going to win, and we're going to use the money to build a bigger club,'' Young said. ``Unfortunately, the majority of taxpayers will be made to suffer because of a small minority who believe their viewpoints are the only right viewpoints.'' Young said he will instruct his attorney to revive a federal lawsuit filed in 1994, accusing the city of illegally denying a previous application to build an adult club at a different site. Young had put the lawsuit on hold while he processed his current application. He said the lawsuit will be amended to include the city's latest action. The City Council voted 4-0 Monday night with Councilwoman Barbara Williamson abstaining against overturning a March Planning Commission vote that blocked Young's plans. Williamson said she abstained because she had been vocal in her public opposition to the project and did not want Young to charge that she was prejudiced and deprived him of a fair hearing. Young wanted to build a club in the Madera Plaza Shopping Center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into on 585 Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Ave. that would feature about 30 women stripping to music. The Planning Commission voted down the project, saying it violated a city ordinance that called for a 500-foot buffer zone buffer zone n. A neutral area between hostile or belligerent forces that serves to prevent conflict. Noun 1. buffer zone between an adult-entertainment establishment and any youth-oriented business. The ordinance also called for a 1,000-foot buffer zone between such a club and a place of worship Noun 1. place of worship - any building where congregations gather for prayer house of God, house of prayer, house of worship bethel - a house of worship (especially one for sailors) . City staff recommended denial of the appeal, saying the club was within 500 feet of a karate club and within 1,000 feet of a Bible-study establishment. Staff said the fact that those businesses opened after Young had filed his application was irrelevant. A dozen opponents of the club attended Monday night's public hearing. Mayor Pro Tem [Latin, For the time being.] An abbreviation used for pro tempore, Latin for "temporary or provisional." A person who acts as a temporary substitute serves pro tem. Bill Davis For the artist, animator, creative director, see . For the baseball player, see .
``We're just strictly upholding our ordinance, and the ordinance is intended to protect children,'' Davis said. ``Whether the residents of this city liked (the club) or didn't like it didn't matter.'' Steve Frank, coordinator of Simi Citizens R Against Pornography, which collected 10,000 signatures against the proposed club, said the price the city may have to pay to fight Young in court is less than the long-range cost of operating a sexually oriented business in the city. ``It's much cheaper to fight lawsuits than it is to fight crime that these facilities bring to the community,'' he said. |
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