After a legal battle that has been going on since 1993, Judge William Rea of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles has finally ordered the city of Simi Valley to pay about $100,000 in damages and attorney fees to prospective club owner, Philip Young, according to a published report.
The whole thing started when Young was issued a zoning clearance to remodel a building to open an exotic dance club. Public opposition caused the city to rescind Young’s permit based on “parking concerns,” the Simi Valley Daily News reported.
Later, the City Council adopted a zoning ordinance that included a provision that adult entertainment clubs could not be located next to churches or schools, according to the newspaper. A school board member then opened a Bible study center near the site. The existence of the study center was then used as a reason not to approve the club, the report said.
The 1993 ordinance regulating nude entertainment clubs was “unconstitutional because it made it unreasonably difficult for an adult use applicant to complete the permit process,” said Judge Rea.
The Daily News reported that Young is now considering the possibility of opening the city’s first nude adult entertainment club, according to his attorney, Roger Jon Diamond.
