Scottsdale Studies Options on Adult Store

City officials say they are studying their options against an adult store they say is in violation of a city ordinance regulating adult businesses.

At issue is a settlement the city reached with Zorba’s Adult Shop in 1995 after the store’s owner sued the city on the grounds that its regulations violated the First Amendment, the East Valley Tribune reported.

The two sides reached an agreement at the time that prohibited the city from imposing regulations to further restrict the business which opened here 33 years ago.

But last year, the City Council passed an ordinance requiring the shop’s managers to have unobstructed views of the entire building’s interior, which included private viewing rooms.

Today, the shop has private rooms that are not visible from the front counter, in violation of the city’s ordinance.

City Attorney Deborah Robberson said the council was unaware of the settlement and that she was not familiar with its terms.

John Weston, a Los Angeles-based attorney representing Zorba’s, said in a Sept. 12 letter to the council that its new regulations should be applied to new bookstores and not his client.

Councilwoman Mary Manross said the city is studying its options and would make a determination on whether to enforce the new rules at a later time.

The council, at the urging of Councilman Tom Nelssen, has tentatively scheduled a Jan. 30 public meeting on the matter.