Reacting to a defeated measure restricting strip club, members of the Scottsdale City Council say they’ll seek more public input before they draft another similar measure.
Last week, voters soundly defeater Propositon 401 which would have barred nudity in strip clubs and would have set up a series of tough new standards that would have barred lap dancing, the Arizona Republic reported.
The owners of the city’s two strip clubs had argued that the measure was drafted behind closed doors and that they were never given the opportunity to provide input before it was drafted.
But Mayor Mary Manross denied there was insufficient public input on the ordinance before it was put to the voters, saying those arguments were some of the “untruths” its opponents made during the campaign.
Most council members during last week’s council meeting said they would want to reach a consensus with the two strip clubs, Skin and Babe’s, before drafting another such ordinance. Babe’s is partially owned by Jenna Jameson, Vivid co-chairmen Steven Hirsch and Bill Asher and IVD owner Frank Kay.
Attorneys for the two clubs told the newspaper that they were given only 10 days to review the proposed measure and were not given the opportunity to provide feedback on it.
Skin’s owner Todd Borowsky complained that his meetings with the city were brief and curt.
The city’s old ordinance, which officials say is outdated due to recent court decisions, will remain in place. But its unclear how it will be enforced.
The clubs, which were raided this year for code violations, were scheduled to have their cases go before a judge last Wednesday, but the hearing was postponed.
But the issue isn’t over yet, said Mayor Manross who noted that the council will meet with attorneys to determine what to do next.
