City Revises Zoning Code, Allows for Strip Clubs

ARCADIA — Threatened with a lawsuit, the City Council voted Tuesday night to revise an ordinance that had prevented strip clubs in Arcadia, officials said.

An 11-year-old ordinance barred any such club within 750 feet of a residential area, which effectively kept them out of the city, Councilman Roger Chandler said.

But recent Supreme Court rulings have found cities must have a zone where such clubs can exist, he said.

“The truth of the matter is we were brought to the harsh realization that you can’t go against the law of the land,” Chandler said.

Attorney Roger Jon Diamond, who represented two men proposing a club, said the vote saved taxpayers’ money. He said cities routinely fight such businesses and lose.

The Golden Eyes strip club would be located at 1580 Clark St. in a corner of Arcadia that is an industrial island detached from the rest of the city. The site is within 712 feet of homes in El Monte.

Chandler also said the council decided to revise an ordinance that would restrict certain kinds of conduct by strippers. Under the new rule, there would be a minimum distance of six feet between the strippers and the audience, and patrons would not be allowed to place tips on the women or in their costumes, he said.