Safeco Field's raunchy new neighbor, a strip club, prevails in court

SEATTLE'S sleazy experience with strip clubs stirs genuine indignation at the prospects of one these degrading establishments opening so close to Safeco Field.

Last week, a King County Superior Court judge announced he could find nothing in the law or in the city of Seattle's interpretation and application of land-use regulations to stop City Hall from issuing a business permit to Roger Forbes for a strip club in the Sodo area on First Avenue South.

Judge John Erlick worked with the law and facts before him, and his 11-page analysis indicates he was looking for mistakes, overstepping and sloppy use of words. He found none. The Seattle City Council had not used early opportunities to add stadiums — spectator-sports facilities — to the list of land uses and activities that could pre-empt or exile adult entertainment from a neighborhood.

Strip clubs in Seattle are as likely to be viewed as ersatz brothels as they are dingy gathering places for lonely men to sip overpriced soft drinks and ogle the female form. Lap dancing is prostitution by another name.

Law-enforcement issues with strip clubs have a long history, and the headlines are never dormant for long. Check out the latest round of indictments surrounding four clubs that federal charges conclude were no more than whorehouses.

Slimy dealings between strip-club associates and members of the City Council gave the community a political and campaign-finance scandal — memorialized as Strippergate — that yielded guilty pleas, stunted careers and smeared reputations.

Such is the legacy of the sex industry that will be the Mariners' new neighbor. Baseball fans, young and old, are not going to be pleased to see the neon signs and ads promoting amateur night or the special appearance of a porn star.

The business is degrading to women. These are not victimless enterprises. Promoting base and destructive attitudes toward women is hardly a desirable welcome mat so near a signature, public-gathering place.

Is this a moralistic harangue? Yes it is. Is there a place for adult entertainment in a community? The courts all say so. Next door to Safeco Field is not the place. Somewhere in Sodo might be appropriate, but this establishment is too damn close to families and a general public that is insulted and offended by the intrusion.