Judge blasts 17-year moratorium on issuing new strip-club permits

A federal judge yesterday declared Seattle's 17-year moratorium on processing new strip-club applications illegal and blasted the city for "selectively" upholding the First Amendment.

U.S. District Judge James Robart's decision that the moratorium amounts to prior restraint on free expression means the city is legally liable for failing to process a business' strip-club application. The next step is a trial for damages, set for a year from now, in which the business is seeking $5 million.

The assistant city attorney who defended the moratorium said he wasn't shocked by the ruling.

"The moratorium was intended to be a temporary measure, and it lasted for 17 years, so it kind of speaks for itself," said Assistant City Attorney Bob Tobin. He said it was too soon to say what the city's next legal move will be

Bob Davis, the president of ASF Inc., sued the city in May after the city denied him an adult-entertainment license to open an adult cabaret downtown. In rejecting his application, the city cited the 1988 moratorium on issuing new permits for such businesses.

The city has renewed the moratorium annually, saying it needed more time to adopt new land-use regulations governing such businesses, Davis alleged in his lawsuit. Yet no new land-use regulations have been adopted in all that time, Davis pointed out.

The city has blamed that on the Department of Planning and Development's " 'extreme' work overload and its shortage of experienced staff," Robart noted in his 13-page order yesterday.

For 17 years, "the city has ... effectively created a licensing scheme that fails to set limits on when the city must develop new land-use regulations and resume issuing adult cabaret licenses," Robart wrote.

"The court is unpersuaded by the city's attempt to justify 17 years of delay by arguing that 'adult dancing is alive and well' in Seattle and that its failure to adopt new legislation 'was due to legitimate reasons other than censorship. ... The city is not permitted to selectively uphold the First Amendment."

Unless it appeals, the city will now have to process strip-club applications, Tobin said. Later this month, the council will take up a proposal to impose stricter rules on strip clubs, including a rule requiring four feet between dancers and patrons, and brighter lighting.

City Councilman Richard McIver said yesterday that he expects the legislation will pass his committee and the full council will pass it. The real battle, McIver predicted, will be over where in the city to allow future clubs.

Davis had applied to operate a club at 1921 Fifth Ave., but the property has been purchased to build the monorail. Yesterday, Davis' attorney said he didn't know where Davis might now be looking to start his new club.

Peter Lewis: 206-464-2217 or plewis@seattletimes.com