Council decides ordinances could have unintended consequences

Plenty of folks remain unhappy about probable strip club near Lake Oswego

By Jennifer Clampet And Rebecca Mayer

Pamplin Media Group, Oct 29, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (6 Reader comments)

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Public performers across Tualatin should be breathing a small sigh of relief.

Three ordinances designed to deter another strip club from starting up in Tualatin could have had a significant impact on all live performers in the city – from strippers to guitar players.

But on Oct. 13, Tualatin city councilors agreed that the ordinances, which were only in preliminary form, weren’t worth the risk because of possible litigation.

One ordinance would have established a requirement that all entertainers stay four feet away from patrons. Another ordinance would have prohibited patrons from paying entertainers directly.

And a third ordinance proposed the creation of an alcohol-free zone where the Stars Cabaret-Bridgeport, the catalyst for the entire talks, proposes to locate.

The proposed site is at 17939 S.W. McEwan Road on the east side of I-5 at exit 290.

The ordinances were obvious attempts to make the city a less desirable place for strip club businesses.

But in keeping with the Oregon Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Oregon Constitution that obscenity is protected speech, the ordinances would have had to be applied to all business types.

And in the end, Councilor Donna Maddux, an attorney with the state attorney general’s office, noted that the ordinances would be “inviting litigation” since they were enacted by a council irate about news of a strip club moving to town.

“The discussion’s not over,” said Tualatin Mayor Lou Ogden during the work session discussion. “It’s just over for tonight.”

In other news on Stars Cabaret-Bridgeport, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission has given the city of Tualatin until Dec. 2 to make a recommendation on a liquor license application for Stars Cabaret-Bridgeport.

Stars Cabaret owner Randy Kaiser submitted his applications for a business and liquor license in Tualatin in early September. He had planned to open the strip club by mid-November.

The council set Oct. 27 as the public hearing date for the liquor application. But City Manager Sherilyn Lombos said that hearing has been moved to Nov. 24. A recommendation is due to the OLCC by Dec. 2.

And a group calling itself CHANGE – an acronym for Communities Helping All Neighbors Gain Empowerment – is organizing neighborhood meetings and a Web site, www.changefororegon.org, to keep the momentum for opposition against the club.

The group is circulating petitions, writing letters and also has plans to hold several massive protests should the club open. Representatives for Stars Cabaret have said that the club’s opening is entirely dependent on it receiving a liquor license.

But barring some discovery of licensees’ persistent violations of liquor laws, OLCC and city officials agreed that there wasn’t much that citizens could do to have the Stars Cabaret-Bridgeport liquor license denied.

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