3570 East Foothill Blvd., Inc. v. City of Pasadena

980 F. Supp. 329, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16881, 1997 WL 662601
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedOctober 6, 1997
DocketCV 95-5592 ABC RMCx
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 980 F. Supp. 329 (3570 East Foothill Blvd., Inc. v. City of Pasadena) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
3570 East Foothill Blvd., Inc. v. City of Pasadena, 980 F. Supp. 329, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16881, 1997 WL 662601 (C.D. Cal. 1997).

Opinion

ORDER RE: DEFENDANT CITY OF PASADENA’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

COLLINS, District Judge.

Defendant’s motion for summary judgment or in the alternative partial summary judgment came on regularly for hearing before this Court on October 6,1997. After reviewing the materials submitted by the parties, argument of counsel, and the case file, it is *331 hereby ORDERED that Defendant’s motion is GRANTED.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

The facts of this case are well knoym to the parties and do not need to be recited here. A brief summary of the facts relevant to the instant motion follows.

Plaintiff, 3570 .East Foothill Blvd., Inc. (“Plaintiff”) is a California corporation that owns 20/Twenty Gentleman’s Club, formerly known as the “Red Hot Cafe,” a restaurant/lounge/bar in the Defendant City of Pasadena (“City”). Plaintiffs restaurant offers non-adult live entertainment, including, as a result of the Court’s prior Order, “bikini dancing.” Plaintiff now seeks to expand the restaurant’s business to include topless dancing, which would render the “20/Twenty” an “adult business” under Pasadena Municipal Code (“P.M.C.”) § 17.16.050.

The City asserts that Plaintiff cannot offer adult entertainment because the “20/Twenty” is not in the appropriate zone for adult businesses. The City claims that the “20/Twen-ty” is located in an Industrial General (“IG”) zone, where adult businesses are not permitted. See P.M.C. §§ 17.28.020 & 17.32.030. Under the P.M.C., adult businesses are permitted only in Commercial General (“CG”) zones. Id. Therefore, if the City is correct in stating that the “20/Twenty” is located in an IG zone, Plaintiff is not permitted to offer adult entertainment at the “20/Twenty’s” current location.

However, Plaintiff disputes that its business is located in an IG zone. Plaintiff asserts that, as of January 23, 1995, the Pasadena City Council.gave effect to an “Interim East Pasadena Specific Plan” (“Specific Plan”) which changed the zone in which Plaintiffs business is located to a CG zone. Alternatively, Plaintiff contends that the City has delayed its implementation of the “East Pasadena Specific Plan” for the purpose of “preventing and prohibiting Plaintiff from presenting topless dancing at its place of business.” Supp. Comp, at ¶ 14. Furthermore, Plaintiff alleges that even if its business is not located in a CG zone, the City’s entire adult business zoning scheme is unconstitutional because it provides too few permissible locations for adult businesses, denying them a reasonable opportunity for expression in violation of the free speech and due process clauses of the .First and Fourteenth amendments. Therefore, Plaintiff asserts that it is entitled to offer adult entertainment, regardless of the zone in which its business is located.

On August 21, 1995, Plaintiff filed a Complaint against Defendant, the City of Pasadena (“City”), under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, seeking a declaratory judgment that Pasadena’s adult business zoning ordinances, conditional use permit and live entertainment permit ordinances are unconstitutional on their face. In addition to a declaratory judgment, Plaintiff seeks injunctive relief, damages, costs, and attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988. On October 17, 1995, Plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) on the same grounds, seeking similar relief, but additionally requesting a declaratory judgment that the “20/Twenty” is located in a CG zone under the “Specific Plan.” 1

Aso on October 17, 1995, Plaintiff applied for a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) to enjoin enforcement of Pasadena’s conditional use permit and live entertainment permit ordinances. On October 26, 1995, the Court granted Plaintiffs TRO, thus enjoining the enforcement of the City’s permitting ordinances. In the same Order, the court consolidated the trial on the merits of Plaintiffs constitutional challenge to the permitting ordinances with the hearing on Plaintiffs application for a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the City’s adult zoning ordinance. The consolidated trial and hearing took place before the Court on November 17, 1995. In its November 27, 1995 Order (amended by Minute Order on December 12, 1995) the Court permanently enjoined the City from enforcing its conditional use permit and live entertainment ordinances as to all expressive activities protected by the First Amendment. In its December 20,1995 *332 Order, the Court denied Plaintiffs application for preliminary injunction ordering the City to apply terms of the “Specific Plan” changing its business’ zone from IG to CG and denied Plaintiffs application for an injunction against the City’s enforcement of its adult business zoning restrictions.

On April 28, 1997, Plaintiff filed a Supplemental Complaint alleging that the City has delayed completion of the Environmental Impact Report necessary to amend its Géneral Plan to achieve consistency with the “East Pasadena Specific Plan” for the predominate purpose of preventing Plaintiff from presenting topless dancing. 2 On July 22, 1997, the City filed the instant motion for summary judgment or in the alternative partial summary judgment on the three remaining issues in this case: (1) whether the City has given effect to the January 23, 1995 Draft East Pasadena Specific Plan 'such that Plaintiffs business is now in the proper zoning for an adult business; (2) whether the predominate purpose of the City’s failure to adopt the East Pasadena Specific Plan is to prevent Plaintiff from exercising its First Amendment rights; and (3) whether there are sufficient alternative sites in the City for adult businesses to locate to provide them with a reasonable opportunity for expression. On July 29, 1997, Plaintiff filed an Opposition to the City’s Motion for Summary Judgment. The City filed a Reply on September 29, 1997.

II. Discussion

A. Summary Judgment Standard

It is the burden of the party who moves for summary judgment to establish that there is “no genuine issue of material fact, and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); British Airways Bd. v. Boeing Co., 585 F.2d 946, 951 (9th Cir.1978), cert, denied, 440 U.S. 981, 99 S.Ct. 1790, 60 L.Ed.2d 241 (1979). If the moving party has the burden of proof at trial (the plaintiff on a claim for relief, or the defendant on an affirmative defense), the moving party must make a showing sufficient for the court to hold that no reasonable trier of fact could find other than for the moving party. Calderone v. United States, 799 F.2d 254, 259 (6th Cir. 1986) (quoting W. Schwarzer,

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Bluebook (online)
980 F. Supp. 329, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16881, 1997 WL 662601, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/3570-east-foothill-blvd-inc-v-city-of-pasadena-cacd-1997.