Arizona- The owner of an adult cabaret in downtown Phoenix is expected to be sentenced Aug. 8 after being found guilty of opening his club without the proper city permits.
The guilty ruling against Stuart Char, owner of the Palace Cabaret, is a Class 1 misdemeanor that carries penalties of up to six months in jail, up to three years of probation or fines as high as $4,500.
“This reaffirms his actions were criminal,” Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon said. “We warned him not to open without a certificate of occupancy, but he chose to ignore us. “He dared the city and didn’t believe the city would enforce the law. He’s not above the law.”
Char could not be reached for comment.
As Char works out the legal issues before him, most of the fight over opening the nude cabaret could be moot because on July 1 the City Council agreed to ban any new sexually oriented businesses from the downtown core and warehouse district. Those areas are roughly bounded by Seventh Avenue, Seventh Street, and Lincoln and Madison streets.
The city contends that the ban will apply to him.
“His business was not a lawful, pre-existing use on July 1 when the ordinance was approved,” said James Hays, Phoenix assistant city attorney.
Officials say that even if Char wanted to open the cabaret and comply with the building-code requirements previously laid out by building officials, his business would be treated as a new business and reviewed against current zoning – zoning that now outlaws sexually oriented businesses.
The criminal charge isn’t the only one hanging over Char. He also faces civil charges for violations related to opening shop without the proper permits. A ruling is expected on those issues at 3 p.m. Aug. 8 in Phoenix Municipal Court, 300 W. Washington St.
The legal troubles were sparked when Char opened his all-nude strip club at 136 E. Washington St. for a few hours in early February despite warnings from the city about his building not being up to code and not having a certificate of occupancy.
The hang-up in the case had been that although Char met the requirements for a sexually oriented business permit for the club, the city would not grant him a certificate of occupancy until he brought the leased building up to standards.