Scottsdale, Az- Skin Cabaret property owner Eric Borowsky defended Scottsdale’s topless clubs against accusations that they’ve led to a stabbing, kidnapping and sex crimes, during a Tribune-sponsored debate last Wednesday.

In addition to the argument over the effect on crime, Borowsky and Peter Gentala, general counsel for the Christian conservative group Center for Arizona Policy, disagreed over the impact of the proposed regulations and the intent of Scottsdale’s leaders. Borowsky’s son, Todd, owns the strip club at 1137 N. Scottsdale Road.

The debate will air six times on Scottsdale CityCable 11 during the next two Wednesdays leading up to the Sept. 12 election. If Proposition 401 is approved by voters, new and stricter regulations on the clubs – including the banning of lap dances – will go into effect. If the proposition is denied, Skin Cabaret and Babe’s Cabaret will continue to be regulated by the current ordinance.

Gentala, a member of Yeson401.com political committee, argued the clubs need further regulation to protect against the club’s secondary effects, such as crime.

Gentala held up Tribune stories from 2000 and 2004 that reported on a stabbing and robbery outside Babe’s Cabaret and a man’s kidnapping outside Skin Cabaret after a fight about a dancer. Gentala held up a map showing there were eight reported sex crimes within a quartermile of Skin and seven within a quarter-mile of Babe’s between January 2001 and July 2006.

Gentala said if he lived in the area, “I would not send my kids next door to borrow sugar.”

Borowsky said Gentala was using scare tactics, arguing that those figures had no context. He added that no comparisons were presented with other areas in the city to see if the rate was abnormal.

“He wants to paint this low-life picture,” Borowsky said. “We call it imaginary effects.”

Borowsky also spoke of a “fatally flawed” city process that led to the new regulations. He said the clubs were shut out of the process and the true intent of the City Council was to drive both clubs out of business, which are located less than a mile apart along Scottsdale Road in south Scottsdale.

“This is not about whether you approve of cabarets, this is about fair government, open government and due process,” Borowsky said.

Gentala countered it was a standard and open city process that led to the new regulations, which he said were reasonable and not written to force the clubs to close.

The controversy began last year following reports that adult film mogul Jenna Jameson purchased an ownership share of Babe’s Cabaret.

Later, the city hired a Tennessee attorney who specializes in rewriting sexually oriented business ordinances. The new regulations, which would require a 4-foot distance requirement between seminude dancers and patrons, were approved by the City Council in December.

A successful referendum effort financed by the clubs placed the issue on the ballot.