Kenmore, Washington- The Kenmore City Council has imposed new restrictions on adult-entertainment venues where patrons can watch pornographic videos.
The rules state that all doors and closures must be removed from private viewing booths, that these areas - known as panorams - be brightly lit, and that all such businesses must close between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m.
The council, at its Monday meeting, also addressed the ongoing issue of whether to continue to allow gambling in the city. It voted 6-1 to place the gambling question before voters Sept. 14.
Kenmore's restrictions on adult-entertainment venues were prompted by hundreds of arrests that have been made for indecent exposure and behavior in the past five years at Taboo Video, the city's only adult-video and -entertainment venue. The business had been operating with saloon-style doors to the panorams that were lowered in height in 1999 so police could monitor customers during walk-through patrols of the business.
"The new (council) members and myself decided it was time to finally do something about this," said Mayor Steve Colwell. "We've always had public testimony from residents concerned about this and the drain on the public service."
Police have arrested 275 Taboo Video patrons since 1999 for indecent exposure and behavior in the panorams. That translates into $46,750 ($170 per arrest) paid by the city, which contracts with King County for police officers' services, according to Colwell.
Len Griesel, owner of Taboo Video since 1999, has said - through his attorney John Neeleman - that he was surprised by the new ordinance and is deciding how to respond.
The business, with 16 panorams, has been in town more than 12 years. Taboo has 90 days to make the changes required by the new ordinance.
The restrictions also specify that all panorams be unblocked and next to a public room visible to the manager and other patrons, require that only one chair be placed in each station, and say each unit must be kept sanitary.
A similar ordinance was passed for adult-entertainment venues in Bellevue about four years ago. R&R Adult Toys, required to remove the doors from its panorams, instead closed its panoram section.
