SCOTTSDALE - Hoping to end the controversy, City Council members Tuesday unanimously agreed to hold a required referendum on their tough new strip-club regulations in September.
The controversy began in December, when the council unanimously voted to tighten the city's ordinance on sexually oriented businesses. Among the restrictions was a 4-foot "no-touch" zone between club patrons and dancers.
Adult film star Jenna Jameson, [pictured] who bought Babe's Cabaret last summer, and Todd Borowsky, the owner of Skin Cabaret, had insisted that this rule would effectively put them out of business. advertisement Supporters began circulating petitions within days to force a vote.
Some council members had said they wanted to put the issue on the May 16 ballot, which would put an end to the controversy earlier.
"The sooner the better," Councilman Jim Lane said. "I think the public's awareness is more heightened now as opposed to a later date."
Others argued that the deadline for ballot arguments was only a week away, leaving residents little time to digest the information.
"The election should not be in May," Mayor Mary Manross said. "We would really have to cut corners."
The council also voted 6-1 against forming a subcommittee to negotiate a compromise with club owners, saying the issue was in voters' hands.
Club representatives had urged council members to work with them toward a compromise. "You have nothing to lose," said First Amendment attorney Richard Hertzberg, who represents Jameson. "We think there is plenty of time to work out a compromise."
Councilman Bob Littlefield said he did not support a committee because he knows what the strip-club owners want.
"There is no ambiguity there," Littlefield said. "This is a referendum on lap dancing."
The requests for the May vote and the negotiations came in the form of petitions submitted to the council at its meeting on Jan. 24.
City code requires the council to take some action on petitions within 30 days.
In January, supporters of the strip clubs had submitted boxes of petitions containing more than 8,000 signatures demanding a public referendum. They needed a minimum of 3,384 signatures from valid Scottsdale voters.
A sample check by the Maricopa County Recorder's Office found that these petitions contained at least 5,382 valid signatures.
Supporters began circulating petitions within days to force a vote. A separate petition asked council members to take a formal vote to put the issue on the May 16 ballot and avoid any squabbling over when the referendum would take place.
In the days after their contentious vote, the council members had said that the city's old ordinance contained the same restrictions and simply had never been enforced.
Borowsky has argued that the old ordinance never applied to his club since it only addressed "nude" dancing.
But the new ordinance specifically addresses seminude dancers who wear G-strings and pasties and thus applies to both Skin and Babe's.
In order to avoid the new regulations, dancers would have to cover nearly all of their breasts and have full coverage of their buttocks.
