"We don't want any more of these types of establishments. The amendment also now includes hotels and motels that want to come into these two areas," said L.A. City Councilwoman Nury Martinez.
Martinez's proposed a 45-day ban on any new adult-oriented business in parts of her San Fernando Valley district. The Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to draft an ordinance.
It won't affect existing businesses, but would prevent new permits from being granted to liquor stores, strip clubs or other adult businesses on San Fernando Road, from Sunland Boulevard to Branford Street; on Sepulveda from Oxnard Street to Rayen Street; and on Lankershim from Roscoe/Tuxford to San Fernando.
Why crack down on businesses like this? Martinez says strip clubs, massage parlors and liquor stores are magnets for pimps and prostitutes. She says fewer locations will cut down on the prostitution problem in the area.
"Underage girls are actually being trafficked in my community at all hours of the night. You have 13-year-olds and 14-year-olds on the corners of Vanowen and Sepulveda Boulevard," said Martinez.
The manager of one Sun Valley strip club said off-camera that clubs like this actually provide women with safe jobs that keep them out of the prostitution industry. And some people say banning new businesses will hurt the already-suffering economy in this part of the city.
But Martinez hopes that the final ordinance will make it through the council and will result in a significant drop in prostitution and other crimes, a reason for the council, she says, to consider making the temporary ban permanent.
