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shadowcat

Atlanta suburb

If cops get their way, Canoga Park's Xposed strip club will close for good


Los Angeles police are looking to shut down a strip club and bar complex in Canoga Park they say has become a nuisance and a magnet for crime, attracting complaints of prostitution, assaults and other incidents on the property.
The Xposed Gentleman's Club at 8237 Canoga Ave. is part of a building that includes an adjoining bikini bar serving alcohol called the Wet Spot. While state law prohibits nude clubs from serving alcohol, the proximity of the two -- and their shared dancer and customer base -- allows them to essentially circumvent those restrictions, and city officials say the combination of the two has created problems on the site. The same strip-mall property also hosts a medical marijuana collective and a liquor store.

At a hearing Friday morning before a city zoning commission, officers with the LAPD's Topanga Division said over the last three years police have received calls for prostitution, pandering, assault, public intoxication, public urination and other offenses at the site. Some of the activity occurred in the parking lot or in the next-door post office's lot, but police said they believe it was connected to the strip club's dancers and customers.

"The number of calls ebbs and flows, but I can no longer afford to waste our officers' time," said Officer Alex Padron, senior lead officer with Topanga Division.

Brad Barnes, who owns both the club
and bar, said that his business has not been the main cause of the problems and that he is taking steps to mitigate some of the issues. He and attorney Roger Jon Diamond argued many of the issues stem from homeless people attracted to the property by the nearby liquor store and that the club has been searching customers at the door.

"This is ridiculous," Diamond said in an interview. "We have signatures from every business in the area saying that the club and bar are good neighbors."

The city could force the bar to close if it deems it a nuisance to the surrounding community; it could also impose strict restrictions on operations in lieu of a shutdown. Diamond said either action would impact businesses other than the bar.

"Politically, it looks like they're painting a broad stroke against the whole area -- the club, the bar and the nearby marijuana collective," he said.

City associate zoning administrator R. Nicolas Brown asked for more information from both the club and police by Sept. 6 and said he would make his final decision by Oct. 4, though his action can be appealed.

LAPD said if the city did not want to shut down the businesses, it should impose four conditions: have three licensed, armed security guards on the property who regularly report to LAPD; have the dancers be club employees rather than independent contractors, so club management can maintain better control of their behavior; grant LAPD access to the club's wireless security cameras; and have the club support the closing of the medical marijuana