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# Council desires sex shop mandate
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/council-desires-sex-shop-mandate/
- Published: 2005-09-27T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T07:49:34.000Z
- Author: Ryan Hyatt
- Tags: Business, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*City also taking a look at massage parlor rules*

CITY HALL — Just how to balance sex shops’ right to operate with the concerns of a community will have elected officials talking tonight.

The City Council on Tuesday evening is scheduled to discuss an ordinance that would update and amend how Santa Monica regulates its adult businesses.

Studies show that adult businesses increase the amount of crime and decrease property values in a neighborhood, according to a staff report. This is especially true when adult businesses become concentrated in a given area.

Aside from illicit “massage” parlors, staff identifies three sexually-oriented businesses in Santa Monica. The most recently established is “Secret Desires,” a retail store which spurned controversy when it opened for business this year, due to its clear visibility off Lincoln Boulevard and its close proximity to residential neighborhoods, officials said.

In addition to Secret Desires, a video store called “The Odyssey” has been situated on Wilshire Boulevard for several years, and a lingerie boutique, “Nighties & Naughties,” which also features an adult video section, is located on Main Street.

Neither The Odyssey nor Nighties & Naughties are located along highway corridors or in the downtown area, as current law requires. However, officials said because these places have become established, it may be legally difficult to require them to move.

Councilman Richard Bloom, who asked staff to investigate its adult business ordinance in light of the controversy over Secret Desires, said he hasn’t received as many complaints about the other two sexually-oriented businesses, despite the fact they are located in unpermitted areas.

Representatives from all three stores said they were not aware of the ordinance update. Unsure of its specifics, they declined to comment.

Currently, adult businesses are supposed to be located along parts of Lincoln and Pico boulevards and east of downtown, between Colorado Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard and Fifth and Seventh streets.

The updated ordinance attempts to expand where adult businesses may be located throughout Santa Monica and better define what an “adult entertainment” business is, due to recent changes in the legal climate.

If approved, the ordinance would allow adult businesses to be located in the Bayside commercial district and the downtown overlay areas, a total area that would range between Colorado Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard and Second and Seventh streets.

According to the staff report, allowing other areas to have adult businesses would enable City Hall to better comply with constitutional concerns. Generally speaking, the courts have prohibited cities from zoning out adult businesses in order to protect the business rights of operators. Thus, any restrictions City Hall has on adult businesses must leave adequate sites available for demand. At the same time, staff seeks to make the sites far enough away from each other to prevent the “adverse” effects of adult businesses concentrated in a particular area of the community.

The location restrictions in the proposed ordinance would leave 1 to 1.5 percent of the land within Santa Monica available to adult businesses, placing City Hall in better compliance with current case law, according to the staff report.

Spacing requirements under the updated ordinance would remain the same. Therefore, it would continue to be illegal to locate an adult business within 500 feet of a residential district.

Several new provisions would also be added. For example, City Hall would be allowed to impose conditions on a business license and restrict the sale or transfer of the business. Also, signs visible from off-site that depict sexual activities or certain anatomical parts would be prohibited.

Staff on Tuesday is also expected to ask the council for direction to proceed updating laws regarding massage parlors — treated separately from other adult businesses within the city code.

Bloom said the ordinance update is a necessary step in light of the controversy over “Secret Desires”, and staff is on the right track to balance issues important to all parties involved.

“The updated law tries to draw a balance between the constitutional restrictions that exist for business owners and the desire of members of the community to curtail this type of business as much as possible,” Bloom said.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 27, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/092705.pdf?ref=smdp.com)