2005/06/15 Council Agenda Packet

Consultants' Final Report - Page 12 such zoning laws. In Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc. 16 the Supreme Court held such statutes cannot be enacted for the purpose of restraining speech but have to be "content -neutral" time, place, and manner regulations designed to serve a substantial governmental interest and not unreasonably limit alternative avenues of communications. In making this determination the court must look to the municipality's motivation and purpose for enacting the statute. If the statute is primarily aimed at suppressing First Amendment rights it is content based and invalid. But, if it is aimed at the "secondary effects" such businesses have on the surrounding community, it is content neutral and therefore valid. In making this determination the court must look at a number of factors, from the evidence the municipality offers to support a finding of secondary effects, to whether the zoning statute eliminates the possibility of any adult businesses within the jurisdiction of the municipality. It is the first factor this report is primarily concerned with." In the Mini Theatres case the Detroit Common Council made a finding that adult businesses are especially injurious to a 16 475 U.S. 41 (1986)(Hereinafter Renton). 17 Even if an ordinance were enacted for the proper reasons the court still must determine whether the ordinance would effectively prevent any operation of an adult business within the municipality's jurisdiction, see Walnut Properties, Inc v. City of Whittier 808 F.2d 1331 (1986). However this is presumably not an issue for the City of Garden Grove's ordinance because the enforcement of the ordinance would still allow the operation of adult businesses in various locations throughout the city. EVER00352