EVERETT — The Everett City Council on Wednesday decided not to impose a moratorium on new adult-oriented video outlets and bookstores.
The move came after the Everett Police Department released a report casting doubt on anti-pornography protesters’ assertions that adult video stores cause crime.
The controversy over adult video outlets in Everett surged after Taboo Video opened in March just off Everett Mall Way next to a home and across the street from a day care center. Several people have been picketing the store each weekend since then.
Councilwoman Brenda Stonecipher said she sympathized with the protesters. But she voted against a moratorium because, she said, it would be unfair to impose restrictions on businesses that do not appear to be causing law-enforcement problems.
"We’ve heard from the police," she said after listening to a police official say there appeared to be little difference between the number of crimes near adult video and conventional video stores. "I’m not compelled to believe we have an impending public safety problem in our community."
Kim Borgotta, owner of the Starbright Early Learning Center across the street from Taboo Video, said she and others would continue to fight the video store through picketing and petition drives.
"We’re pretty confident we can force these guys to move out," she said.
Borgotta is president of the newly formed Zone Porn, which is urging the council to bar adult retail stores from locating near schools, day care centers, residential areas, parks and religious buildings. The group also wants the city to force stores such as Taboo to relocate. The group is planning a protest in front of Taboo Video on May 15.
In March, the City Council voted to look into enacting a moratorium. But council member Mark Olson, sponsor of that resolution, said Wednesday that in light of the police finding, he didn’t think a moratorium was necessary. He also was concerned about violating the First Amendment rights of adult businesses.
The vote was 6-1, with council member Ron Gipson voting "no." Gipson, who has joined the pickets at Taboo Video, said new adult businesses should be barred while the city researches the matter further.
City Attorney Jim Iles again warned the council Wednesday that the city could face a lawsuit if it were to enact restrictions on adult retail outlets. Three adult video stores sued Spokane on First Amendment and property-rights grounds after that city approved restrictions in 2001. The city won in U.S. District Court, and the case is now before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Everett Councilman Doug Campbell said he would vote to impose restrictions on adult video stores if the 9th Circuit upholds the Spokane ordinance. But he didn’t want to expose the city to a possible lawsuit before then, he said.
"At this time, I feel we’re sort of handcuffed by the laws and what we can do," he said.
Opponents of Taboo Video said they were upset by the council’s decision.
"Their fear of being sued has to be weighed against our fear for our children’s safety," said Jen Alaniz, a Marysville woman who has two children enrolled in Starbright.
The police study compared sex- and drug-related crimes over the past three years near six adult-oriented businesses and six conventional video stores.
There were 112 crimes within 500 feet of the adult stores and 117 crimes within 500 feet of the conventional video outlets. But that doesn’t mean the crimes were committed by customers, said Capt. Greg Lindeberry, who presented the results to the council.
"We could probably locate just about any business and draw a 500-foot radius around it and find these types of crimes," Lindeberry said. "What we found wasn’t anything that raised our eyebrows or appeared to be out of the norm."
In some cases, there were differences between the types of crimes committed near adult and nonadult stores, Lindeberry said. However, he emphasized that that didn’t mean the crimes had anything to do with the stores.
For example, there were six rapes near the adult video stores and only one near the conventional stores. But there were only two indecent exposures and three prostitution incidents within 500 feet of the adult stores, far fewer than the eight indecent exposures and 12 prostitution calls near conventional video stores.
Based upon the report, Lindeberry concluded that adult video stores probably do not cause crime to increase in surrounding neighborhoods.
"Our experience," he said, "is that, on average, a bar or tavern can have a more serious impact on the surrounding community than an adult video store."
Reporter David Olson: 425-339-3452 or dolson@heraldnet.com.
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