King County Local Voters Pamphlet
February 3, 1998 Special Election KING COUNTY ONLY
CITY OF LAKE FOREST PARK
The city council of the City of Lake Forest Park, Washington has passed Ordinance No. 726, a law that regulates sexually oriented adult entertainment in the city. The law establishes licensing and regulatory standards for adult entertainment businesses and managers and employees of those businesses. Should city Ordinance No. 726 be approved or rejected?
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Following over two years of study, the Lake Forest Park City Council on October 15, 1997, enacted Ordinance No. 726 entitled:
An Ordinance of the City of Lake Forest Park, Washington, relating to adult entertainment; establishing licensing and regulatory standards for businesses, and managers and employees of businesses that provide sexually oriented adult entertainment in the City of Lake Forest Park; repealing Chapter 5.12 LFPMC; and adding a new Chapter 5.30 LFPMC.
Ordinance No. 726 establishes the framework for regulating sexually oriented adult entertainment in the City of Lake Forest Park. Ordinance No. 726 defines standards of conduct and operation for sexually oriented adult entertainment businesses and employees of those businesses, and provides for enforcement of the Ordinance. A Referendum Measure has been filed in connection with Ordinance No. 726 to provide voters with an opportunity to approve or reject Ordinance No. 726.
STATEMENT FOR
The purpose of Ordinance 726 is to provide those minimum standards by which our police can effectively enforce regulations for the adult entertainment business. The regulations included in this Ordinance are the ones recently approved by the State Supreme Court and implemented by a number of cities in the State. At the present time, there are no regulations in place to regulate adult entertainment in the City. Putting in place regulations that can be enforced by the police is essential to prevent such crimes as drug trafficking, pornography or prostitution. Voting "YES" to regulating the adult entertainment business in Lake Forest Park does not take away the right of freedom of expression as specified under the First Amendment rights of the Constitution. It will not put Deja Vu out of business. The regulations provided by the Ordinance were challenged by the adult entertainment businesses in the cities of Tukwila and Federal Way where they were upheld by the Superior Court of King County as reasonable. Ordinance 726 provides reasonable minimum standards much like the regulations already in place on other businesses in Lake Forest Park.
REBUTTAL OF STATEMENT AGAINST
Ordinance 726 will regulate Deja Vu like any other business.
Ordinance 726 does not regulate the behavior of adults. It does regulate Deja Vu and control the spread of pornography, drugs and prostitution.
Ordinance 726 has been found by the State Supreme Court not to violate the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech.
STATEMENT PREPARED BY: DARLENE FAIRLEY, GRACE COLE, JON HOADLEY
STATEMENT AGAINST
Reject Silly Rules And Regulations -- Reject Referendum #1
Under Ordinance 726, the measuring stick would become standard issue to all of our police officers in order to enforce this silly law. They would be given the right to patrol privately owned locations in order to determine if adults are staying an "acceptable" distance from each other.
Even worse, Ordinance 726 would allow government to legislate what is allowable adult behavior behind closed doors.
Ordinance 726 is an embarrassment to Lake Forest Park. It is a dangerous law that would start us off down the road to censoring free speech and create the kind of bad publicity our city doesn't need.
On February 3rd, let's tell government that this is one silly regulation too many. Vote to Reject Referendum #1.
REBUTTAL OF STATEMENT FOR
The devil is in the details of Referendum #1, and the proponents don't want you to know what they are. This law will create more regulations we don't need and a costly bureaucracy to enforce it.
Referendum #1 will allow government bureaucracy to regulate the behavior of consenting adults behind closed doors.
Referendum #1 is a dangerous law that goes too far in the direction of government censorship in the name of regulating adult entertainment.
STATEMENT PREPARED BY: KAY PETHE, JACK BURNS, PAUL BERN
COMPLETE TEXT OF CITY OF LAKE FOREST PARK REFERENDUM NO. 1
ORDINANCE NO. 742
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF LAKE FOREST PARK, WASHINGTON, RECONSIDERING AND AFFIRMING ORDINANCE NO. 726 AN ORDINANCE THAT REGULATES SEXUALLY ORIENTED ADULT ENTERTAINMENT IN THE CITY OF LAKE FOREST PARK AND REQUESTING THE KING COUNTY RECORDS AND ELECTIONS DIVISION TO CALL A SPECIAL ELECTION IN THE CITY ON REFERENDUM 0001 TO DECIDE WHETHER ORDINANCE NO. 726 SHOULD BE REJECTED OR APPROVED.
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Lake Forest Park adopted Ordinance No. 726, entitled "An Ordinance of the City of Lake Forest Park, Washington, relating to adult entertainment; establishing licensing and regulatory standards for businesses, and managers and employees of businesses, that provide sexually oriented adult entertainment in the City of Lake Forest Park; repeal-ing Chapter 5.12 LFPMC; and adding a new Chapter 5.30 LFPMC;" and
WHEREAS, a petition seeking a referendum on Ordinance No. 726 as authorized by LFPMC 1.20.040, Referendum 0001, has been circulated within the City and submitted to King County Records and Election Division for certification; and
WHEREAS, the petition in support of Referendum No. 0001 has been certified by King County Records and Elections Division as containing the signatures of fifteen percent of the total number of names of persons listed as registered voters within the City on the day of the last preceding City general election; and
WHEREAS, the law of the State of Washington requires the City Council to reconsider the Ordinance subject to referendum and upon favorable reconsideration to submit the referendum to King County Records and Elections Division to call a special election to be held in the City at the time and in the manner provided in RCW 29.27.080; now, therefore,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAKE FOREST PARK, WASHINGTON, DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Declaration of Reconsideration. The City Council of the City of Lake Forest Park declares that it has reconsidered Ordinance No. 726 as required by RCW 35.17.240 and finds that the public interest will best be served by the adoption and enforcement of that Ordinance.
Section 2. Call for Special Election on Referendum No. 0001. As required by RCW 35.17.240, the City Council requests that King County Records and Election Division to call a special election to be held in the City of Lake Forest Park on February 3, 1998 in the manner provided in RCW 29.27.080, for the purpose of submitting to the qualified voters of the City Referendum No. 0001 on Ordinance No. 726 entitled "An Ordinance of the City of Lake Forest Park, Washington, relating to adult entertainment; establishing licensing and regulatory standards for businesses, and managers and employees of businesses, that provide sexually oriented adult entertainment in the City of Lake Forest Park; repealing Chapter 5.12 LFPMC; and adding a new Chapter 5.30 LFPMC." The referendum to be submitted at the special election shall be in the form of a ballot title as follows:
REFERENDUM NO. 0001
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAKE FOREST PARK, WASHINGTON HAS PASSED ORDINANCE NO. 726, A LAW THAT REGULATES SEXUALLY ORIENTED ADULT ENTER-TAINMENT IN THE CITY. THE LAW ESTABLISHES LICENSING AND REGULATORY STANDARDS FOR ADULT ENTER-TAINMENT BUSINESSES AND MANAGERS AND EMPLOYEES OF THOSE BUSINESSES. SHOULD CITY ORDINANCE NO. 726 BE
APPROVED
REJECTED
Section 3. Stay of Enforcement of Ordinance No. 726. The enforcement of Ordinance No. 726 is stayed and the operation of that Ordinance is suspended until the results of the special election are certified by King County Records and Elections Division in accordance with law.
Section 4. Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect five (5) days after its passage and publication as required by law.
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL ON December 3, 1997.
Updated: February 3, 1998
February 3 Local Voters Pamphlet
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