Opinion ID: 743923
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sufficiency of Suitable Sites

Text: Our conclusion to reject the district court's theory of alternative barriers brings us to Vicary's claim that the ordinance leaves her with insufficient suitable sites in the City to comply with our decisions in Topanga Press, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles, 989 F.2d 1524 (9th Cir.1993), cert. denied, 511 U.S. 1030 (1994), and related cases. Because the district court's barrier analysis made it unnecessary for the district court to address this question, it did not rule specifically on the sites available under a Topanga Press analysis. In the absence of such findings, we are unable to determine the validity of the ordinance, and we accordingly remand for the district court to make the findings necessary in light of the following principles. A city must refrain from effectively denying [adult entertainment businesses] a reasonable opportunity to open and operate ... within the city. City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc., 475 U.S. 41, 54 (1986). An adult entertainment business has been given a reasonable opportunity to relocate if: (1) the available relocation sites provided to a business are part of an actual business real estate market, and (2) after excluding those sites that may not properly be considered to be part of the relevant real estate market, there are an adequate number of potential relocation sites for already existing businesses. Topanga Press, 989 F.2d at 1530. Under part one of the test, a site is potentially available: (a) if it is not unreasonable to believe that it would ever become available to a commercial enterprise, e.g., it is not leased by a tenant with a five-year lease; (b) if it suits some generic commercial enterprise, although not every particular enterprise, e.g., it may not be a warehouse, a swamp, or a sewage treatment plant; and (c) if it is commercially zoned. Id. at 1531. If a site is located in a manufacturing or industrial zone, it must further be reasonably accessible to the general public and have a proper infra-structure such as sidewalks, roads, and lighting. Id. We emphasize that assuming a relocation site is part of the relevant market, it is not relevant whether a relocation site will result in lost profits, higher overhead costs, or even prove to be commercially infeasible for an adult business. The issue is whether any site is part of an actual market for commercial enterprises generally. Id. In Topanga Press, the City of Los Angeles, inter alia, prohibited adult businesses from being located: (1) within 500 feet from churches, schools, or parks; (2) within 500 feet of a residential zone; and (3) within 1,000 feet of other adult businesses. 989 F.2d at 1527. The city claimed that there were 11,613.1 acres of definitionally available relocation sites, but the court found that much of the land was not potentially available. Id. at 1532. The court found 120 potentially available sites but given the 1,000-foot business-to-business requirement and the fact that most of the sites were clustered together, it concluded that the number of alternate sites was so inadequate as to place a serious hardship on adult businesses without an injunction. Id. at 1533. In the present case, the City places at least five restrictions, four of which are location-based, on adult entertainment businesses. The City's location-based restrictions are much harsher than those of the City of Los Angeles, a far larger city, in Topanga Press 4 Here, the City prohibits adult businesses from being located: (1) within 750 feet, rather than 500 feet, away from not only churches, schools, and parks, but also libraries, neighborhood centers or recreational facilities; (2) within 750 feet, rather than 500 feet, of a residential zone; (3) within 500 feet of other adult businesses; and (4) anywhere other than in a heavy manufacturing M-3 designated zone. Moreover, the City requires such businesses to obtain a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) from the City Planning Commission before opening. Corona Mun.Code § 17.41. The district court reported, without conclusively finding, that the City estimated twenty-seven M-3 sites available for Angel's relocation. On remand, the court must determine, site-by-site, whether such sites are potentially available under part one of the Topanga Press test. We note that the district court properly found the M-3 zoning restriction to be particularly troublesome in this regard. The M-3 restriction goes one step farther than the city in Topanga Press, which assumed commercial land. Any comparison to a generic commercial enterprise must weigh in favor of Angel's because many areas zoned for heavy manufacturing would not be suitable for commercial enterprises. 5 Under part two of the Topanga Press test, the district court must decide whether the remaining available sites, if any, are adequate. In this inquiry, the district court may consider the effect of the combination of the City's location-based restrictions. See Walnut Properties, Inc. v. City of Whittier, 861 F.2d 1102, 1107-10 (9th Cir.1988) (zoning ordinance which combined 1,000-foot separation requirements between adult businesses with 500-foot separation requirement from residential areas completely foreclosed reasonable opportunity for adult theater to open and operate). We note that the CUP requirement standing alone is particularly suspect in this analysis. See Dease V. City of Anaheim, 826 F.Supp. 336 (C.D.Cal.1993) (invalidating CUP ordinance regulating adult entertainment businesses). This requirement could conceivably restrict the number of adult entertainment businesses in the City to zero. The City's expert testified that the City could deny Vicary a permit anywhere, even in potentially available sites, if Vicary couldn't prove that the surrounding areas would not be harmed by her use. 6 While the constitutionality of the CUP requirement is not before us, the district court may take it into consideration in determining the viability of alternative sites under Topanga Press.