Opinion ID: 1155727
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Reasonable Alternate Avenues of Communication

Text: (4) We also conclude that the ordinance provides reasonable alternative avenues of communication. The ordinance makes available the entire commercially zoned area of the city, or 572 acres of land, on which to locate an adult business. This area is highly accessible by major freeways and arterials. In addition, the ordinance limits neither the total number of adult businesses that may locate in the city, nor the hours they may operate. Finally, the ordinance does `not affect the operation of existing establishments but only the location of new ones.' ( Young, supra, 427 U.S. at p. 71, fn. 35 [49 L.Ed.2d at pp. 326-327], citation omitted.) Respondents contend, however, that the availability of sites under the ordinance is illusory because of the lack of sites currently for rent, the unwillingness of owners of available sites to rent to them, and the considerable cost of building their own shopping center in compliance with the ordinance. We find none of these arguments establish constitutional infirmity. The high court in Renton made clear that `The inquiry for First Amendment purposes is not concerned with economic impact.' ( Renton, supra, 475 U.S. at p. 54 [89 L.Ed.2d at p. 42], quoting Young, supra, 427 U.S. at p. 78 [49 L.Ed.2d at pp. 330-331]. See City of Vallejo v. Adult Books (1985) 167 Cal. App.3d 1169, 1180 [213 Cal. Rptr. 143] [[E]vidence of the considerable economic difficulty of locating `adult' uses at many legally permissible sites within the City of Vallejo.... falls far short of establishing that appellant is foreclosed or unreasonably restricted by the ordinance from effectively operating within the city limits.], cert. den. (1986) 475 U.S. 1064 [89 L.Ed.2d 601, 106 S.Ct. 1374].) As noted earlier, Renton refused to sustain an economic viability argument on a record demonstrating that a substantial part of the 520 acres zoned for adult businesses was occupied by a sewage disposal site, race track, and other uses restricting, as a practical matter, available sites. Similarly, we decline to find on this record that National City's ordinance fails to provide reasonable alternative avenues of communication. [10] Moreover, Renton explicitly rejected the argument that because `practically none' of the undeveloped land [was] currently for sale or lease the ordinance `would result in a substantial restriction' on speech. ( Renton, supra, 475 U.S. at pp. 53-54 [89 L.Ed.2d at pp. 41-42], citations omitted.) The record here in fact reveals that vacancies existed at all three shopping centers, and that the evidence of landowners' unwillingness to rent consisted essentially of generalized responses by leasing agents to respondents' expert's telephone inquiry, and testimony that it is generally known among realtors that shopping centers do not usually rent to adult businesses. Nor, in this case, is any reluctance or outright refusal of private land owners to rent to adult businesses dispositive of the issue of whether the ordinance provides a reasonable opportunity for such businesses to locate within National City. While a city may not suppress protected speech, neither is it compelled to act as a broker or leasing agent for those engaged in the sale of it. We decline to hold local governments responsible for the business decisions of private individuals who act for their own economic concerns without any reference to the First Amendment. The Constitution does not saddle municipalities with the task of ensuring either the popularity or economic success of adult businesses. Respondents' reliance on the fact that only one other adult business currently operates within the city is also misplaced. The number of adult businesses is, without more, of no particular significance in evaluating the validity of the ordinance. We find no authority that mandates a constitutional ratio of adult businesses to a particular population figure. [11] We note that at the time the Renton ordinance was enacted no adult theaters were located in Renton.... ( Playtime Theaters, Inc. v. City of Renton, supra, 748 F.2d at p. 530.) Moreover, nothing in this record indicates whether similar enterprises have attempted to locate in the city and have been thwarted by virtue of unreasonable restrictions, or simply found it economically less advantageous than other localities. It is also inaccurate to characterize the ordinance as forcing respondents to build their own shopping mall at prohibitive cost. Rather, this is merely one option under the ordinance. The city has demonstrated that there are three shopping centers, and a partially developed 4.5-acre area, where an adult business may seek to rent an existing location. Moreover, certain malls may be modified in conformance with the ordinance to accommodate adult businesses. It is respondents, not the city, who define construction of a new shopping center as their only alternative under the ordinance. Hence, we conclude that the ordinance provides reasonable alternative avenues of communication.