Court Opinion

ID: 9549834
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:25:26.27813+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:20:57.916015
License: Public Domain

KENNARD, J., Concurring and Dissenting.
I.
1 concur in the majority’s conclusion that the Long Beach adult entertainment zoning ordinance at issue here cannot properly be interpreted to classify a theater as an “adult motion picture theater” within the meaning of the ordinance (Long Beach Mun. Code, § 21.51.020 A.2)1 solely on the basis of the theater’s single showing of a sexually explicit film. This conclusion would follow even under ordinary principles of statutory interpretation, without resort to constitutional considerations.
The ordinance in question is a zoning ordinance, not an obscenity ordinance. As the United States Supreme Court said in Renton v. Playtime Theaters, Inc. (1986) 475 U.S. 41, 47 [89 L.Ed.2d 29, 37, 106 S.Ct. 925], such an ordinance “is aimed not at the content of the films shown at ‘adult motion picture theaters,’ but rather at the secondary effects of such theaters on the surrounding community.” (Italics in original.)
*35“[It] is difficult to imagine that only a single showing ever, or only one in a year, would have any meaningful secondary effects” on the community surrounding a motion picture theater. (Tollis, Inc. v. San Bernardino County (9th Cir. 1987) 827 F.2d 1329, 1333.) Therefore, it would not be reasonable to ascribe to the drafters of the Long Beach ordinance an intent to include a theater within the ordinance’s “adult motion picture theater” category on the basis of a single showing of a sexually explicit film, particularly in the absence of any indication on the face of the ordinance or any legislative history suggesting such an intent. Thus, I concur in the majority’s rejection of the city’s contention that the ordinance embodies a “single use” standard.
II.
Like Justice Mosk, however, I cannot join in that portion of the majority opinion which goes beyond the city’s “single use” contention and undertakes to fashion an entirely new standard for defining an “adult motion picture theater” for purposes of the Long Beach ordinance. In so doing, the majority discards the Court of Appeal’s interpretation of a virtually identical provision in Pringle v. City of Covina (1981) 115 Cal.App.3d 151 [171 Cal.Rptr. 251]. This venture by the majority is, in my view, unwarranted.
In Pringle, the appellate court construed the challenged adult entertainment zoning ordinance as applying only to theaters which showed “a preponderance” of sexually explicit films. Other appellate courts have followed Pringle in interpreting similar zoning ordinances which did not contain a precise or definite standard for determining whether a theater or bookstore fell within the reach of the ordinance. (See, e.g., Kuhns v. Board of Supervisors (1982) 128 Cal.App.3d 369, 376 [181 Cal.Rptr. 1]; Strand Property Corp. v. Municipal Court (1983) 148 Cal.App.3d 882, 889-890 [200 Cal.Rptr. 47].)
During oral argument in this case, counsel for the city was asked several times whether, in the event the court disagreed with his “single use” contention, he was urging the court to interpret the ordinance as embodying some form of intermediate standard between a “single use” standard and Pringle's “preponderance” standard. Counsel responded he was going “for broke,” and he did in fact argue only for a “single use” standard. Under these circumstances, we should not devise a compromise interpretation of our own design.
Also, in reaching out to overturn Pringle, supra, 115 Cal.App.3d 151, the majority opinion ignores the fact that, in the span of eight years since that decision, the City of Long Beach has taken no action to modify the Pringle *36test. If, in the city’s view, the “preponderance” standard is too easily evaded and does not adequately identify those theaters which produce detrimental secondary effects on the surrounding neighborhoods in its community, the city could have amended the language of its zoning ordinance to adopt an alternative, more stringent definition of adult theaters.2 Both Kuhns and Strand, which were decided in 1982 and 1983, hold that a locality is free to adopt an alternative to the preponderance standard. (See Kuhns, supra, 128 Cal.App.3d at p. 376; Strand, supra, 148 Cal.App.3d at p. 889.) Indeed, the Strand decision specifically noted that the City of San Diego had opted for this approach in September of 1982, when it amended its adult entertainment zoning ordinance to specifically define an adult theater as one which exhibits the described type of sexually explicit films “ ‘on more than 7 days within any 56-consecutive-day period.’ ” (See Strand, supra, 148 Cal.App.3d at p. 889, fn. 9.)
Here, in discarding Pringle’s “preponderance” standard, the majority opinion fails to give adequate deference to the city’s legislative prerogative.
Finally, there is an additional reason why we should leave to the city’s legislative body the task of modifying the Pringle test. Under the somewhat indefinite “regular and substantial course of conduct” standard proposed by the majority, an ordinary theater (see, e.g., Pringle, supra, 115 Cal.App.3d at p. 153 & fn. 1), which in good faith wishes to comply with the law, may have difficulty in determining whether it may show a popular, nonobscene—but sexually explicit—film once a week, once a month, or even once every two months without facing criminal charges of having turned its theater into a prohibited “adult motion picture theater.” Even if the majority’s proposed standard is sufficiently definite to survive a constitutional vagueness challenge—a question on which I would reserve judgment—it still appears unwise to thrust such a standard on a locality which has not itself opted for such an opaque definition. As Justice Mosk observes, such a standard will inevitably engender “endless court controversy” (see ante, p. 33) as to how many films must be shown over what period of time to satisfy the “regular and substantial course of conduct” test. Such litigation would ill-serve not only the administrative and financial interests of the locality *37but also the legitimate constitutional interests of theater owners and theater patrons.
There are numerous methods by which a city could reasonably define the category of theaters whose presence is likely to have detrimental secondary effects on the surrounding community without creating the enforcement problems which are likely to arise under the majority’s view. For instance, a city could define such a theater by reference to (1) the proportion of the theater’s films which are sexually explicit, (2) the number of sexually explicit films which are shown at the theater each week, each weekend or each month, (3) the nature of the films which receive top billing on the theater’s marquee or in its advertisements, or (4) the percentage of the theater’s revenues which are attributable to the showing of sexually explicit films.
A local legislative body is better equipped than this court to determine, in light of local conditions, how best to identify those theaters which are likely to become a “blight” on the local community, and to frame a definition which local authorities can enforce and which will provide adequate guidance to those who wish to comply with the law.3
Accordingly, although I concur in the majority’s rejection of the city’s “single use” contention and in the affirmance of the Court of Appeal judgment, I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion insofar as it ventures beyond the city’s “single use” claim.
Broussard, J., concurred.
The petition of real parties in interest for a rehearing was denied August 24, 1989. Mosk, J., and Broussard, J., were of the opinion that the petition should be granted.
*38Appendix
Long Beach Municipal Code
Chapter 21.51
Section 21.51.010 Purpose.
The city council finds that adult entertainment businesses, because of their very nature, are recognized as having objectionable operational characteristics, particularly when several of them are concentrated under certain circumstances, thereby having a deleterious effect upon the adjacent areas. Special locational regulation of these businesses is necessary to insure that these adverse effects will not contribute to the blighting or downgrading of the surrounding neighborhoods. The primary purpose of the regulation is to prevent the concentration or clustering of these businesses in any one area. This chapter shall be deemed a reenactment of the preexisting ordinance on this subject matter. (Ord. C-5487 § l(part), 1979; prior code § 9120.17(a)). Section 21.51.020 Definitions
A. For purposes of this chapter, the adult entertainment businesses are defined as follows:
2. “Adult motion picture theater” means an enclosed building with a capacity of fifty or more persons used for presenting material distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas for observation by patrons therein.
B. For purposes of this chapter, “specified sexual activities” shall include the following:
1. Actual or simulated sexual intercourse, oral copulation, anal intercourse, oral anal copulation, bestiality, direct physical stimulation of unclothed genitals, flagellation or torture in the context of sexual relationship, or the use of excretory functions in the context of a sexual relationship, and any of the following depicted sexually oriented acts or conduct: analingus, buggery, coprophagy, coprophilia, cunnilingus, fellatio, necrophilia, pederasty, pedophilia, piquerism, sapphism, zooerasty; or
2. Clearly depicted human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation, arousal or tumescence; or
3. Use of human or animal masturbation, sodomy, oral copulation, coitus, ejaculation; or
4. Fondling or touching of nude human genitals, pubic region, buttocks or female breast; or
5. Masochism, erotic or sexually oriented torture, beating or the infliction of pain; or
6. Erotic or lewd touching, fondling or other contact with an animal by a human being; or
7. Human excretion, urination, menstruation, vaginal or anal irrigation.
C. For purposes of this chapter, “specified anatomical areas” shall include the following:
1. Less than completely and opaquely covered human genitals, pubic region, buttock, and female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola; and
2. Human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered. (Ord. C-5497 § 1 (part), 1979; prior code § 9120.17(b)).
Section 21.51.030 Location Restricted.
A. In those land use districts where the adult entertainment businesses regulated by this chapter would otherwise be permitted uses, it shall be unlawful to establish any such adult entertainment business if the location is:
1. Within five hundred feet of any area zoned for residential use;
2. Within one thousand feet of any other adult entertainment business; or
3. Within one thousand feet of any public or private school, park, playground, public building, church, any noncommercial establishment operated by a bona fide religious organization, or any establishment likely to be used by minors.
B. The establishment of any adult entertainment business shall include the opening of such a business as a new business, the relocation of the business, or the conversion of an existing business location to any adult entertainment business use. (Ord. C-5487 § 1 (part), 1979; prior code § 9120.17(c)).
Section 21.51.040 Variance.
A. Any property owner or his authorized agent may apply for relief from the locational provisions of this chapter by applying for a standards variance as provided in this title. To grant such a request the following additional findings must be made:
1. That the proposed use will not be contrary to the public interest or injurious to nearby properties and that the spirit and intent of this chapter will be observed;
2. That the proposed use will not enlarge or encourage the development of a skid row area;
3. That the establishment of an additional regulated use in the area will not be contrary to any program of neighborhood conservation nor will it interfere with any program of urban renewal; and
4. That all applicable regulations of the municipal code will be observed.
B. The procedure for this hearing shall be the same as that provided for a standards variance in this title. (Ord. C-5487 § 1 (part), 1979; prior code § 9120.17(d)).

Section 21.51.020 provides in relevant part: “A. For purposes of this chapter, the adult entertainment businesses are defined as follows:
“2. ‘Adult motion picture theater’ means an enclosed building with a capacity of fifty or more persons used for presenting material distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas for observation by patrons therein.”

Contrary to the implication in the majority opinion (see ante, p. 26 & fn. 8), there is nothing in Pringle which suggests that its “preponderance” standard represented any sort of constitutional “floor” for adult entertainment zoning ordinances in general. Although the Pringle court did hold that the term “used” in the ordinance at issue in that case could not constitutionally be interpreted to mean a “single use” (Pringle, supra, 115 Cal.App.3d at pp. 161-162), the court did not in any way intimate that local entities were constitutionally prohibited from adopting any definition of an adult theater that was more restrictive than a preponderance standard. And, as noted hereafter in the body of my concurring and dissenting opinion, other courts have not interpreted Pringle as adopting such a restriction.

Unlike Justice Mosk, I do not read the governing federal decisions as requiring a local entity to point to specific empirical evidence to support its choice of one particular definition of “adult theater” over another. The lead opinion in Young v. American Mini Theatres (1976) 427 U.S. 50, 71 [49 L.Ed.2d 310, 327, 96 S.Ct. 2440], makes it clear that a city “must be allowed a reasonable opportunity to experiment with solutions to admittedly serious problems.” Of course, any definition which is chosen must not be “ ‘a pretext for suppressing expression’ ” (see Renton, supra, 475 U.S. at p. 54 [89 L.Ed.2d at p. 42] [quoting Young, supra, 427 U.S. at p. 84 [49 L.Ed.2d at p. 334] (Powell, J. conc.)]), but must be selected as a reasonable means of protecting the community from adverse secondary effects.