City lowers curtain on porn shop idea City lowers curtain on porn shop idea (December 09, 2005)

Staff reversal disqualifies company from El Camino Real site

By Jon Wiener

An Arizona-based pornography and sex toy shop has dropped plans to open an outlet in Mountain View after city staff reversed an earlier decision and determined that the shop did fall under the city's adult entertainment ordinance.

"It's pretty much nixed at this point," said Patrick Jagos, general manager of Fascinations. Jagos blamed the staff's reversal on the public outcry against the location of the proposed store, an empty El Camino storefront next to Baskin Robbins and blocks from another adult store and several elementary schools.

Residents of the area had bombarded the city council with e-mails and phone calls protesting the store ever since a Voice article two weeks ago. At the time, the store appeared poised to open, having won the approval of the city attorney's office as a retail store, based on a floor plan that included not just sex toys and videos but also a section labeled "housewares."

"Everything was hunky-dory," said Jagos.

But then Jagos submitted more detailed building plans, including a mezzanine level not previously shown. City staff also took a look at the company's Web site. That was enough for the staff to determine that Fascinations was an adult business, meaning that Jagos would have to build at least 1,000 feet away from any other adult stores and 400 feet from residential areas.

City attorney Michael Martello met with Jagos last week, along with planning manager Whitney McNair and community development director Elaine Costello. Martello said Jagos appeared to be honest and acting in good faith, but that he had not given the city enough information to make an informed judgment about the company.

"I'm delighted that the process works," said council member Laura Macias, who had failed to get enough support at a November city council meeting for her proposal to rewrite the city's adult ordinance.

Macias accused Fascinations of trying to take advantage of a loophole in the city code by misrepresenting itself as a retail store, as "just another little Victoria's Secret." She said that she still wants the council to rewrite the adult ordinance.

"They try to find places where they can move into," said Macias. "Oftentimes they look for old outdated ordinances."

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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