Judge strips club of right to stay open

A San Diego Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday afternoon that EyeCandy Showgirls is violating the city of Chula Vista’s zoning ordinance and ordered that it shut down immediately.

Deborah Fox, who represented the city of Chula Vista, said she will draft the injunction as soon as possible and give EyeCandy attorney Roger Diamond a chance to review it before sending it to the judge for approval.

Through six days of trial Fox contested that Chula Vista had its zoning ordinance in place since 1979, and that EyeCandy and owner Randy Welty had “ignored the rules of the game.”

The city’s zoning ordinance states that there has to be a 500-foot buffer between adult-oriented businesses and residentially-zoned property. Based on the city’s measurements, EyeCandy sits within 475.95 feet of residentially-zoned property on E Street.

The city of Chula Vista eventually plans to build a transit-oriented development filled with highrise residential housing near the trolley stop at 750 E St. and EyeCandy is adjacent to that property.

Diamond had argued that EyeCandy, at 215 Bay Blvd., does not need to meet the zoning code because it is located on Bay Boulevard, not on E Street, where he said the zoning code applies.

“The (zoning) property itself, which is the focus of our case here, that property is not on a street or streets that is occupied by EyeCandy, because EyeCandy is on Bay Boulevard,” he said.

Judge Richard E.L. Strauss said although EyeCandy sits on the corner of two streets, it is still in violation of the law.

“The major way to get to this (EyeCandy) property from most of Chula Vista is E Street,” Strauss said. “Whether you’re coming from the center of town to the east or you’re using the north or south off ramps on the freeway, they all go to E Street and E Street leads to the property. The property is adjacent to and on E Street as well as Bay (Boulevard).”

Welty falsely told the city he was opening a comedy club named Amberhand Entertainment two years ago, but to the city’s surprise he opened EyeCandy.

Fox questioned Welty’s motives for not opening a comedy club as filled out on the business application.

“His comedy club was a farce, it was a repeat performance of the same thing he had done with opening the Flesh Club in the city of San Bernardino,” she said. “It’s a calculated strategy, your honor; ignore the rules, lie about your intentions and then litigate for years.”

Fox said the judge made the correct ruling.

“This is a great victory for the city of Chula Vista, the fact that he said they are in the wrong place and they need to be stopped that’s why he issued an injunction,” she said outside the court room.

Diamond said he will appeal the court’s decision.