An all-nude strip club in Chula Vista is being investigated by Chula Vista Police to determine if a law barring nude lap dances has been violated.
In Twitter posts, Eyecandy Showgirls advertises itself as the only nude dance club that offers fully nude lap dances in San Diego County, while an employee on Wednesday said the business continues to offer the dances.
A 30-plus-year-old live entertainment ordinance was updated by the City Council Nov. 1, three weeks after Eyecandy Showgirls appeared on the city’s bayfront last year.
The law limited the establishment’s hours of operation, prohibited direct touching between patrons and performers and implemented a six-feet of separation rule, which went into effect immediately.
The revised ordinance also gave the cabaret theater 90 days to make aesthetic changes, such as adding a fixed stage with a barrier or rail.
“Because we’ve not completed our work there we are not prepared to bring any charges otherwise to site owners, operators or performers,” said police Capt. Gary Ficacci.
Eyecandy attorney Roger Diamond said neither he nor his client received notice from the city regarding updates to the ordinance affecting sexually oriented businesses.
“I haven’t received a call for help or been notified from the city or my client,” Diamond said. “If there’s a problem at all, I would expect the city to call me and tell me … I would think the city is doing what most cities do, which is wait for something bad to happen.”
Chula Vista City Attorney Glen Googins said he doesn’t know that anyone is officially responsible for notifying businesses of ordinance changes.
“When (to notify) is determined on a case-by-case basis, based on nature, the extent of changes in the code and number of impacted businesses,” he said. “In the case of Eyecandy our outside counsel, Deborah Fox, notified the owner and his attorney.”
Fox wrote them a letter dated Nov. 8, advising them of the adoption of the ordinance and that the changes applied to them, according to Googins.
Googins said in an email Wednesday that he is “not aware of any changes by Eyecandy in their operations or their facility to comply with the city’s code.”
“If Eyecandy is found to be in violation of the city’s code they will be notified of the violation and be given an opportunity to comply,” Googins wrote.
“They would also be given the opportunity to appeal the city’s determination through an administrative hearing process. If after this process they are still found to be in violation and still fail to comply, the city would have the option of filing a lawsuit to obtain a court order to mandate compliance.”
Diamond said the last thing he and his client want is the city to shut it down.
“If the citizens of Chula Vista do not want this business they will not patronize the business and it will fail,” Diamond said. “We want to see the free market operate. If the business is causing any problem at all, we’d like to be notified immediately so we could solve the problem.”
An earlier version of this story stated a city ordinance was updated Oct. 30. The ordinance was updated Nov. 1.
