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DIAMOND ADULT WORLD WINS MAJOR VICTORY IN GROVER BEACH STORE LOCATION
By: Keith Wtichka, Staff Writer 9-18-07 3:21 p.m. PDT
The Grover Beach City Council voted yesterday Monday September 17th, 2007, to end their legal battle against Diamond Adult World, as council members decided against appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes of closing the downtown adult store."this case is over,” Grover Beach Mayor Steve Lieberman told JRL after the City Council's closed session.
The offiicials of Grove Beach, CA have wanted the store out of its zoning area since it opened in December 2003, and a zoning ordinance was passed in February 2004 that made its location illegal.
The city had lost its suit to close Diamond Adult World in August when the 9th U.S. District Court of Appeals found in favor of the store by a 2-1 vote.
In fact, residence have spoken out in favor of Diamond Adult World quoting one particular resident as saying "Everybody has the option of going into any type of business if they like it or don't like it. I don't think he should be penalized for the type of business he has."
City officials still believe they have the right to regulate land use but they say it would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to take the case to Washington.
In a press release, the council said the decision was based on advice from the city attorney, who said that because there was no constitutional issue in the case, a review by the Supreme Court was "unlikely."
Owner Steve Diamond told KSBY-TV in San Luis Obispo that he has mixed feelings about the decision.
"I was a little disappointed," Diamond said. "I was looking for more of a fight. I think this is one of the smarter decisions they've made in quite a while.
Click to watch the full length KSBY-TV story on their local primetime news broadcast.
Our Bill of Rights, our Constitution is getting destroyed by small cities that pick on the small person that can't afford the fight."
Diamond said he will work on bringing more customers back to the Grover Beach store, which had reduced its adult merchandise to 25 percent in September 2005 while the case was on appeal. Diamond said he also is thinking of opening other stores in San Luis Obispo County.
Now that the battle with the City of Grover Beach is over, Diamond says the so-called camouflage can come to a halt as well. He says he plans to be a 100 percent adult shop and no one under 18 will be admitted. Diamond Adult World has several locations through Southern California and with this victory, you can expect to see new Diamond Adult World locations opening soon.
