Laserfiche WebLink
October 3,1997 <br />s <br />mu« answer the preliminary quesUon of whether First Amendment pro- <br />tectiom are at all Implicated in this case. The trial coun believed they <br />were because [p]art of (Fantasy House's] Inventory consists of materials <br />siK* as ^ult wdeos, greeUng cards with sexually explicit messages, and <br />T-shiits , Crystal argues that Fantasy House is not entitled to First <br />Amendment protections because its operations have only an incidental <br />relationship to speech-related activities.’ <br />S!!?' appioximately 2% of Fantasy House s malerials are o« ihe <br />Amendment protection. Fantasy House fwtes that Crystal cites <br />^ ^ assertion. We shart not enter the thicket pre ­ <br />sently by the question of whether Rrst AMendment protections apply only when a <br />wirtahj^^rcerit of materials sold by an estabGshmeni are of the type qualifying for that <br />Wc recognize that without First Amendinent protection, Fantasy House <br />would face an insurmountable task in challenging these municipal ordi­ <br />nances. See Wedemeyer v. City of Minneapolis, 540 N.W.2d 539, 543 <br />(Minn. App. 1995) (municipal ordinances are valid, absent proof that they <br />are clearly discriminatory and lack any relation to public health, safety, or <br />general welfare); Chase v. City of Minneapolis, 401 N \V.2d 408, 412 <br />(Minn. App. 1987) (standard of review for zoning decisions is whether <br />action was re^onable and not arbitrary and capricious). Therefore, <br />b^ause wc deem it important to reach the substantive issues presented by <br />this case, and because consideration of the substantive issues results in a <br />inclusion that the ordinances are constitutional even when tested under <br />Rrsi Amendm^t principles, we shall assume, without so holding, that <br />Fantasy House is indeed entitled to First Amendment protection. <br />Constitutionality of the Interim Ordinance <br />Crystal concedes that the interim ordinance provided no place in Ciystal <br />for w adult business to locate, but argues that Minn. Siai. § 462 355, subd. <br />4 (1996), gives it broad powers to create such an ordinance. Wc agree. <br />Minn. Stat. § 462.355, subd. 4, reads in relevant part: <br />If a municipality is conducting studies or has authorized a study to <br />be conducted or has held or has scheduled a hearing for the pur­ <br />pose of considering adoption • • • of (an ordinance] • • • the <br />governing body of the municipality may adopt an interim ordi­ <br />nance applicable to all or part of its jurisdiction for the purpose of <br />protecting the planning process and the health, safety and welfare <br />of its citizens. The interim ordinance may regulate, restrict or pro­ <br />hibit any use • • • within the jurisdiction • • • for a period not to <br />exceed one year from the date it is effective • • <br />TTic record indicates that Crystal complied with these requireme' ts. The <br />interim ordinance mandated that city officials study the "effect of faduli] <br />uses on other uses in the surrounding area" and present the results to the <br />Planning Commission and City Council. <br />^ A moratorium may be enacted for a limited duration if appropriate stud- <br />IM arc conducted and zoning ordinances arc expeditiously adopted. <br />N.W.2d at 542. Here, a permanent ordinance was <br />idopced^proximately seven months after enactment of the interim ordi­ <br />nance. This was expeditious as a matter of law. <br />We are aware, also, that a city may not enact an interim ordinance in an <br />iroltrary manner to limit a certain project. Medical Services, Inc. v. City <br />of Savage, 487 N.W.2d 263,267 (Minn. App. 1992). There is no possibil­ <br />ity that the interirn ordinance at issue here was enacted to limit a certain <br />project interim ordinance was enacted at least three months before <br />Crystal mame aware that Fantasy House was planning to open for busi­ <br />ness in Crystal. <br />Fantasy House claims that Wedemeyer and Medical Services arc an <br />yparent contradiction to other holdings of this court. DI MA Corp. v. <br />City of St Cloud, 562 N.W.2d 312, 321-22 (Minn. App. 1997) ("A city <br />cannot ban adult uses totally or fail to provide reasonable sites for rcloca- <br />S?? a A Alexrnder v. City of Minneapolis, 928 F 2d 278. <br />283-84 (&h Cir. 1991)), review denied (Minn. July 28, 1997). The dis­ <br />tinction, however, is simple: while a cit> can rarely ban a panicular use <br />with a permanent zoning ordinance, Minnesota law created n '•rim zon- <br />log ordinances for just such a moratorium. See Minn. Slut. § 462 355. <br />subd. 4. <br />Constitutionality of the Permanent Ordinance <br />We turn now to United States Supreme Court case law that describes the <br />standards an ordinance must meet to comply with the con^iiiutinnal <br />r^uirements for restricting adult establishmeot.s. Content-neutral time, <br />place, and manner regulations arc constitutional if **ury arc designed u> <br />CwrtcfAppesli 'i <br />Finance and C ommerce A ppellate C our ts Editic <br />______.s-a____■ ! ---------------------------------------- •serve a substantial government interest and do not unreasonably limi,’ <br />alternative avenues of communication. Clly of Renton v. PlavuZ <br />nieatres. inc. 475 U.S. 41.47.106 S. CL 921928 (1986). Whc,h« "e <br />permanent ordinance is a valid content-neutral, time, place, and manner <br />regulation was not addressed by the trial court and was not raised as an <br />issue in this a; peal. Therefore, wc focus our analysis on whether ihc per­ <br />manent ordin^ce docs serve a substantial government interest and docs <br />not unreasonably limit alternative avenues of communication. <br />A. Narrowly tailored to serve a substantial government interest. <br />Courts have consistently held that preventing the negative secondary <br />effects associated with adult establishments is a substantial government <br />interest unrelated to the suppression of free expression. Sec City of <br />Renton, 475 U.S. at 50-5 1,106 S. Cl. at 930-3 1; ILQ Investment, Inc. v. <br />City of Rochester, 25 F.3d 1413, U16(8ihCir. 1994). <br />For Crystal to prove that its permanent ordinance is narrowly tailored to <br />the government interest, it must prove that adult establishments cause <br />negative secondary effects. In doing so. <br />(tjhc First Amendment docs not require a city • • • to conduct <br />new studies or produce evidence independent of that already gen­ <br />erated by other cities, so long as whatever evidence the city relies <br />upon is reasonably believed to be relevant to the problem that the <br />city addresses. <br />City of Renton, 475 U.S. at 51 -52, 106 S. Cl. at 931 (emphasis added). <br />In this case. Crystal relied on studies of businesses that allow on-site <br />consumption of sexually explicit material to prove that all adult establish ­ <br />ments cause negative secondary effects. <br />1 Examples of adult establishments that provide on-site consumption of sexually <br />explicit material include massage parlors, nude dance dubs, adutt movie theaters, <br />and adult establishments that provide booths for privately viewing adult movies <br />Fantasy House provides no on-site consumption of sexually explidt material. <br />The trial court agreed with Fantasy House’s position that the difference <br />between businesses that provide on-site consumption of sc.xually e.xplicii <br />material and those that do not is so significant that the studies of busi­ <br />nesses providing on- site consumption could not reasonably be relied <br />upon to restrict businesses that do not provide on-siic consumption. <br />Because it rejected the city s reliance on these studies, the trial court held <br />that the permanent ordinance* <br />The trial court’s holding actually encompassed both the irterim arxl permarwnt erdi- <br />nafKes. In view ol our earlier analysis of the constitutionality of the Interim ordinance, <br />we limit our consideration of the trial courTs determination on this issue to the perma- <br />nent ordinance only. ^ <br />was not narrowly tailored to a substantial government interest and was <br />unconstitutional. <br />While we do not dispute that distinctions may. indeed, be drawn <br />between on-site and off-site consumption in regulating adult establish ­ <br />ments, we conclude that case law does not support the"trial court s con­ <br />clusion. The distinction between businesses that provide on-site con­ <br />sumption and those that do not has been considered by this court and <br />rejected as "simply not the law.- City of Ramsey v. Holmbere, 548 <br />N.W.2d 302, 306 (Minn. App. 1996), review denied (Minn. Aue. 6, <br />1996). A city need only prove that the ordinance targets businesses "rea ­ <br />sonably believed to produce at least some of the unwanted secondary <br />effects • • Id. (quoting ILQ Investments. 25 F.3d at 1418).* <br />fX)t€ the strong dissent In City of Aamtty and other case law that would charac- <br />terlze thiu distinction at fundamental. See, e.g., 2J. Qltu v. City of Aurora. 932 <br />F.Supp. 1256,1258 (0. Colo. 1996) (calling analysis In ILQ flawed for considering the <br />subjective Intent of the city instead of the objective effects on the freedom to ce nmu- <br />nlcate). Further. In its amicus brief. Minnesota Civil Liberties Union (MCLU) cites 44 <br />Llquormart v. Rhode Island, 116 S. Cl. 1495 (1996) to argue lhat the ordinances <br />upheld in ILQ and City of Ramsey would no longer be upheld 44 Liquormart holds <br />that a state legislature does not have broad discretion to suppress truthful nonnus- <br />leading advertising to further a state goat wvhen non speech-reiated alternatives are <br />available. 116 S. Cl. at 1511. A concurrence states lhat courts must carefully exam ­ <br />ine statutes lhat restnci speech aDegedly to further a state goat. 116 S Ct at 1522 <br />O’Connor. J.. concurnng. <br />However. ILQ and Clly of Ramzey did not base their upholding of ordinances on <br />any perceived di^relion to suppress truthful, nonmisleading speech. Instead, these <br />courts based their holdings on the conclusion that the distinction between businesses <br />that provide on-$rte consumption and businesses that do not is irrelevant. Such inde ­ <br />pendent judicial determinations demonstrate that ILQ and City of Ramsey gave iheir <br />re spective ordinances sufficiently stncl scrutiny <br />Wc believe that the test established by the Supreme Court in City of <br />Rentun requires us to answer the following question: Did Crystal rcu-