Bikini stands not unlawful
Published on Tue, Oct 18, 2011 by Gloria HirashimaRead More Voices
In response to the letters from Ms. Joy Rice that were published in local newspapers, Mayor Nehring is not responsible for authorizing business licenses, and certainly not for the bikini barista business identified.
Ms. Rice contacted us a year ago with similar comments and wrote a similar letter that was printed in local papers. I wrote a response on behalf of the city of Marysville to Ms. Rice and the local papers. Mayor Nehring contacted Ms. Rice via telephone, as did one of our council members replying to her concerns.
Here is the response that I provided a year ago-it still holds true today:
Marysville and other cities have had espresso stands featuring bikini-clad baristas operating since these uses became profitable a few years ago. Cities have certain abilities to regulate uses and signage under state and local laws. In this case, the espresso stand is a legal use in a commercial zone. The fact that the baristas are bikini-clad is unfortunate, but not illegal. We did review this type of use several months ago, after the signage was installed which generated multiple complaints from citizens to our elected officials. We asked our city attorney for a legal opinion on whether we could deem the signage obscene and regulate it as a moral nuisance. The short answer was "no," based on Washington state law and Washington Supreme Court decisions.
The city, through the efforts of our Police Department, continues to monitor activities at the espresso stands and will investigate complaints. If the conduct at the stands was deemed illegal, by virtue of employee behavior or activities occurring at the stand, our police would cite or arrest, as appropriate.
Ms. Rice later contacted the city regarding the Sumner ordinance. We then researched the Sumner ordinance to see if they had found a new way of dealing with these uses. The Sumner ordinance is a "lewd conduct" ordinance similar to a provision for "unlawful public exposure" that Marysville has had on the books for years. It can be found at MMC 6.6.30.030.
MMC 6.30.030 states: It is unlawful for any person to intentionally commit any act constituting unlawful public exposure as defined in this chapter.
The Marysville ordinance regulates to the same extent as Sumner the degree of exposure that must exist to constitute an offense. The degree of exposure that constitutes an offense is stated in MMC 6.30.020(8). This language goes as far as our courts have accepted under the Constitutional 1st Amendment Free Speech and Freedom of Expression guarantees.
If the bikini baristas engage in behavior that is in violation of the ordinance, Marysville police have the ability to cite them criminally. The City of Marysville police found such behavior at an espresso stand in Lakewood about a year and a half ago and cited the employees involved. That particular business closed soon thereafter.
We did provide our conclusions to Ms. Rice last year as well. The city is always available to consider the concerns and answer questions of Ms. Rice or other citizens regarding these businesses.
Gloria J. Hirashima
Chief Administrative Officer
City of Marysville
Ms. Rice contacted us a year ago with similar comments and wrote a similar letter that was printed in local papers. I wrote a response on behalf of the city of Marysville to Ms. Rice and the local papers. Mayor Nehring contacted Ms. Rice via telephone, as did one of our council members replying to her concerns.
Here is the response that I provided a year ago-it still holds true today:
Marysville and other cities have had espresso stands featuring bikini-clad baristas operating since these uses became profitable a few years ago. Cities have certain abilities to regulate uses and signage under state and local laws. In this case, the espresso stand is a legal use in a commercial zone. The fact that the baristas are bikini-clad is unfortunate, but not illegal. We did review this type of use several months ago, after the signage was installed which generated multiple complaints from citizens to our elected officials. We asked our city attorney for a legal opinion on whether we could deem the signage obscene and regulate it as a moral nuisance. The short answer was "no," based on Washington state law and Washington Supreme Court decisions.
The city, through the efforts of our Police Department, continues to monitor activities at the espresso stands and will investigate complaints. If the conduct at the stands was deemed illegal, by virtue of employee behavior or activities occurring at the stand, our police would cite or arrest, as appropriate.
Ms. Rice later contacted the city regarding the Sumner ordinance. We then researched the Sumner ordinance to see if they had found a new way of dealing with these uses. The Sumner ordinance is a "lewd conduct" ordinance similar to a provision for "unlawful public exposure" that Marysville has had on the books for years. It can be found at MMC 6.6.30.030.
MMC 6.30.030 states: It is unlawful for any person to intentionally commit any act constituting unlawful public exposure as defined in this chapter.
The Marysville ordinance regulates to the same extent as Sumner the degree of exposure that must exist to constitute an offense. The degree of exposure that constitutes an offense is stated in MMC 6.30.020(8). This language goes as far as our courts have accepted under the Constitutional 1st Amendment Free Speech and Freedom of Expression guarantees.
If the bikini baristas engage in behavior that is in violation of the ordinance, Marysville police have the ability to cite them criminally. The City of Marysville police found such behavior at an espresso stand in Lakewood about a year and a half ago and cited the employees involved. That particular business closed soon thereafter.
We did provide our conclusions to Ms. Rice last year as well. The city is always available to consider the concerns and answer questions of Ms. Rice or other citizens regarding these businesses.
Gloria J. Hirashima
Chief Administrative Officer
City of Marysville
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