After being forced out of Gilroy, county officials warn sex club
it violates land-use permit
After relocating to an unincorporated area of Santa Clara County
last month to escape the city of Gilroy’s efforts to shut the club
down, owners of The Forum Adult Social Club are finding out that
county officials are just as determined.
After being forced out of Gilroy, county officials warn sex club it violates land-use permit
After relocating to an unincorporated area of Santa Clara County last month to escape the city of Gilroy’s efforts to shut the club down, owners of The Forum Adult Social Club are finding out that county officials are just as determined.
On Monday, county zoning investigator Jim Lanz notified the owner of the home that now houses the controversial swinging club that the property is in violation of county zoning regulations.
The letter stipulates that the owner must get the proper land-use permit, request an extension or cease all activities at the club by Dec. 26.
“We haven’t issued any citations yet, only the notice,” said Santa Clara County Deputy County Council Lizanne Reynolds. “The property owner still has a chance to remedy the violation. Right now, we’re taking things one step at a time and waiting for his response.”
The club’s owner, Deena Luce, declined to comment, threatened a lawsuit and told a reporter he would be subpoenaed for not revealing who had told him about the letter.
Prior to moving to the unincorporated area just northeast of the city limits this month, the club had been operating on 5400 Monterey Road in Gilroy since Aug. 16. When Gilroy city officials found out, they issued weekly citations and held police stakeouts. Mayor Tom Springer and council members Bob Dillon and Craig Gartman also watched patrons coming and going one evening.
For the previous two and a half years of its nine-year existence, the club operated from a house in unincorporated Santa Clara County outside of Morgan Hill near Railroad and Tennant Avenues.
Since moving to Gilroy, the couple-swapping club set off a legal chain of events. In September, the city’s request for a temporary restraining order that would have shut the controversial club down was denied.
In October, by a 7-0 vote, the city council adopted an amendment to an existing city code regarding the regulation of adult businesses.
Now the county wants to see what steps can be taken now that the club has moved.
“We have received a few complaints from neighbors and the investigation is just beginning,” said Reynolds. “There are no findings yet, but the nature of the use may or may not be important.”
Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage, who represents the area where The Forum is located, wants to see the process move forward but emphasized that neighbors and those concerned over the club’s operation must be patient.
“I’m not happy that they’re there but we may not be able to do anything,” said Gage. “We are checking into this with the county council. If they are private and don’t charge people, they may be within the law. And they don’t claim they charge people.”
