PENDLETON, Ore. — After struggling to regulate stripper bars, a small town along the Columbia River in eastern Oregon is ready to adopt rules to prohibit new ones in its downtown district.
The East Oregonian newspaper reports that Umatilla’s planning commission voted Tuesday to turn a rewritten 90-page commercial zoning rulebook over to the city council for final adoption. The vote finishes a battle that started in July 2014 after residents opposed a third strip club in the town.
The rules restrict adult entertainment businesses and marijuana dispensaries away from downtown. Current strip clubs would be grandfathered as long as they do not change ownership.
Moratoriums on adult businesses and marijuana dispensaries have been in place while the city crafts new rules.
The city council will discuss the new rules May 5.
