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The Washington Court of Appeals, Division One, today reaffirmed the City was within its rights to close down Jiggles, a controversial strip club at 5220 Roosevelt Way NE.

In an unpublished opinion, the court held that a business license application does not trigger vested rights under the Seattle Municipal Code and that use of the City’s standard, 120-day timeline for making permit decisions did not amount to an unconstitutional infringement of the First Amendment rights of Jiggles’ owner, Robert D. Davis.

Davis had appealed a ruling by Judge Suzanne Barnett of King County Superior Court that said as long as the City’s zoning rules are reasonable, it has a right to disperse adult cabarets. The City argued that Jiggles’ location violated a zoning buffer requirement because it was located within 800 feet of a school, child care center, community center and public park.

Davis leased the property and operated Jiggles between December 2010 and March 2011, when Barnett ordered it to be closed.

Full text of Court of Appeals decision

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