Posted on 08/12/2003 7:25:27 AM PDT by bedolido
SEATTLE - A small trip of land in the back of a Lake City strip club ignited a firestorm of controversy. A couple of months ago, the Seattle City Council approved rezoning the land so Rick's Nightclub could add eight parking spaces.
But on Monday, in a rare move, the council rescinded its own vote and took back the rezoning in what has become one of the most embarrassing controversies at City Hall.
"The integrity and reputation of this council has been called into question," said Peter Steinbrueck, Seattle City Council.
It turns out that three council members - Judy Nicastro, Heidi Wills, and Jim Compton - received more than $30,000 in campaign contributions. They were all linked to Frank Colacurcio, the owner of the strip club, and his associates.
"It looks very suspicious, the appearance of fairness certainly doesn't wash," said Lake City activist Kelly Meinig.
Meinig and her neighbors have spend years fighting the strip club expansion. When they tried contacting city council members, they were told it's against the law for council members to talk about rezoning issues outside of public hearings.
But now, Compton admits he was lobbied behind the scenes by strip club supporters before he voted for the rezone.
"What is going on is neither democratic or fair," said Meinig.
"The action before you is intended to simply remedy any questions of fairness if the case comes up again, I will examine the facts and exert my independent judgment as I did before."
Compton, Wills and Nicastro refused interviews Monday, but council president Peter Steinbrueck apologized for his colleagues and promised the council is done talking about the issue and the strip club will have to live with the parking it has.
"Not as long as I'm council president do I expect this to be re-referred to the council," said Steinbrueck.
Steinbrueck said all council members and staff will undergo a retraining session on the rules about handling matters such as rezoning.
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