SAN ANTONIO – Topless dancers in San Antonio will have a little more to wear after the city council on Friday ordered them to carry permits while performing.
The council, attempting to curb the number of clubs in the city, also banned nude dancing and “lap dancing” and ordered performers to keep a decent distance from patrons, drawing a vow from clubs to fight the restrictions in court.
“My constituents are tired of seeing these clubs drive down their property values,” said city council member Chip Haas, who represents the northeast district where a number of the clubs opened in the past few years.
The rules, similar to regulations adopted in Houston and other U.S. cities, require dancers stay at least 3 feet from club patrons and wear the $50-permits while working. The driver’s license-sized permits may be attached to dancers’ G-strings, or to bracelets around their ankles.
Jim DeeGear, attorney for 12 of San Antonio’s topless clubs, said he would seek to have the rules declared unconstitutional.
“It’s easy to pick on these people because a lot of people say, ‘well, we don’t much care for the way they earn their living,'” DeeGear said.
City Attorney Andy Martin said similar rules have already withstood court challenge around the country.