HOUSTON, TX — As 2008 ended, the City of Houston was handed what officials hail as a major legal victory in its long-running battle with strip clubs and erotic boutiques. According to a state district court, such businesses can be considered “public nuisances.”The most recent decision, handed down December 31st, permanently shuttered The Penthouse Club, which has been at the center of a local legal battle for at least a year. The club was closed in September, after a state district judge issued a temporary injunction pending trial. On Wednesday, outgoing State District Judge Caroline Baker ruled the club may not reopen, and nothing else may open at the location for 12 calendar months. In addition, the property never again may be used to house any sort of sexually oriented business.

The Penthouse Club case represented a turning point in Houston’s attempts to enforce its embattled SOB ordinance, which requires a 1,500-foot buffer zone between adult establishments and schools, daycare centers, parks and churches. Passed in 1997, the law was challenged early and often. For the most part, it has been ignored by adult business owners because the courts seemed disposed to side against the city on constitutional grounds.

In The Penthouse Club case, the city took a new direction: suing for permanent closure based on alleged violations of local nuisance laws because of traffic and indecency issues.

In the end, the court agreed with the city, ordering not only the club’s permanent closure but also payment of $42,000 in legal fees incurred by the city.