Private nudist swimming cancelled by Iceoplex under city pressure
QUINN EASTMAN ñ North County Times
February 23, 2005
ESCONDIDO[CALIF] ---- Nude swimming parties previously scheduled monthly at the Iceoplex swimming pool in Escondido will no longer take place, city and police officials said Wednesday.
The San Diego nudist club Naturally California, which rented the Iceoplex pool for the private parties, describes them as wholesome family activities involving swimming, volleyball and soaking in a Jacuzzi.
"We are not streakers, exhibitionists or voyeurs," said Brian Spence, the club's owner. "Skinny-dipping is as American as baseball and apple pie."
Naturally California had held the swimming parties at Iceoplex for the last five years, according to Spence. But that quiet business relationship ended swiftly this week after a self-described Christian community activist from San Diego contacted Escondido city and police officials.
"We really don't want this type of thing in our city," said City Councilwoman Marie Waldron. "We don't have to tolerate everything."
Police officials said they have no evidence of criminal activity occurring during the parties at Iceoplex, but the fitness and aquatics center at 555 N. Tulip St. canceled the event ---- the next one was scheduled for March 13 ---- to avoid adverse publicity after a visit Wednesday by Escondido police. Managers at Iceoplex did not return calls Wednesday.
Waldron said she asked the police chief and the city attorney to investigate Wednesday after receiving several e-mails from concerned individuals including James Hartline, who said he was a member of the Mission Valley Christian Fellowship and lives in Hillcrest.
Hartline said he was especially concerned about Naturally California after viewing its Web site and seeing pictures of what appeared to be an 11- or 12-year-old boy naked with adults at a skating rink. He had also recently pressured a skating rink in Santee not to allow the nudist group to rent the rink, he said.
"What sick parent would allow their child to be completely exposed to adult men showing them their genitals?" Hartline wrote in an e-mail message sent to the North County Times.
The club had been using a Yahoo Groups service to communicate with its members, but by noon Wednesday all of the e-mail notices sent to members for the last few years were removed from the group's site, so there was no way to confirm Hartline's allegations.
Hartline has also organized campaigns to support keeping the Mount Soledad cross in La Jolla in its present location.
Nudism is a subculture devoted to enjoying outdoor activities without clothes dating back to the 1930s, according to the American Association of Nude Recreation, which claims 50,000 members across the country.
Some nudist organizations have their own land, but Naturally California does not and must rent out private facilities for its events. Naturally California has about 100 members, and many live in North County, said Spence.
It is rare for children to attend Naturally California events, but if they are present, they attend only with the permission of their parents, he said.
"These are children who were raised in a nude environment, who attend nude events regularly on weekends, and have grown up with the lifestyle that their parents have chosen," he said.
Events like the swimming parties are not open to the public and prospective members are interviewed before being allowed to attend. In five years, no one ever needed to be asked to leave from the swimming parties, he said.
Spence described himself as a Republican small business owner and a past Sunday school teacher, and said that a retired police officer and a retired Marine were members of his group.
City and county law enforcement officials said that no law prohibited private nudist events.
"If you run naked through the streets, that could be considered 'indecent exposure', especially if you draw attention to yourself or your genitals," said Genaro Ramirez, head of Family Protection in the San Diego County District Attorney's office. But private nudity breaks no state law, he said.
"A case could be made that children and adults nude together could endanger the health of children and thus be criminal," he said. "But it has to be something beyond mere attendance. The child must be in physical danger."
He pointed out that local governments have wide discretion to enact municipal or zoning ordinances that regulate activities they consider nuisances.
At present, no laws preclude private nudist events in Escondido.
Internet source:
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005..._402_23_05.txt
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