Fortunetellers Allowed in LCF, but not Downtown

The La Cañada City Council took up the issue of fortunetellers and psychics at its meeting on Tuesday, and voted to allow the businesses to be permitted to operate in the city, but not in the downtown area. 

There was previously no regulation in the city of businesses selling fortunetelling, psychic predictions and tarot card reading, and the council decided to try and figure out how to regulate them after a person interested in practicing fortunetelling and psychic readings applied for a permit, which motivated staff to create a policy, according to the La Cañada Sun. 

The city is not allowed to ban fortunetellers outright, due to a 1985 California Supreme Court ruling, but they can regulate where they are located. 

If the city council had voted to categorize the businesses as offices, then they would be allowed anywhere in the city, including the downtown area, La Cañada Senior Planner Fred Buss told Patch recently. But since the city council decided to create a specific zoning ordinance listing for fortunetellers, then they are allowed in the city, but not in the downtown area, which is defined by city code as the commercial areas along Foothill Boulevard east of Memorial Park, the Sun reported. 

"They would not be allowed in one of the mixed use zones because those mixed use zones, they are only in the specific plan area, and that has its own zoning ordinance," Buss told Patch before the vote.

What do you think of the vote? Tell us in the comments.