Win could tame Panther Palace

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- The city has won a victory in its fight to force the

notorious Panther Palace to shut its sex parties down.

More than a year after the city filed a lawsuit against the club’s

owner, 73-year-old Gordon Oliver, an Orange County Superior court judge

has ruled that the club was operating in violation of city codes when it

charged an entrance fee to the swinger parties that took place behind its

front door and in its backyard.

Oliver declined to comment Saturday, but Panther Palace neighbors were

more than happy to talk. And they collectively said they are anxious for

their children to enjoy a more normal, more placid childhood.

Five-year-old Kevin Torres is simply looking forward to playing in his

front yard again.

Because of the activities that have taken place directly across the

street, his parents allowed him only to play in the back yard.

“We don’t want our son exposed to those kinds of people,” said Kevin’s

father, Edward Torres. “They’re out in the street all the time wearing

next to nothing, exchanging stories about what they did at the party. My

son doesn’t need to hear that.”

The Panther Palace -- a 10-bedroom house embedded in the otherwise

quiet neighborhood in the 600 block of Surf Street -- throws swinger

parties Fridays and Sundays, charging men a $40 “donation.” Woman get in

free.

Oliver took over the business two years ago when his friend “Wild”

Bill Goodwin died at the age of 75. Goodwin opened the swingers club in

the 1980s. Since its inception the club’s popularity has grown,

attracting an average of 100 attendants per party, neighbors say.

That may be nearing an end.

Commissioner F. Latimer Gould ruled that Oliver will no longer be

permitted to throw group sex parties in which an entry fee or donation is

required without getting a business license.

The ruling also allows Costa Mesa police or code enforcers to enter

the Panther Palace at any time within the next three years if they

believe the terms of the judgment are being violated.

Miguel Merida, 19, said it was about time somebody did something about

the place. He hoped the judge’s decision would restore the neighborhood’s

sense of community.

Merida’s parents enclosed their front yard so the youngest children

would not wonder near the house, he said.

“After their parties there are condoms all over the street. We don’t

want my 1-year-old little sister to see that,” Merida said.

Neighbors also said that partygoers often mistake their houses for the

Panther Palace, which was featured in the documentary film “The

Lifestyle: Group Sex in the Suburbs,” and knock on their doors at all

hours of the night.

But the parties are not restricted to after-hours. People start

showing up around noon and stay as late as 2 a.m., Torres said. On party

days, parking is a nightmare and some residents have to park two blocks

away from their homes.

“They are just completely disrespectful of our neighborhood. They

don’t even care that our lives are disrupted because they want to make

money off that kind of stuff,” Maria Torres said.

City Councilman Gary Monahan said he is pleased with the court’s

ruling and anxious to see the Panther Palace leave the city.

“It’s obvious that what’s going on there is not welcome. It’s not a

good message for the neighborhood, or for the kids,” he said. “They

should just go away and hopefully this court decision will encourage them

to do that.”