Club's rezone bid, contributions to council members coincide

For more than a decade, Rick's, a topless club in Lake City, has been fighting for city permission to use a small plot of land to expand its parking lot. But Seattle officials have repeatedly said no, siding with neighbors' concerns about noise, litter and other problems.

The club's luck may be about to change. Neighborhood activists think it's because people connected to Rick's have showered key Seattle City Council members with campaign contributions.

As evidence, some pointed to Councilwoman Heidi Wills' attendance at an April 15 meeting of the council's land-use committee to support the Rick's rezone. Wills is not an assigned member of the panel and rarely attends, but city rules allow any council member to show up and vote.

Her vote that day was significant because it pushed the Rick's rezoning request forward to the full council with a neutral 2-2 committee recommendation, as opposed to the "do not pass" recommendation it would have received. The council will consider the issue later this month.

"I was blown away," said Victor Webbeking, whose house abuts the Rick's parcel in question and who attended the meeting. He and other neighbors said they had never seen Wills take any interest in the rezoning request before the vote.

"It's ridiculous. Somebody's influencing them," fumed Kelly Meinig, another Lake City resident who has opposed the rezone for years.

Since 1999, Wills has banked at least $5,500 in campaign contributions from Rick's owner, Frank Colacurcio Jr., and his associates, according to city records.

Councilwoman Judy Nicastro, who chairs the land-use committee and who cast the other vote in favor of the rezoning change, received more than $4,000 from the same donors.

Most of the money came after Rick's applied for the rezone last year.

The amounts are significant by city-election standards, where individual contributions are capped at $650. People affiliated with Rick's have donated more to council candidates this year than have many better-known political players, including Boeing and Vulcan, billionaire Paul Allen's development company.

Both Wills and Nicastro denied the political contributions had anything to do with their votes, which went against recommendations of the land-use department and a hearing examiner.

Wills said she had always felt a connection to Lake City because her grandparents had lived in the neighborhood. "It's a part of our community I spent a lot of time in, and I'm very familiar with."

Nicastro said it was "a ridiculous accusation" to suggest she would trade her vote for campaign support. She said the rezone would benefit both the club and its neighbors.

Wills and Nicastro noted Rick's has agreed to several conditions in exchange for permission to use the lot. The club would erect a new fence, hire a parking-lot attendant and let only employees or vendors park there. They said those conditions would protect the neighbors while allowing the club to expand its parking.

But the other two members of the council land-use panel, Richard Conlin and Margaret Pageler, said they did not find those arguments persuasive. Pageler, who also is up for re-election, said the city would set a bad precedent by rezoning residential property for use as parking — something frowned on by city policy.

Colacurcio's push for the rezone and the surge in political donations by his allies were first reported in the June issue of the Seattle Sun, a monthly North Seattle community newspaper.

Colacurcio could not be reached for comment on the dispute or his political contributions. An employee at his company, Talents West, said the owners were fishing in Alaska and referred calls to attorney Gilbert Levy. Levy was out of the office, and others at his firm did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Levy appeared at the April 15 council hearing and argued it was unfair for the city to prevent parking on the site.

"Failure to grant the rezone means my client can't use his property for anything," Levy told the council. "The only conceivable use for this parcel is parking" because it is sandwiched between the club and other properties, he said.

Rick's did use the lot for parking for several years — illegally.

The club, which opened in 1988, paved the 4,200-square-foot parcel and started using it as a parking lot despite its being zoned as residential property, according to city records.

The lot — enough for about nine cars — is next to Rick's existing parking lot and abuts Webbeking's property. He says he's had constant problems with club patrons. With alcohol prohibited inside the club, people would sometimes drink in the parking lot and fling empty bottles over the fence into Webbeking's yard. He and his wife have also found condoms and drug paraphernalia.

After being told the lot was illegal, Rick's sought to have the property rezoned in 1989 but was denied.

The club continued to use the parcel for parking until the city went to court. In 1997, a judge ruled Rick's had to stop using the lot and pay a $10,000 fine.

The club again applied to have the site rezoned in 1998. The city land-use department opposed the bid, and the City Council rejected it unanimously.

Last year, Rick's filed for a third time for the rezone now under consideration.

"That's the frustrating thing. They just keep coming back and back. They're going to outlast the citizens," said A.J. Skurdal, another resident who has watched the issue.

This time, Rick's is arguing its parking will spill over into residential neighborhoods if it can't use the nearby lot.

Meanwhile, with five council members up for re-election this year, Colacurcio and others with club ties have stepped up political contributions. Donors include Colacurcio, his wife, attorney Levy and his wife, club manager David Ebert, and an accountant and others associated with the business, city records show.

In addition to Nicastro and Wills, Councilman Jim Compton has received a large show of support, banking $4,700 in contributions from Colacurcio and his allies. Compton did not attend the April 15 land-use committee vote and has not taken a public position on the rezone.

The Colacurcio family has a checkered history as owners of several topless clubs in Seattle and elsewhere. Frank Colacurcio Sr. was banned from operating the clubs after pleading guilty to tax-fraud charges in 1991, for which he spent six years in prison.

Frank Colacurcio Jr. pleaded guilty to a felony tax charge in the case, in which prosecutors said the family had skimmed profits at two Alaska topless bars. He was allowed to keep operating them.

One council member says he won't take money from the Colacurcios or others in the strip-club business.

Council President Peter Steinbrueck was approached by Levy, Colacurcio's attorney, at a recent meeting of the Lake City Chamber of Commerce. Levy asked how he could donate to his campaign; Steinbrueck told him to contact his campaign treasurer.

However, in an interview this week, Steinbrueck said he has since ordered his treasurer not to accept money from anyone connected with topless clubs.

"It's not something I care to be associated with," he said.

Nicastro and Wills argue that some of the opposition to Rick's has a prudish tint. The club, after all, is a legal business, they say, and Nicastro said the council recently approved a similar zoning change for a car dealer on Lake City Way without controversy.

"If this was a latte stand, we wouldn't be having this argument," Nicastro said.

On that, some of the neighbors agree. "Ultimately, I would say it's not a good location for Rick's to be," said Meinig.

Seattle Times reporter Bob Young contributed to this report. Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com