Strip club owners threaten to raise rent on weekly motel residents

The owners of the Wild Orchid strip club are threatening to raise the rent on tenants of an adjoining weekly motel if the Reno City Council follows through on proposed ordinances that would force existing strip clubs out of downtown.

In a letter sent to residents of the Ponderosa Motel on Tuesday, Kamy Keshmiri said his strip club subsidizes the motel's operations by as much as $30,000 a month. If the council passes the proposed ordinances forcing the Wild Orchid to relocate, Keshmiri said he would have to double the rent at the motel to as much as $1,300 a month.

"We only intend to raise your rates to match the current market if, and only if, the city of Reno enacts the proposed changes to the adult business ordinance regulations," Keshmiri wrote.

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Keshmiri urged the residents of the Ponderosa to lobby the Reno City Council and the Reno Planning Commission against enacting the proposed changes.

"Perhaps you can convince the city of Reno to save the Wild Orchid so that your rents are not forced up by this housing shortage," Keshmiri wrote.

In September, the Reno City Council voted 5-2 to pursue new ordinances that would force four strip clubs and an adult bookstore to close their existing locations in downtown and move to properly zoned industrial areas. The Reno Planning Commission is in the process of vetting the proposed ordinances and will make a recommendation to the council in March.

Meanwhile, the Keshmiri family, which owns three of the strip clubs, is waging a public opinion battle against the ordinances and has vowed a legal fight as well.

The latest gambit is designed to play on a chief concern of the Reno City Council: the worsening shortage of affordable housing.

Councilwoman Neoma Jardon wasn't impressed with the tactic.

"While I was one of the two 'no' votes to move forward with the ordinances, this is a tactic that does nothing but strike fear in the tenants and uses them as political pawns," she said.

The Ponderosa Motel sits directly behind the Wild Orchid and is also owned by the Keshmiri family. The motel has been the subject of repeated code violations, with residents complaining about dismal and unsafe living conditions.

The Washoe Health District and city of Reno has repeatedly shut down rooms at the Ponderosa, deeming them unsafe to inhabit. After each sweep, the Keshmiri family makes repairs needed to bring the motel back into compliance.

Despite the dismal conditions weekly motels such as the Ponderosa have been a last refuge for those who can't afford rent at more traditional apartments. Several motels have been demolished recently to make way for new development, further straining the housing crisis.

The city of Reno also is the process of creating a motel improvement team designed to improve living conditions at the motels.