Yakima's barista options are scanty

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Aside from outlawing G-strings as primary workwear, there's not much the city of Yakima can do to regulate coffee stands and scantily clad baristas, a city attorney says.

Expanding on a memo to the City Council, Senior Assistant City Attorney Cynthia Martinez is expected to weigh in tonight on recent complaints from Mayor Dave Edler and others about bikini baristas and the "sexpresso" craze that is sweeping the Pacific Northwest.

Over the past year, at least three such stands have opened in Yakima. Two of the Yakima locations -- one on Yakima Avenue and another on North First Street -- have drawn criticism because of their high-profile locations. Another one is in Union Gap near the Valley Mall.

The regularly scheduled City Council meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Yakima City Hall.

Martinez concludes that as long as their purpose is to sell coffee -- and to do so at normal prices -- the city's new Adult Business Ordinance does not apply to the businesses.

The new ordinance puts restrictions on businesses that sell pornographic videos, sex toys and other novelties, but Martinez said coffee stands that feature provocatively dressed baristas are more like the Hooters chain of sports bars than something akin to prostitution.

"Regulating clothing choice," she wrote, "immediately raises constitutional questions."

Martinez also said the state Department of Labor and Industries and local health authorities are not interested in regulating barista attire from a safety standpoint.

Instead, she suggested the City Council consider amending the city's indecent exposure ordinance to prohibit see-through material and to clarify language that defines an immodest condition vaguely described as "cleavage of the buttocks."

Sans pants, clothing that would be in violation of a cleavage clarification, Martinez wrote, "includes but is not limited to those items commonly known as G-strings, T-backs, dental floss and thongs."

A more practical approach overall, she wrote, would be for the City Council to help promote legislation at the state level.

A draft piece of legislation that sought to regulate employee apparel in a drive-through setting failed to gain traction in the 2009 Legislature and could be improved, Martinez said.

The draft legislation called for "opaque material... from a location four inches below the collarbone to five inches below the pelvis."

Martinez found that definition too narrow and not focused enough on "health concerns."

"A piece of legislation that emphasizes safety and requires a safety garment, such as an apron, would be a more desirable approach," she advised.

* Chris Bristol can be reached at 577-7748 or cbristol@yakimaherald.com