City Attorney Michael Aguirre announced misdemeanor charges against three operators and the owner of a San Diego gay bathhouse on Dec. 1.

Aguirre’s communications director, Maria Velasquez, said a six-count complaint accuses 2200 Club owner Alma Vasic and club operators John Tennis Smith, Robert Smith and Mark Ernest Carter of failing to have a bathhouse permit and operating an adult sexual encounter establishment in violation of zoning laws.

An arraignment has been scheduled for Dec. 29 in San Diego Superior Court.

Velasquez said she could not publicly disclose any information related to the six-count complaint until the day of the arraignment.

The City Attorney’s Office sent a letter Jan. 24 to John Barriage, lawyer for the 2200 Club, informing him that the 2200 Club is “currently operating in violation of the city’s Adult Entertainment regulations.” The letter cited a police investigator’s observations during an undercover operation for the Neighborhood Code Compliance Department and said there was enough evidence – such as public masturbation and pornography displayed on televisions throughout the club – to classify the 2200 Club as an adult sexual encounter business under San Diego’s Municipal Code.

Barriage told the Gay & Lesbian Times he could not comment on the case at this time because he had not consulted with his client. He told the paper in March that the 2200 Club is a bathhouse, not an adult entertainment establishment, and should be regulated accordingly.

The City Attorney Office’s letter cited San Diego Municipal Code section 141.0601(a), which defines an adult sexual encounter business as an adult entertainment business, and said the 2200 Club is subject to the provisions under that section, which prohibits adult entertainment businesses from operating within 1,000 feet of any residentially zoned property. There are several houses, condominiums and apartment complexes surrounding the 2200 Club.

According to Rodney Lorang, senior deputy county council at the San Diego County Health Department, the 2200 Club had initially applied for two permits in October 2004. One permit was for a pool and sauna license, which was approved. The other permit was to operate as a bathhouse. Lorang said the health department issued a denial letter to Barriage and Club 2200 on Feb. 3.

The 2200 Club has not closed since receiving the denial letter.