The City Council held off on voting to implement a law mandating condom use on adult film shoots in Simi Valley due to concerns over how the city could practically enforce the ordinance.

“This is a political statement, and it’s a good political statement. We don’t want that industry in our community. We all agree on that,” Councilmember Glen Becerra told his colleagues during Monday’s council meeting. “But I do have an issue with rushing (a decision), regardless of what it is.”

The motivation to pass such a law grew from worry that a recent decision by the Los Angeles City Council to require condom use by porn actors could shift the adult entertainment industry to neighboring communities.

Approved Jan. 17, the Los Angeles ordinance applies to any adult set requiring a film permit within L.A. city limits. The new law was borne out of efforts by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, an L.A.-based group that rallied for years to require condom use on shoots to protect the health of porn performers.

Last year, the foundation gathered enough voter signatures to place an initiative on the June ballot. To avoid paying more than $4 million to hold a special election, the L.A. City Council decided to adopt the measure as an ordinance instead. W ith the passage of L.A. city’s condom law and the foundation working on a similar countywide measure, some local officials fear Simi Valley would be a prime spot for the adult film industry to relocate, especially since the community is only a few miles from Chatsworth, the hub of porn production.

The Simi Valley City Council first discussed the possibility of adopting its own condom law Jan. 30. The matter came back to city leaders Monday for a vote.

Simi resident Donna Stidham, a registered nurse and chief of managed care for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, thanked the council for caring about the health and welfare of the community.

“I have seen what this disease can do to people, I know the ravages that it can take,” said Stidham, who has worked in the field of HIV/AIDS care for 25 years.

“The industry only requires testing once every 30 days. That doesn’t protect anybody. Condoms protect people.”

Still, Mayor Pro Tem Barbra Williamson, who is in favor of taking proactive steps to prevent the porn industry from coming to Simi, questioned how the law would be enforced. C ity Attorney Tracy Noonan said that porn actors caught performing without a condom would be charged with a misdemeanor. For each offense an actor would be subject to a $1,000 fine or six months in county jail.

Though that’s the maximum punishment the city can ascribe under state law, Williamson felt that wasn’t enough to dissuade porn performers from breaking the rules.

“We’re talking about a multimillion dollar industry. A $1,000 fine doesn’t seem like it’s going to cut it,” Williamson said. W hat’s more, the industry could go “underground” and film without obtaining the required permit, she said.

“I understand the need for this . . . but I think it’s going to be one of those kinds of ordinances that there’s not a lot you can do,” Williamson added. “I don’t hold too much luck in the teeth of it.” C ity Manager Mike Sedell explained that a producer obtaining a permit to shoot an adult film would have to abide by all health and safety regulations.

To ensure that happens, the permit holder would have to secure the services of a healthcare professional who would oversee all filming and then submit an affidavit that the rules were followed.

In addition, the producer would then submit an unedited copy of the film to the Simi Valley Police Department for review. C ouncilmember Steve Sojka was incredulous at the thought.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. We’re going to ask them to police themselves and then send a video into the police department?”

Sojka added that adopting a condom law is more of a political statement than anything since it would do “absolutely nothing” to change the way porn producers conduct business.

Nor does he think the ordinance would actually stop the porn industry from moving to Simi.

But Huber disagreed.

“ This is an approach that makes it more onerous for them to come out here,” the mayor said.

Sojka said he didn’t want to see police officers wasting their time enforcing the law. Huber agreed, saying he wants to put enforcement in the hands of the porn industry.

But exactly how that self-policing would happen was unclear. Becerra said the city must first investigate enforcement options to make sure the law is efficient and cost-effective before adopting any new rule.

The council agreed and continued the issue until Feb. 27.