LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles City Council today unanimously approved an ordinance that makes it easier for the city to shut down businesses connected to illegal drugs, alcohol and prostitution. City Councilwoman Jan Perry spearheaded the measure, which was first proposed in 2004. The ordinance consolidates existing code provisions and allows the Planning Department to modify or impose conditions on businesses that contribute to public nuisances.

'This is going to help everybody -- everybody who has ever had to suffer disturbance of the peace, illegal drug activities, public drunkenness, harassment of passersby, gambling, prostitution, sale of stolen goods, public urination, theft, assault, battery, vandalism, excessive littering, illegal parking, excessive loud noise, traffic violations, curfew violations, lewd conduct, and the list goes on and on,'' Perry said.

Once a business is determined to be a nuisance, the Department of Building and Safety will be allowed to padlock the building's doors and the Department of Water and Power can shut off the electricity and water, said Michael LoGrande, chief zoning administrator with the Planning Department. It typically took seven to 10 years for a business to go through the process of nuisance abatement. That time will now be shortened to two years, Perry said. The ordinance also requires the owners of apartment buildings to providetenants with relocation benefits in the event that the complex is deemed a nuisance.