Another brothel threatened with closure

Scott Sonner

Friday, Aug. 13, 1999 | 4:39 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - The Ely City Council has decided to study an ordinance change that would close the town's only brothel.

A week after the Mustang Ranch in Mustang closed, the council voted 4-0 Thursday to study the issue. They will take up the issue again Aug. 26.

Tracy wants to rescind a 1959 zoning ordinance that established a red-light district where brothels could operate. He said city law then would revert to its previous ban on selling sex.

Not everyone thinks that prostitution is legal in Ely, which is located about 300 miles east of Reno. State archivist Guy Rocha said selling sex for money is legal only if a local government specifically dictates so.

Zoning ordinances may dictate where a brothel would exist but do not necessarily make it legal, he said.

About 30 brothels still operate in Nevada, mostly in rural counties outside city limits. The Mustang Ranch was closed as part of a fraud case against the owners

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