Cities and Adult Businesses

Each year, millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted in lawsuits dealing with the regulation and restriction of adult businesses. In many cases, local public officials fail to adopt suitable policies and procedures before an adult business moves in, and this retroactive approach often leads to drawn-out, expensive lawsuits. This volume provides detailed information, mainly through numerous case studies, on how to proactively introduce various zoning, planning, and licensing restrictions while preventing costly lawsuits. The first section introduces the reader to the various policies that are available. The second section details the measures taken by dozens of cities and towns when permitting adult businesses to locate in their community. The final section focuses on future trends.

Roger L. Kemp, Ph.D., ICMA-CM, has been a city manager on both the East and West coasts for more than 25 years. He is presently Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Public Administration at Golden Gate University and a Fellow of The Academy of Political Science.

Edited by Roger L. Kemp

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 266
Bibliographic Info: appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3807-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vi
Preface      1

Section I. Introduction
1. Cities and Adult Businesses
Kelly Anders and Jude Balsamo      7
2. Adult Businesses and Land-Use Regulations
Lydia R. Marola and Rebecca Lubin      9
3. Adult Businesses and the First Amendment
James Monge      18
4. Adult Businesses and Recent Legal Cases
Jeffrey Goldfarb      23

Section II. The Best Practices
5. Albany Officials Provide Cities with Legal Guidelines to Regulate Adult Businesses
Susan L. Watson      29
6. Beckley’s Elected Leaders Adopt Zoning Laws to Mitigate the Negative Secondary Impact of SOBs
Emmett S. Pugh III      34
7. Boston Restores Historic Buildings to Eliminate the Combat Zone
Joe Albanese and Scott Martinelli      42
8. Charleston Business Leaders Turned Around Their Downtown
Robert W. Bivens      47
9. Columbia Officials Promote Use of Business Licenses to Regulate SOBs
Steffanie Dorn      49
10. Columbus Officials Adopt SOB Regulations in Response to Citizens’ Initiative
Jim Siegel      52
11. Conway Uses Business Licenses to Regulate Adult Businesses
Jeff Bowman      57
12. Delaware Officials Advise Their Cities on How to Regulate Adult Businesses
Philip C. Laurien      61
13. Detroit Considers Law to Preclude SOBs from Their Central Business District
Helena Varnavas      68
14. Erie’s Public Indecency Ordinance Is Upheld by the Supreme Court
Scott D. Bergthold      71
15. Forest Park, Like Many Small Towns, Had No Laws to Regulate Adult Businesses
Ed Brock      76
16. Harrisburg Officials Include Chapter on Adult Business Regulations in Their Municipal Briefing Booklet
Robert D. Robbins      78
17. Hartford Officials Review Adult Entertainment Laws in Connecticut Cities
Christopher Reinhart      83
18. Hastings Adopts Laws to Further Restrict the Operations of Adult Businesses
Daniel J. Fluegel      86
19. Lemont Village Officials Update Their Adult Business Ordinance
James A. Brown      92
20. Littleton Adult Business Distance Rule Is Upheld by the Supreme Court
Scott D. Bergthold      96
21. Los Angeles Has Its Adult Business Zoning Criteria Reaffirmed by the Supreme Court
Scott D. Bergthold      100
22. Lyons Limits Adult Uses to Industrial Zones and the Court Agrees
Roger Huebner and Jerry Zarley      104
23. Memphis Officials Defer Final Vote on Allowing Beer Sales in Adult Businesses Until After Court Appeal
Bill Dries      108
24. Middleton Voters Reject Adult Entertainment Business Zone
John Laidler and Bella Travaglini      111
25. Minneapolis and Other Cities Use GIS to Regulate the Location of Adult Businesses
American City & County      115
26. Nashville Reinvigorates Downtown by Creating a Network of Property Owners to Plan for the Future
Jim Constantine and Hunter Gee      118
27. New York City Cleans Up Times Square by Creating a Business Improvement District
Howard Kozloff      123
28. North Andover Controls Adult Businesses with an Adult Business District
Brad Kane      129
29. North Bend and Issaquah Enter into Agreement with Their County on the Placement of Adult Businesses
Ron Sims      131
30. Oakley, a New City, Approves Its First Adult Business Regulations
Alison A. Barratt-Green and Rebecca Willis      134
31. Orlando Changes Its Adult Business Code to Set Distances from Other Land Uses
Jason Burton and Kyle Shephard      141
32. Providence Uses Enforcement to Clean Up Its Downtown
Ellen Perlman      148
33. Raleigh and Other Cities Have Their Laws Challenged by Adult Businesses
David W. Owens      154
34. Renton and Other Cities Base Their Regulations on the Possible Negative Impact of Adult Businesses
Alan C. Weinstein      163
35. San Antonio Involves Citizens in the Planning and Renewal of Their Neighborhoods
J. Rolando Bono      169
36. Saratoga Springs Planning Board Reviews Its Adult Use Laws
Jaclyn Hakes      172
37. Seattle Defines and Regulates Adult Business Uses
Diane M. Sugimura      179
38. Shoreline Adult Business Group Tries to Change the City Government
Robert Deis and Larry Bauman      191
39. Southeast Establishes Land-Use Controls to Regulate the Establishment of Adult Businesses
Willis H. Stephens, Jr.      195
40. Staunton Adopts Law Limiting Adult Uses to Their Industrial Zone with a Business License and Permit
Deborah A. Lane      202
41. Tampa Ordered by Court to Restore Public Access Channel Closed for Airing Adult Shows
Neil J. Lehto      206
42. Thousand Oaks Considers Zoning Designations and Regulations for Adult Businesses
Mark G. Sellers      211
43. Toledo Carefully Regulates Existing Adult Businesses
Robert Henry      217
44. Urbana Plans for the Future by Regulating Adult Businesses Before It Has One
Mary M. Farmer      222
45. Waco Works with Citizens and Makes Public Investment to Bring Back a Deteriorated Neighborhood
Michael Morrison      226
46. Wichita Spends Public Funds to Stimulate Private Investment to Revitalize Its Downtown
D. Kay Johnson      228

Section III. The Future
47. Cities, Adult Businesses, Regulations, and the Law
David L. Hudson, Jr.      232
48. Zoning, Land Uses, and the Future of Downtowns
George R. Frantz      234
49. Ten National Trends to Help Plan for and Develop Innovative Downtowns
Bill Ryan      236
50. The Urban Center Is the Future of the American City
Diane Filippi and Jim Chappell      239

Appendices
A. Periodical Bibliography      243
B. Regional Resource Directory      244
C. State Municipal League Directory      245
D. State Library Directory      246
E. National Resource Directory      247
F. U.S. Supreme Court Cases and Adult Businesses      248
G. Secondary Effects Land-Use Studies of Adult Businesses in America      249

About the Editor and Contributors      251
Index      253

“recommended”—ARBA.