Adult Bookstore Adds Used Paperbacks to Stock
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — For 11 years, Howard County officials and some residents have fought to close the Pack Shack, the jurisdiction's only adult bookstore.
The store has always won its battles in court, and now, the Pack Shack appears poised to prevail again despite a county law designed to force the store to move away from nearby homes or close.
The store has filled its basement and other areas with a broad selection of used books. Using the basement allows the store to rise above the legal criteria that define an adult book or video store as a public store "where at least 20 percent of the stock" is sexual material, and where at "least 20 percent of the total usable floor area" is devoted to sex items.
Howard J. Schulman, the Baltimore attorney who has represented the store, said there was never a good reason for county government to go after the Pack Shack.
"That store was doing no one any harm," he said. "It's a major highway there. Let the marketplace operate."
The store isn't in full compliance, a city official said, but if it dedicates about another 30 square feet of floor space to nonsexual items, the shop probably would be legal, pending a reinspection and the county law, which has been rewritten several times, would no longer apply.
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MINNESOTA
City Considering Adult Use Ordinance
HASTINGS, Minn. — The city planning committee met last month to continue its discussion of the city’s adult use business ordinance.
Planning Director John Hinzman created a matrix to compare several adult use business ordinances. Ordinances from Minnesota cities such as Eden Valley, Coates, Inver Grove Heights and South St. Paul, as well as the Minnesota state statute, were included. The matrix compared things like hours of operation, setback requirements (how far adult use businesses have to be from residences, parks, schools, churches and each other), proximity between exotic dancers and patrons, signage and license requirements.
Hinzman also created several maps that were distributed at the meeting and gave context to the discussion about setback requirements.
Under the city’s current ordinance, adult use businesses have to be 200 feet from a property zoned residential or another adult use. It makes no mention of parks, schools or churches. The planning committee has said the current ordinance needs to be tightened, and doing nothing to it is not an option.
Maps distributed by Hinzman showed the proximity of residences, parks, churches and schools to the areas adult use businesses are currently allowed in Hastings.
The committee will take into account the adult use business ordinances from other cities and the recommendations from city staff, the city attorney and the citizens who have been involved throughout the process as it begins to formulate its own recommendations on what the new ordinance should contain.
The committee will hold another meeting on the topic on July 10.
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MONTANA
Adult Club Opens Before City Council Vote
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Billings City Council approved an interim zoning change that will stop new sexually oriented businesses from opening downtown but Aphrodite's Inferno Club opened a day before that vote so it will not have to close its doors.
The club is now open to the public Friday nights at 9 p.m. Owner Victoria Lindley said the grand opening of the club is planned for mid-July, after which nude dancing will occur Wednesday through Saturday from 9 p.m. until 4 a.m.
Plans call for the club to open at 5 p.m. sometime in the future.
Councilman Denis Pitman said that the success of the new business is up to the community.
"It truly becomes not only the responsibility of the council, but of the community itself. If they support this, she'll stay in business. If they don't, she will go by the wayside. So it's truly up to our community itself. The council can only do so much."
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WASHINGTON
Topless Baristas in Auburn Stir Up Controversy
AUBURN, Wash. — The baristas at Cowgirls Espresso have been ordered to cover their breasts from the areola down.
In a letter sent last week to the stand’s owner, Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis told the shop that the City of Auburn will be watching
Owner Lori Bowden introduced Cowgirls, an espresso stand painted like a jersey cow, six years ago in Seattle. She staffed it with baristas who serve coffee with a smile — and sometimes scanty clothing. The Auburn stand opened in April to instant controversy.
City officials soon found out there was little they could do. According to state law, if the attire is acceptable at a beach, it must be acceptable elsewhere.
As Lewis wrote, while the City of Auburn “recognizes and supports the constitutional right to act within the bounds of acceptable and constitutionally-protected conduct,” it cannot simply ignore wrong or illegal conduct. City ordinances, like those of other cities, he continued, prohibit public exposure of certain body parts, including any part of the female breast below the areola.
“We expect that your baristas will be properly attired in conformity with state law and in conformity with ordinances … If, however, your baristas violate the law, the city will take appropriate action,” Lewis wrote.
The Auburn city attorney said the city could take two approaches to prosecuting violations of the standard.
It could decide to pursue it as a violation of the adult entertainment ordinance — a zoning issue — which would constitute a civil infraction punishable with a $500 fine.
If the city pursues the violation under the indecent exposure statute, a violation could constitute a misdemeanor, punishable by a $1,000 fine and up to 90 days in jail. And should a person 13 years of age or under see what they shouldn’t see, the violation would constitute a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a possible $5,000 fine.
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Topless Baristas in Bonny Lake Stir Up Controversy
BONNY LAKE, Wash. — Baristas at a drive-thru coffeehouse in the Seattle area have been serving coffee in bikinis, lingerie, pasties and nothing but scarves covering their breasts, as the topless theme changes daily at Hot Chick-a-Latte.
Bonny Lake police officers went undercover to check out the topless baristas themselves. The cops passed on their information to the city attorney, who found an ordinance to crack down on the coffee shop.
Exposing a woman’s breast below the areola is classified as adult entertainment in the community. The owner of Hot-Chick’a-Latte said she doesn’t have a problem with the ordinance, but did admit she would probably eliminate scarf day.
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WALES
Council Refuses 'Shy' Back Entrance to Sex Shop
PORT TALBOT, Wales — A sex shop's request to adapt its fire exit as an entrance for ‘shy customers’ has been refused by city officials.
The owner of the Secret Desires store wanted the alternative entrance for customers who were too timid to use the front door on the main road.
An application to change the name of the store to “licensed sex shop” also was refused by Neath Port Talbot Council’s registration and licensing committee.
A representative of the store told officials,“If we have a fire exit – we thought we would use it as a discreet entrance for our customers as well. It would be the same as the front entrance, with a buzzer system so we wouldn’t let anyone underage in. We have a back entrance at the Cardiff store, which 80 percent of our customers use.
“A lot of them don’t want their mum seeing them going into the shop because they are too embarrassed.”
The application to have a fire exit was approved, but using it as a back entrance for customers was rejected.
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