Published: August 05, 2008 11:53 am            

Montrose approves adult biz ordinance

MONTROSE — Immediately before the Montrose Village Board passed an ordinance Monday that all but prohibits sexually oriented businesses in town, the village’s attorney told trustees she believes the ordinance will hold up in court.

“I don’t want to buy you guys into a lawsuit,” said Village Attorney Tracy Berberich. “But we believe this ordinance would be upheld in a constitutional challenge. We believe you would be in a good position.”

The 23-page ordinance culminates a fight that began when the Lions Den adult store chain opened a facility on the Interstate 70 frontage road in early 2003. The store closed in the summer of 2005, soon after Judge James Eder ruled its location violated state law by being too close to the village’s park. An appeal was denied, and the store remains closed.

The ordinance’s preamble outlines several reasons why sexually oriented businesses could be harmful in a community, including serving as a venue for prostitution and casual sex and association with increased crime and decreased property values.

The ordinance also specifies businesses deriving at least 35 percent of their income from sexually oriented items qualify as sexually oriented businesses. Berberich admitted there was little the board could do if a convenience store decided to sell pornographic magazines, or even have a back room with adult videos, as long as it didn’t comprise 35 percent of the store’s business.

To some board members, 35 percent was too much.

“So they can have the 35 percent whether we like it or not?” asked trustee Sally Hilton. “So we fought the book store (Lions Den) for nothing?”

Trustee Carolyn Jansen said a business under the 35 percent standard would not likely be advertising the sexually oriented part of the business.

“They would probably keep it more on the hush-hush,” Jansen said.

Hilton and trustee Bill Kingery abstained from voting on the ordinance, but Jansen and fellow trustees Danny Tague, Eric Esker and Marjorie Bushue voted to pass the village regulations.

Jansen said there wasn’t anything the village could do about somebody who wanted to sell sexually oriented materials as a small part of their business.

“We have to give them the right to do that,” she said. “Unfortunately, that’s the way it is, and we have to live with it.”

“Sexually oriented businesses” are classified in the ordinance as adult bookstores, adult video stores, adult cabaret, adult motion picture theater, seminude model studio, sexual device shop and sexual encounter centers.

Operators and employees must both be licensed.

State law prohibits the operation of sexually oriented businesses within 1,000 feet of a church, school, park, day care or cemetery. The ordinance also prohibits such businesses within 1,000 feet of a residence or bar. As such, there are few, if any, places in Montrose where a sexually oriented business could be established.

Violators could be convicted of a Class C misdemeanor and fined $500.

Bill Grimes can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 131 or bill.grimes@effinghamdailynews.com.