April 17, 2009
· Filed under Adult Entertainment, Georgia Cities, Liquor Ordinances · Tagged Crime, Diana Preston, Karaoke, Lilburn, Liquor Ordinance
In 2007, Lilburn tightened its liquor ordinance to counter Sports Fan Bar and Grill. Lilburn leaders linked karaoke, darts, pool, trivia, and other forms of “interactive” entertainment with crime. Lilburn banned all such entertainment in any establishment selling alcohol. Now two years later, Lilburn reverses itself changing its liquor ordinance to again allow such entertainment.
“Lilburn has matured, and we want to keep it vibrant,” said Mayor Diana Preston. “Our focus is keeping our business community strong and that means a diversity of businesses.”
And, she said, Lilburn — which bans bars — wants to accommodate its young adults, who enjoy pub atmospheres.
And the crime that will follow?
Preston said that’s no longer a concern given the number of police officers and the creation of the alcohol review board.
January 24, 2009
· Filed under Adult Entertainment, Georgia Cities, Liquor Ordinances · Tagged Buckhead Forest Civic Association, Frank Ski, Kolor, Peachtree Park Civic Association
Residents with Peachtree Park Civic Association are negotiating a code of conduct contract with radio personality Frank Ski’s Kolor, a high-end night club and restaurant seeking a permanent address in Buckhead.
If approved, the club would be located in the Buckhead Square shopping center at the corner of Peachtree Road and Piedmont Avenue. Kolor’s 15,000-square-foot facility, if built, will face the wooded backyards of homes in the neighborhood.
Kolor faces united opposition from its neighbors. NPU-B recommended denial of a liquor license and both Buckhead Forest Civic Associationand Peachtree Park Civic Association have vowed to oppose the club’s opening.
Negoitations between the club and the neighbors are scheduled to end January 31.
December 20, 2008
· Filed under Adult Entertainment, Self-Storage Facilities · Tagged Alpharetta, Doug DeRito, Self-Storage Facility
By a vote of 5-2, the Alpharetta City Council denied a request for a self-storage facility at the northeast corner of Old Milton Parkway and Northpoint Parkway on a piece of land zoned for office use.
Alpharetta Community Development Director said the issue brought up some ambiguity because the newer type of self-storage facilities resemble office buildings and may not belong in the light industrial category.
“We could find ourselves in a situation where adult entertainment could find its way to the area, right down the street from the [Alpharetta] high school,” said Councilman Doug DeRito.
October 2, 2008
· Filed under Adult Entertainment, Georgia Cities · Tagged John Cornetta, Johns Creek, Love Shack
Johns Creek has fought and fought against John Coretta and his adult-oriented business The Love Shack and may have won by default. The Love Shack is closing, but vows to continue the fight.
According to the City:
It was the issue of a sexually oriented business close to a residential area, a school bus stop, and 400 young dancers that made the community nervous.
The free market did what the free market does. The community didn’t support it.
According to The Love Shack:
They’re killing a small business they don’t agree with. That’s not free enterprise. I’m sad my tax dollars would be used to do that.
September 23, 2008
· Filed under Adult Entertainment, Recent Court Decisions · Tagged 5634 East Hillsborough Avenue v. Hillsborough County Fl, bikini bar regulations, secondary effects
In what reads as a harsh criticism of the limited appellate challenge mounted, the 11th Circuit Court of U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed an ordinance of Hillsborough County, Florida regulating bikini bars as having the purpose and effect of suppressing secondary effects.
The only evidence asserted by the challenger that the local ordinance did not have the purpose or effect of suppressing secondary effects was an expert witness’s assertion that calls for police help from the challenger’s adult business compared favorably to non-adult business. The 11th Circuit rejected and discounted the value of such police calls as indicative of the kind of secondary effects which were the focus of the local ordinance.
5634 East Hillsborough Avenue, Inc. v. Hillsborough County, Florida, U.S. District Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, Case No. 07-14955, decided September 18, 2008.
June 29, 2008
· Filed under Adult Entertainment, Decision Time-Limits, Muncipality Discretion · Tagged Curves LLC v. Spalding County, Georgia
The Northern District of Georgia found that an local Adult Code that provided no specific time frame to schedule a hearing or reach a decision gave too much discretion to public officials and was invalid. Ordinances must contain two procedural safeguards to ensure prompt-decision-making: (1) licensing officials must be required to make prompt decisions; and (2) prompt judicial review must be available to correct erroneous denials. To satisfy the time-limit requirement, an ordinance must ensure that permitting decisions within a specified time period.
Keep reading for GZB’s summary of Curves, LLC v. Spalding County, Georgia, United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Civil No. 3:07-CV-10-JTC.
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