Lexington wins first battle in war on sleaze
The city council passes its first ordinance in regulating strip bars
From Kentucky Citizen Digest, May, 1997

The Lexington City Council gave final approval on April 3 to an ordinance aimed at the city’s burgeoning sleaze industry. Effective July 1, strip bars will pay licensing fees of $6,000 and dancers and all other club employees will be assessed $100.

The ordinance also bans totally nude dancing; physical contact with patrons and restricts customers from being within six feet of the dancers. It also restricts their hours of operation from 3:00 pm to 1:00 am.

The council also voted to place a 150-day moratorium on the opening of new strip bars in the city.

The ordinance met with the unanimous approval of council members--and the dismay of strip bar owners.

In the April 3 meeting, Brown was the only club owner who showed up. “There was no reason to bring a lot of our people out,” Brown told the Lexington Herald-Leader, “The council members had already made their decision.”

Perhaps the reason they made their unanimous decision was that in all the previous meetings dealing with the ordinance, club supporters were surrounded by citizens eager to see more stringent regulations.

The momentum that eventually led to the passage of the ordinance began with a January 28 town meeting at which city leaders spoke to almost 800 concerned Lexingtonians.

According to several Council members, the support for the regulations was widespread, some saying they had received hundreds of phone calls. One councilman reported that he received almost 200 calls with only one against the regulations.

Debate over the measures has largely centered around the problem of crime that accompanies the operations of these clubs. In recent years, three dancers have been killed and numerous drug arrests have been made at the bars. Residents in areas where clubs are located have also complained about the negative effect their presence has had on their neighborhoods.

Lexington police have also reported that calls to strip clubs far out number calls to regular bars.

“The Council’s unanimous vote will clearly shape the operations of the existing businesses,” said Service Committee Chairman Sandy Shafer, who was instrumental in the passage of the ordinance.  “Our upcoming work on the zoning ordinance will impact any new businesses attempting to locate in Lexington.”
 

Key Family Foundation Contacts: Kent Ostrander, Executive Director Martin Cothran, Senior Associate Policy Analyst