Strip bar ordinance
From Kentucky Citizen Digest, Sept, 1997

After several months of progress, the effort to regulate Lexington’s strip bars has finally slowed.  At the same time, however, insiders see the showdown as merely a “timing” issue — not a threat to what has already been accomplished.

The effort to rein in the proliferating sex industry scored two major victories on July 10 in the last meeting of the Lexington City Council.  The council passed both the zoning ordinance and a revised regulatory ordinance which had been “corrected” to eliminate clerical errors and vague language that precipitated a court injunction on July 1.

Both ordinances received their first and second readings at the meeting, heartening those that have been monitoring their progress.  However, a second injunction was granted the next day on the regulatory ordinance and city attorneys are acknowledging some inconsistencies still exist in the language of different parts of the law.

Supporters had hoped the Council would vote on the corrections August 21— their first meeting after the summer break — but city attorneys have requested more time to make corrections.

Fortunately, the City Council is resolved not to weaken the ordinance; they simply want make it clearer.  With this battle possibly setting the standard for the rest of the state, that could be good news for opponents of sleaze in Kentucky.
 

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