Strip Clubs:  Coming to a location near you?
The Family Foundation conducted a statewide survey and found that most areas of the state
have no ordinances to regulate adult sex businesses
From, The Kentucky Citizen Digest, September/October, 2001.

When Rob Huddleston, a summer legal intern with The Family Foundation, learned his assignment was to research sexually oriented businesses, he wasn’t enthusiastic. After all, who wants to read about the sex industry all summer?

The aim of the research was to determine three things: what local ordinances governed sexually oriented businesses, the effect such ordinances had in preventing them from thriving, and where such businesses might be most tempted to locate next.

Judging from the results, many Kentucky communities might be surprised to find themselves in the “tempting” category, as several have no ordinances at all regulating such businesses.

“Clearly, the state government has chosen to have this matter addressed on a local level,” Huddleston said.  “Unfortunately, the state has not made it clear to the local governments that they must protect themselves.”
Contrary to the assumption of many, no regulations for sexually oriented businesses exist at the state level.  According to the state Attorney General’s office, the only references to adult businesses in state law are provisions allowing counties and cities to pass their own local ordinances regarding them.

As recently as this past July, officials in two Kentucky cities discovered how important local ordinances are.  An adult bookstore opened in Richmond and an illegal massage parlor was discovered to in Georgetown.
Kentucky’s Alcoholic Beverage Commission does have a statewide regulation that bans “lewd, immoral or obscene entertainment…” in businesses that offer alcoholic beverages, but subject to judicial interpretation, the regulation may not prohibit nude dancing in such businesses.

Even rural communities like Crofton, a small Western Kentucky community that faced the threat of a proposed strip bar earlier this year, have seen how easily adult businesses can become established. Armed with few or no
legal statutes to protect them, they are often caught off-guard when such businesses move in.

Many small towns located near major interstate highways have no ordinances in place, making them vulnerable.  Rural communities often mistakenly believe that adult businesses thrive only in urban areas.

In Crofton’s case, citizen involvement turned the tide and the strip bar did not locate there, but the debate highlighted the dangers of being legally unprotected against the establishment of adult businesses.
Tommy Bryant, Henry County judge executive, is  aware of the problem. “Considering the fact that rural counties such as ours are having to deal with this problem, it is probably something [that] needs to be addressed,” Bryant said.

If participation in the study is any indication of local interest in the issue, there is certainly evidence to support the claim. County judge executives, city mayors, clerks, attorneys, code enforcement officers, police chiefs, and other officials contributed information on their local ordinances.

When the dust cleared, all of Kentucky’s 120 counties had responded. In addition, 181 cities were accounted for, with all but two “target cities” (those with populations over 2,000) reporting.  The findings developed into what is believed to be the first study of its kind in Kentucky—a comprehensive survey of Kentucky’s state, county, and city ordinances. 

Only 21 of the 120 counties in Kentucky have some sort of ordinance regulating sexually oriented businesses.  Of those 21, only eight had a comprehensive ordinance dealing with all three areas of regulation: time/place, licensing, and zoning—that’s less than seven percent of all Kentucky counties that are adequately protected against sexually oriented businesses.

Similarly, out of 185 cities that responded to the study’s inquiry, only 44 had ordinances, and only eleven of those were comprehensive , covering all three criteria.  Of the cities surveyed, 75 percent had no ordinances at all, and considering that the responding cities were those with populations of 2000 or more, and that smaller cities are even less likely to have enacted ordinances, the actually percentage of all Kentucky cities without protective ordinances is likely to be closer to 90 percent.

“Even those cities that recognized the need for an effective ordinance had problem areas,”  Huddleston said.  “Most owners of sexually oriented businesses are from out of state and have experience in initiating legal challenges.  They won’t look to challenge a strong ordinance when a weaker one exists in the next town.  Like any skilled predator, they will attack the weakest member of the pack first,” Huddleston said.

Wayne Macy, mayor of Hardinsburg only had to look across his county’s border to see how such businesses operate.  “We have never been plagued with this problem in our town, and I feel the city has always felt this type of business would never come to our rural community.  However, a neighboring town…has recently had to fight this battle with some difficulty,” he said. 

“This is a problem we might face, and I very much appreciate the results so we may develop a strategy against these types of operations,” Macy said.

While the statistics paint a grim picture for guarding the borders of Kentucky against an invasion of adult businesses, Huddleston says there is reason for optimism.  “Many of the city attorneys and county judges-executive are very receptive to passing effective ordinances,” he said.  “They only ask for guidance in writing ordinances that will stand up to scrutiny by the courts.”

Bob Miller, the mayor of Ryland Heights, shares that optimism.  “[This study] may very well help us develop the right strategy for our community,” Miller said.

The Family Foundation and Community Defense Council, a nonprofit legal educational group based in Arizona, are hosting two ordinance-drafting seminars for local officials this fall. 

Kent Ostrander, The Family Foundation’s executive director, sees the service as an important one. “We’re hoping many city and county officials will want to attend,” he said.  “Huddleston’s findings give us hard evidence for what many of us have suspected—that Kentucky is under protected from the wishes of adult entertainment entrepreneurs.”

Huddleston agreed.  “It’s not an issue that entertains procrastination.  The next thing they [communities] know is that they have a strip club set up on Main Street,” he said.  “It’s kind of like the man who puts off getting a new back door for the hen house.  Once the fox has entered, it’s too late.”
 

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