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March 20, 2008

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Thu Mar 20, 2008, 11:46 PM CDT

By Susan Redden

sredden@joplinglobe.com

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Members of the Jasper County Commission on Thursday agreed to wait a week to act on a new ordinance regulating adult-video stores and similar operations.

The commissioners discussed the proposed measure with their lawyer and with residents who have organized to oppose adult businesses in the county. All agreed on the delay. John Putnam, a spokesman for adult-business opponents who filled the commission chambers for the meeting, said postponing action would allow the measure to be revised to add more restrictions.

The commission earlier approved an ordinance regulating adult cabarets, in response to plans by Ernest Doyon, of Wichita, Kan., to open a juice bar with seminude dancing off Interstate 44 between Joplin and Sarcoxie.

That operation is not open, but the owner is trying to open Vegas Video, an adult-video outlet, at the same location.

Though opposition started in response to Doyon’s plans for the juice bar, Putnam, spokesman for Citizens for a Decent Environment, said members don’t just want to target a single location, but they also want to work against other adult-video stores and video arcades already open in the county.

Joplin attorney Bill Fleischaker, who represents Vegas Video and two other adult businesses in the county, said the measures, if adopted, would have “a significant impact” on the operations of his clients.

“It will make it extremely difficult for them to engage in business profitably,” he said. “A substantial portion of their business is viewing videos on the premises. With this, they would have more privacy at Northpark 14,” a reference to Hollywood Theaters’ Northstar 14 movie complex in Joplin.

Fleischaker said the commission, if it adopts the new measure, might be exceeding its authority. He said he and his clients “are seriously considering litigation.”

“The Supreme Court has said you can’t zone these businesses out of existence, so clearly you can’t pass regulations that make it impossible for them to operate,” he said. “That’s what they’re trying to do here.”

Among other things, the ordinance would require an adult-business license from the county, increased lighting and the removal of doors from booths where patrons view videos. It also could require that the booths be configured to make them more visible. Business licenses would prohibit sexual activity, prostitution, solicitation, gambling, or the use of drugs or alcohol.

Adult-business opponents suggested changes to the ordinance concerning age limits and hours of operation. The current measure would bar admission to those under 18; Putnam suggested that be raised to 21. It also would require that the operations be closed between 1 and 6 a.m.; Putnam called for the hours to be further limited. He noted that the county’s new cabaret ordinance requires a 2,000-foot setback from homes, and he said there should be a least a 1,000-foot setback from other adult businesses.

He said his group has gathered more than 1,400 signatures on petitions that support actions of the commission.

“We appreciate the commission and all the work Blake (Wolf, the commission’s counsel) has done,” he said.

Putnam said he based his recommendations on talks with an attorney for the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families. He said the attorney had drafted adult-business regulations that had been upheld in several states, and that he reviewed the county’s draft at the local group’s request. He said the attorney also had some other comments, which he would forward to Wolf.

“We’re comfortable in waiting, to pass the best ordinance possible,” he said.

Wolf said he would check to see if the suggestions could be added, noting that the county “has more statutory authority to regulate cabarets than other businesses.”

The ordinance under review is based, in part, on one in effect in Jackson County.

But Fleischaker said he questions whether the commission could adopt such a measure, because Jackson County is a home rule charter county that can write its own legislation, and Jasper County’s authority comes from state statutes.

Business license

Attorney Bill Fleischaker said the county is unnecessarily delaying the issuance of a business license for Vegas Video. County officials say licensing can come 30 days after inspections by the Carthage Fire Department, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department and the Jasper County Health Department.