Sexually oriented shops to be regulated

First reading of ordinance amendment to be held Monday

Rome commissioners heard from a Chattanooga attorney concerning what he characterized as the detriments of “sexually oriented businesses” at a special called meeting on Friday.

The meeting comes less than a week after the announcement by The Love Library, which currently has a location at 5262 Shorter Ave., would be opening a location on Tribune Street downtown.

The commissioners heard a presentation from Scott Bergthold, a Chattanooga attorney who has been working with the city attorney’s office on how to amend the current ordinance to include restrictions on sexually oriented businesses.

“Certain types of stores are magnets or hotspots for crimes,” he said in support of his statements that adult entertainment stores are bad for the community.

Bergthold outlined five adverse effects that sexually oriented businesses have on communities. The presentation was a similar to one Bergthold gave to the county commission in 2006.

When Entice Adult Superstore opened its doors in 2006, the County Commission responded by adopting an adult entertainment ordinance. After a costly legal scuffle the parties eventually settled. The store amended its name and eventually the Frisky Biscuit opened at the same location after Entice went bankrupt in 2015.

The proposed ordinance would set standards for an “adult arcade, an adult bookstore, an adult motion picture theater, a semi-nude lounge, or a sexual device shop.”

Commissioners will hold a first reading on Feb. 18 at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall, 601 Broad St. They also scheduled another meeting for Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. Two readings are required before it can be adopted.

The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Feb. 25. All City Commission meetings are open to the public.

Commissioners declined to make a statement on the ordinance amendment. City Commissioner Wendy Davis was not present at the hearing

The shop, which already has a storefront and merchandise on display, is billed as an

intimate-apparel boutique for couples, with other merchandise including candles, massage oils, books, magazines and tobacco products.

Under the proposed ordinance, sexually oriented businesses and their employees would have to obtain permits similar to those required for alcohol sales and service.

It also limits locations to no closer than 750 feet to a church, school or daycare and no closer than 300 feet to an establishment that sells alcohol for on-premises consumption. The proximity would be measured in a straight line, to the closest point of the property.

A clause in the ordinance gives establishments that are open before it’s adopted until Jan. 1, 2021 to conform to the regulations or close.