BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer Contributor
MORROW -- Village council is considering a law regulating adult bookstores or exotic dance clubs just in case a sexually oriented business opens.
The measure could be in place by August or September, officials said.
Village Solicitor Mike Powell said Wednesday he has to add language to establish a time period for the zoning inspector to approve or deny a permit for such businesses. The provision also must provide for a temporary permit if an unfavorable decision is appealed. The village's Planning Committee is to consider the legislation at a June 16 meeting at village offices on East Pike Street.
Mr. Powell also said a public hearing has to be held before village council can vote on the ordinance. If the measure is passed, he added, it is not an invitation to open a sexually oriented business.
"Once we do that, they have to compete in the marketplace like everybody else," Mr. Powell said.
The bill prohibits adult bookstores, exotic dance clubs and other such businesses from opening within 500 feet of a church, school, recreational area, government building or residential zone, and allows them only in business zones.
It also limits operating hours to between 10 a.m. and midnight and calls for a $100 fine for the first violation and a $250 fine and up to 30 days in jail for subsequent convictions.
When council sent a draft of the ordinance to the Planning Committee last month, there appeared to be a flaw -- no place in the village met the distance requirements. But Wednesday, the Planning Committee located a spot where such businesses could operate -- a large field on the south side of U.S. 22 - Ohio 3 at the western edge of town.
Mayor Vic Center said no one has inquired about starting a sexually oriented business. He said the village's relatively remote location makes it a poor choice.
"They're going to have trouble building a strip bar in Morrow," Mr. Center said.
Since September, Warren County commissioners have been discussing amendments to its rural zoning code as it pertains to sexually oriented businesses.
The sticking point there concerns the amount of time needed to conduct background checks on owners and employees, and then approve or deny operating permits. The amendments call for 45 days for background checks and 60 days for permits.
Mr. Powell, an assistant county prosecutor, said a federal judge has ruled that 60 days is too long, and commissioners want the amendments to pass constitutional scrutiny.
