September 16, 2004

Village Council business—
Sex-business measure is approved

By Robert Mihalek

Village Council last week approved legislation that effectively restricts sexually oriented businesses to two areas within Yellow Springs and away from public spaces, schools and places of worship.

The ordinance limits adult-entertainment businesses to the General Business District, which is located on the south end of town along Xenia Avenue, and in portions of the Light Industrial Districts, which include areas that contain facilities for The Antioch Company, Vernay Laboratories’ Dayton Street plants, SoundSpace and YSI Incorporated. According to information prepared by Village Planner Phil Hawkey, sexually oriented businesses are permitted to operate in 2.5 percent of Yellow Springs, or 33 acres.

At its meeting Sept. 7, Council unanimously approved the second reading of the ordinance that creates a new chapter to the zoning code addressing sexually oriented businesses.

Council members have promoted the ordinance as a proactive tactic to regulate adult-entertainment businesses, and where they can operate, before any such businesses open for business in town.

Council president Tony Arnett said that the ordinance was being driven by “lessons that have been learned by other communities” that did not have regulations on the books addressing adult-entertainment businesses and were “badly burned.”

During the meeting, two third-year Antioch College students, Toni Severance and Levi Cowperthwaite, made an emotional plea to Council not to approve the ordinance, saying that it sends “dangerous messages” about Yellow Springs.

Severance said that the legislation sends a message that “sex is shameful and we don’t want it in our town.” She urged Council not to pass legislation that excludes “businesses that are sex-positive” and promote education about sex. Severance offered to help Council rewrite the ordinance so it “does not exclude” organizations that focus on sex education.

Both students also said that the ordinance would push sexually oriented businesses “to the fringes” of the community.

Council member George Pitstick and Arnett, both of whom have been the most vocal supporters of the legislation on Council, noted that the ordinance did not prohibit sexually oriented businesses from Yellow Springs, but regulates where they can operate. Pitstick said that Council does not want such businesses operating next to schools and churches.

The legislation prohibits such businesses from operating within 500 feet of schools, day care centers, libraries, public parks, government buildings and places of worship. The restrictions also effectively prohibit businesses from opening downtown.

The ordinance defines sexually-oriented establishments as an adult arcade, bookstore, novelty and video store, cabaret, motel and movie theater, escort agency, massage parlor, “semi-nude model studio” and “sexual encounter establishment.” It defines adult bookstores, novelty stores and video stores as businesses in which more than 50 percent of the stock or revenue consists of sexually oriented products.

The ordinance requires a sexually oriented business to incorporate screening or covering on doors and windows to “prevent any view into the interior” of the operation. It also prohibits businesses from erecting advertising that could be seen from public areas, including sidewalks. An adult business that abuts land that is zoned residential, agriculture or conservation would be required to build a fence six feet high, separating the business from those neighbors.

In other Council business:

• Council unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the Village treasurer to appoint representatives to collect fees the Village receives within a 48-hour period. Council will hold a second reading at its next meeting, Sept. 20. Arnett said that the ordinance would officially authorize the Village finance director to handle the Village’s funds, as she currently does.

The ordinance puts the Village in compliance with the Village Charter, which states that “all fees received by any officer or employee of the Village shall be turned over to the Village Treasurer not later than f48 hours after being collected.” Because the treasurer is a part-time employee, it is more realistic to allow Village employees to handle funds, Arnett said.

• Council received a letter from Chris and Doug Roberts, who own Caboose Bike & Skate, notifying the Village that they have sold their lease of the yellow cabooses along the bikepath and are resigning from their lease with the Village, effective Nov. 1. Council has the right to approve the transfer of the lease. Arnett suggested that Council consider the transfer after it is contacted by the new owner.

• Council unanimously approved a resolution renewing Village Solicitor John Chamber’s contract for another year. Chambers and other members of his firm, Coolidge, Wall, Womsley & Lombard, are paid at a rate of $135 an hour, which Arnett said was not an increase over last year’s fee.

Pitstick said that Chambers has been “prompt and thorough.” Arnett said that Council did not hold a formal review process for Chambers. “I have no qualms about Mr. Chambers’s service,” Arnett said.

• Council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the Village to increase to $108,005 its payment on a loan for the Joint Venture 2, or JV2, project with American Municipal Power of Ohio, the Village’s wholesale electricity provider. The Village had budgeted a payment of $73,000 in principal and interest this year, Village Manager Rob Hillard reported.

The Village plans to speed up its loan payments on the project and pay it off in five years, Hillard said. He also said that the Village has “extra capital” in the electric fund to make the increased payments. “I think it’s to our advantage to pay off the loan as soon as possible,” he said.

JV2 gives the Village access to “peak time” power, or power that is needed when the community’s demand for electricity outpaces the normal supply. When this happens, the Village can tap into power generated from the JV2 project to meet demand.

• Council unanimously approved a resolution accepting a $31,372 bid from Big K. Excavating of Springfield to repair the sanitary sewer at Corry Street and Kieth’s Alley. The Village budgeted $32,750 for the project. The project will repair part of the sewer line, where a manhole has deteriorated, allowing waste to seep into the ground.

• Council unanimously approved a resolution adopting an updated enterprise zone agreement that gives The Antioch Company a 10-year 75 percent tax abatement on a new press. The resolution includes new language adopted by the Ohio legislature for enterprise zones. The new agreement does not change the Village’s original deal with The Antioch Company, Arnett said.

• Council unanimously approved a resolution adopting the Village 2005 tax budget. Arnett called the resolution a “formality.”

• Council unanimously passed the first reading of an emergency ordinance ratifying a new 10-year cable franchise agreement with Time Warner Cable. An emergency ordinance is approved with one reading, instead of the normal two. This was the second agreement the Village reached with Time Warner this year. After the first contract was approved, Time Warner asked the Village to amend the pact. The new agreement includes a section outlining how subscribers can complain to Time Warner about its service.