Agenda - Planning Commission - 03/02/1999

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z.g. February 10, 1999 -- Page 3 protected only those communities and community institutions that were most vulnerable to their adverse impacts. According to the New York court, the regulations would allow adult busi- nesses to remain in districts that allowed a wide mix.:of commercial, retail, entertainment, and manufacturing uses. Ali of the areas in the city zoned to allow adult uses, and at least 80 percent of the land in the city's other boroughs, were within a 10-minute walk from a subway line or major bus route. Various club owners then sued the city in federal court, but the court dis- missed their claims after determining ail of the claims had been addressed by the state court decision. The clubs appealed to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which in Hickerson v. City of New York, 146 F.3d 99, affirmed the district court's finding that the clubs had a full and fair opportunity to litigate their claims in state court. The 2nd Circuit specifically stated the city could immediately begin to enforce the zoning regulations. The court also pointed out that it had previously upheld the zoning regulations in another case, Buzzetti v. City of New York, t40 F.3d 134. (The 2nd Circuit's decision in Buzzetti was summarized in the April 25, 1998, issue of Zoning Bulletin.) The club owners appealed t6 the U.S. Supreme Court, which rejected with- out comment appeals in both lawsuits. The two decisions are Amsterdam Video hzc. v. New York City (No. 98-569) and Hickerson v. New York City, (No. 8574). What now? The New York Civil Liberties Union, which represented customers of adult businesses in the appeals, voiced concerns that the city might get even more aggressive in its assault against adult entertainment by sending what will amount to SWAT teams to businesses city officials believe to be adult. What remains unclear, however, is how the city will fare overall in its war against sex shops J given that adult businesses are already finding loopholes in the city's regulations. One business, for example, lost its label as' an adult business by allowing minors to enter and in a decision New York's mayor called "nuts," a state court upheld the club's actions. The same court, however, refused to let another business take this'approach because the second club only recently started admitting minors. Other businesses have declared themselves no longer adult businesses because they have reduced the amount of their mer- chandise that qualifies as pornographic. Adult Entertainment ' City limits adult entertainment to .11 percent of developable land Citation: A.F.M. Limited v. City of Medford, Sul~reme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, No. SJC-O77J 4 (1999) The city of Medford, Mass., had a zoning ordinance that restricted adult bookstores, video stores, and theaters to the city's C-2 district. The ordinance also required adult businesses to get a special permit before opening and