Agenda - Planning Commission - 05/04/1999

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Page 4 ~ April 25, 1999 zog. rights extended only to the iow-water mark; beyond that, ownership belonged to the state. Finally, ordering Hawks to remove the storage boat didn't amount to a taking because it didn't deprive him of all reasonable use of his property. Hawks could use his lakefront property as he wanted, and although he couldn't use his storage boat as he wanted, he could still use it elsewhere or convert it into a houseboat. .- see also: Holt v. City of Sauk Rapids, 559 N. W.2d 444 (1997). Adult Entertainment -- Owner claims grandfathered right to operate adult bookstore Citation: Wolfe v. The Village of Brice, U.S. District Court for the Southern Dibtrict of Ohio, Eastern Div., No. 95CV00894 (]999) Wolfe owned commercial property in the village of Brice, Ohio. The village's only adult bookstore had operated legally on the property before Wolfe bought it. In 1991, the village ordered the bookstore closed for one year based on its finding that the bookstore was a nuisance. The bookstore didn't reopen after the forced closure ended. In 1994, the village passed an ordinance that prohibited adult businesses, including bookstores, within 1,000 feet of a church or' school or within 300 feet of a residential area. The ordinance prohibited operating an adult business on Wolfe's property, which was within 1,000 feet of a church and a school, and effectively prohibited operating an adult business anywhere in the village. The following year, Wolfe rented his property to a tenant who planned on opening an adult bookstore. It was unclear whether the tenant ever opened such a business. The village claimed the bookstore never opened, but Wolfe claimed the bookstore opened briefly but shut down when the tenant discov- ered it was a zoning violation. Wolfe never rented the property after 1995. Wolfe sued the village, claiming its adult entertainment ordinance violated his free speech rights. In 1996, the village amended its adult entertainment ordinance to reduce the 1,000-foot buffer zone to 750 feet. This left 27 percent of the village's commercial property available for adult entertainment use, but still prohibited Wolfe's property from being used for such purposes. In 1998, the court found that the 1994 ordinance was unconstitutional and ordered a trial to determine Wolfe's damages. Wolfe then amended.his com- plaint to challenge the unconstitutionality of the 1996 amendment. ' The village asked the court for judgment without a trial on Wolfe's claim that the 1996 amendment violated his free speech rights. Wolfe claimed he could operate an adult bookstore on his property as a preexisting, nonconform- ing use. According to Wolfe, if it weren't for the unconstitutional 1994 ordinance, there would have been an adult bookstore operating on his property before the town passed the 1996 amendment.