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handle adult
businesses
Columbus County’s commissioners now have the perfect opportunity to update their ordinance concerning sexually oriented businesses by incorporating requirements from a 1977 county law.
The ordinance governing masseurs, massage parlors, health salons and clubs, passed in 1977, contains several requirements that would easily apply to regulations for sexually oriented businesses – i.e., adult entertainment.
The U.S. Constitution protects adult entertainment as an expression of free speech. County commissioners, the sheriff and other regulatory agencies must deal with this fact by instituting certain requirements.
The ordinance regulating massage parlors calls for the following from any person or group wishing to engage in the business, trade or profession:
• A written application containing the name, address and telephone number of the applicant, whether it be an individual or corporation.
• Written proof of good moral character. Each owner and/or employee would be subject to a complete criminal background check before the club’s business license would be issued.
• A health certificate for each employee, signed by a North Carolina doctor.
• The signed health certificate must be renewed every 60 days.
• An annual license of $500 per business location, and $50 for each employee, renewable each calendar year by an application at least 30 days prior to Dec. 31 of each year.
There is no present requirement by the county for an annual license of any type for any type business, be it legitimate massage parlor, adult entertainment location, or even a convenience store.
• Hours of operation for public business to be between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily.
• The date and hour of each public customer to be recorded by the name of the employee furnishing the service, a list subject to inspection by law enforcement at any reasonable time.
Our commissioners should also reduce the distance requirements of 3,000 feet from a church to the 1,200 feet declared by the U.S. Supreme Court to be the minimum boundary.
Added boundary requirements from a school or residence could be added if they meet court standards.
These additional requirements would go a long way toward increasing stringent rules regarding places and employees of adult entertainment businesses.
And, the commissioners wouldn’t have to go far to find the appropriate paragraphs and language of the additional regulations.