Mooresville Improves SOB Ordinance

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Mooresville Improves SOB Ordinance

Special Report - December 10, 2010
At their December 6th meeting, the Mooresville town commissioners unanimously approved amendments to clarify and make more restrictive the town’s existing sexually oriented business ordinance. According to the Mooresville Tribune, the changes to the ordinance included:

Expanding the list of possible sexually oriented businesses affected by the ordinance to reflect the more inclusive list in state law.
Clarifying the kinds of locations where sexually oriented businesses may be allowed.
Implementing more stringent proximity restrictions to double the minimum distance of these sexually oriented establishments away from homes, religious, institutions, schools, and day care centers from 500 feet to 1,000 feet.
Adding “any facility, structure, or property whose primary purpose is to provide services, recreation, or entertainment with or without fee to any person under 18 (eighteen) years of age” to the separation distance list.

The changes reflect an attempt by the commissioners to align the town’s ordinance language more closely with state statutes, apply the ordinance to a wider array of sexually-oriented businesses, and better control their location and proximity to minors in the town. Mooresville has had an ordinance to manage sexually oriented businesses since 2002. Staff for the town’s planning board did express concern that some of the changes, especially the increased separation distance requirement, could open the town to a possible legal challenge.

Related resources:
Greensboro Sex Club Closed - January 26, 2010
Alamance Strip Club Case Settled - November 20, 2009
State Fights for Restricting Sexually Oriented Businesses - October 27, 2006
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Restrictions on SOBs - June 10, 2004