Brewer eyes adult entertainment rule Proposal specifies areas were sexually themed businesses are allowed

BREWER – After weeks of work, a revised adult entertainment ordinance has been written for Brewer that, according to officials, provides a structure for the city to follow when X-rated video stores or other forms of sexually themed businesses wish to locate within city limits.

The draft ordinance will be discussed at 8:30 a.m. today at a special meeting of the five-member City Council at Brewer City Hall.

The proposal divides the city into two districts where adult movie theaters, adult nightclubs, cabarets, bars and adult relaxation spas can be located. These are the General Business Zone and the Industrial Zone as defined in the city’s Land Use Code. In general, the General Business Zone runs along State and Wilson streets to the Holden border. The Industrial Zone is located in the southeastern portion of the city, running from the East-West Industrial Park along the I-395 corridor and extends toward the Green Point Road.

Pandora’s Boxxx at 583 South Main St. would be grandfathered at its current location. The adult video store continues to be a concern to many South Brewer residents, some of whom picketed the establishment Wednesday night.

The Rev. Scott Cleveland, pastor of the neighboring Second Congregational Church, said the church and neighborhood are experiencing negative effects from the adult video store being located among them. His church has been refused as a satellite site for a home-school course because it abuts the video store. Neighbors are finding discarded adult toys on their lawns and video jackets with obscene pictures, Cleveland said.

Despite the concerns, the pastor expressed doubt that his parishioners or any of the anti-Pandora’s Boxxx contingent would attend Thursday’s meeting.

“It’s not a productive use of time or stress to engage the City Council at this point,” Cleveland said. “We’re exploring other options instead.”

Cleveland said the city, in revising its ordinance, was “operating under two misconceptions. The first ordinance is not unconstitutional, the pastor said. “The second fallacy is what reason is there to believe the city will enforce the new ordinance any better than it did the former?” Cleveland asked.

The proposed ordinance reduces from 1,000 feet to 500 feet the distance requirements between an adult entertainment facility and the lot lines of schools, churches, synagogues, public parks or municipal facilities. It reduces from 1,000 feet to 150 feet the distance between an adult entertainment business and the lot line of any residence or dwelling in the city.

David Russell, the city’s code enforcement officer, said the old ordinance, developed around 1997, became outdated as the city began expanding its business and residential districts.

The ordinance revision was developed by Russell, city planner Linda Johns, City Manager Steve Bost, Development Director Drew Sachs and City Attorney Joel Dearborn.

It is a response to a widely publicized situation Brewer officials found themselves in last June when the owner of Pandora’s Boxxx sued the city after it was refused a certificate of occupancy. The video store claimed the city’s Adult Use Establishment ordinance was unconstitutional. With its 1,000-foot setback requirements, the old ordinance left virtually no place in Brewer for Pandora’s Boxxx and other businesses like it to locate, thus violating their First Amendment rights, the lawsuit stated.

The city solicitor said the lawsuit could not be won by Brewer and could put residents at risk of paying $500,000 in damages. The City Council allowed Pandora’s Boxxx to open, then settled the lawsuit in August.

The proposed revision is based on “ordinances with proven track records,” Russell said. The city of Portland’s adult entertainment ordinance was studied closely.

“We’ve designated some area for this type of use, and it’s given us a fairly good percentage of parcels that are available,” Russell said. He didn’t specify the location or sizes of these parcels.

If it is approved Thursday, the revised ordinance will be posted for 10 days throughout the city before it is considered for final approval at an Oct. 14 meeting.