By Petra Chesner Schlatter

Morrisville Borough Council voted unanimously July 14 to schedule a public hearing for a proposed ordinance change for the ‘Adult-Oriented Establishment’ section in the Morrisville zoning code.

The purpose of the hearing is to have discussion and to receive comments from the public. The hearing will be held on Tuesday, August 11 at 6:30 p.m. at Morrisville Borough Hall, 35 Union Street, Morrisville.

The proposed ordinance comes at a time when the borough is being sued in federal court by Todd Colarusso, a principal in Stockham Interests, LLC. He is suing the borough and contends Morrisville zoning ordinances “impose restrictions and prohibitions on First Amendment protected expression.”

Colarusso’s application for a strip club on East Bridge Street was denied by the Morrisville Zoning Hearing Board. The board unanimously rejected his application in May, 2008.

The developer wants to put in a burlesque-style theater with topless women in the building. Other proposed uses in the building would be a health club and a restaurant.

According to James Downey, solicitor for Morrisville Borough Council, the complaint in federal court has been answered. “In federal court, you have so many days to answer a complaint,” he said.

When asked why this ordinance is important to the community, Downey said, “If we don’t change the ordinance, we’ll lose the lawsuit.”

Downey said the most important element in the ordinance is that “it provides a sufficient area to allow this use.”

Certain corrections are needed to comply with state and federal laws. The amendment would change a term regarding industrial land uses known as “Adult-Oriented Establishments.” The ordinance calls for using a different term, “Adult Entertainment Establishments.”

The term is a “more broad-based approach so there is no hyper-technical excuse that we didn’t dot the I’s and cross the T’s,” Downey said.

The proposed ordinance states that the “Borough Council desires to mitigate the potential socially adverse secondary effects generated by adult entertainment uses, including, but not limited to, traffic congestion, parking problems, the performance of sexual acts in public, crime associated with such uses, the littering of discarded sexually explicit materials near residential communities, loitering, threats to minors, neighborhood blight, property devaluation, an increase in drug use and an increase in prostitution.”

According to the proposed law, Adult Entertainment Establishments are permitted in Morrisville’s two industrial zones (I-2 and I-1) and should be located no less than 60 feet from any public or private school, church, residential use, any child or elder care facility.”

That rule, according to the proposal, also would apply to any other religious, institutional or educational use, any recreational or park lands or use, any indoor or outdoor athletic or cultural use, any indoor or outdoor entertainment establishment or use, or any other use by persons under the age of 18.

The proposed ordinance would not allow persons under the age of 18 years of age to patronize Adult Entertainment establishments or observe any specific sexual activities or materials.

“Nor shall any materials distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas be sold, lent, distributed, exhibited, shown, or given to any minor,” the proposed amendment reads.

The hours of operation of Adult Entertainment Establishments, according to the proposal, would be from Sunday through Thursday, noon to 10 p.m.; from noon to midnight on Friday; and, from noon to 2 a.m. on Saturday.

During all hours of operation, at least one employee would be posted at each public entrance to the adult entertainment establishment in order to verify that none of the patrons seeking to enter the facility are under age 18 -- or 21 if alcohol is being served with the adult entertainment facility. The area of the property at which the age of the patrons is verified would be situated such that “no specified anatomical areas or specified sexual activities are visible.”

The business would be equipped with operational security cameras, which would be used at all times to monitor all parking areas on the property and all public areas of the building (with the exception of restrooms).

Borough Council would take into consideration several court decisions, including City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc.; Mitchell v. Commission on Adult Entertainment Establishments; and Bottoms up Enterprises v. Borough of Homestead.

Also cited in the proposed ordinance are studies of the effect of adult entertainment uses in such case law and conducted by other local governments, such as the study conducted by the New York Planning Federation and the Village of Scotia, entitled “The Secondary Effects Study of Adult Entertainment Uses from the Village of Scotia” and a study conducted by the Town of Wilton, N. Y., entitled “Secondary Effects Analysis of Adult Oriented Businesses in the Town of Wilton, New York.

The Village of Scotia’s report provided a detailed summary of similar studies that had been undertaken in the following communities: Austin, Texas; El Paso, Texas; Newport News, Va.; Garden Grove, Calif.; Islip, N.Y.; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Rochester, N.Y.