BALTO. COUNTY COUNCIL EYES CRACKDOWN ON ADULT BUSINESSES ...
Wednesday June 30th 2010 9:26 AM
... Firefighters also asking for sprinkler requirement for new county homes ...
baltimoresun.com
By Mary Gail Hare, The Baltimore Sun
8:13 PM EDT, June 29, 2010
Businesses that stock adult entertainment products could face a stark choice under a proposal that's again moving through the Baltimore County Council: scale back on sexual inventory or find a less visible location.
The County Council is set to strengthen zoning restrictions on adult video stores, massage parlors and tattoo and body-piercing shops at its meeting next Tuesday.
The proposal would ban those businesses and any others that sell or display sexual paraphernalia and material from operating within 1,000 feet of many establishments — including churches, libraries, day care centers, homes or other family facilities. Current law sets the distance at 500 feet.
The bill, sponsored by Council Chairman John Olszewski and Councilman Sam Moxley, would also reduce the standard for the total adult inventory from 20 percent to 15 percent. The same lower percentage would apply to the establishment's gross retail sales. Businesses that exceed those percentages would be subject to the distance restrictions.
Under the proposal, businesses would be barred from displaying adult material for rental or sale outside. Owners would also have to separate viewing booths with solid partitions to prevent any sharing of materials.
"The idea of separate booths is to stop interaction in these facilities," Olszewski said at a council work session Tuesday.
If the bill passes, owners who do not meet the distance, inventory and sales standards would be required to close or move within a year of the law's enactment.
The councilmen had drafted a similar bill two months ago but withdrew it rather than add numerous amendments and to make certain they were on solid legal footing, Olszewski said.
"We have one clean bill now that incorporates all the restrictions," he said. "I expect it to pass."
Also at the work session, several firefighters asked the council to amend its building code and require sprinkler systems in all new residential construction. Sprinkler legislation is in place in 11 Maryland counties, and fire officials said the change would improve safety for residents and firefighters.
The county has mandated the installation of sprinklers in townhomes and multifamily dwellings since 1992. The proposed change would include single-family homes.
mary.gail.hare@baltsun.com
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