Changes sought in adult-store laws

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, Aug. 5, 1999 | 11:22 a.m.

Two ordinances created to prevent clusters of adult-oriented businesses from popping up in neighborhoods is expected to keep entrepreneurs from running to the county after being denied permits in other jurisdictions.

Clark County's existing ordinance allows adult shops and cabarets to be 500 feet from each other; the Las Vegas law says they must be 1,000 feet apart.

"If the applicants were within 1,000 feet of another shop in the city, they would go right across the street to the county," said Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone, who proposed the new ordinance.

Malone said the Sahara Avenue and Industrial Road neighborhood, where adult businesses are clustered, is a perfect example.

The ordinance was pushed through when rumors were circulating that owners of the Sporting House, a fitness club located on Industrial in the county, had considered selling their building to a cabaret owner. The Sporting House is less than 1,000 feet away from the strip club Crazy Horse Too.

Malone said he was simply looking for consistency in city and county ordinances.

The second ordinance introduced at Wednesday's county zoning meeting allows for a moratorium to be placed on new applicants in case commissioners disagree on the new distance ordinance proposed by Malone.

Both ordinances are scheduled to be adopted Aug. 18.

"If my colleagues and I don't feel comfortable at the time of the vote, the moratorium allows us more time for research," Malone said.

If the commission agrees on the new distance requirements for the businesses, the law would go into affect Sept. 1. If the law is passed during the Aug. 18 meeting, the moratorium ordinance will be nullified.

In the meantime, however, anyone interested in opening an adult-oriented business in the county that would sit 500 feet from another shop of its kind has until Aug. 18 to submit an application.

"There is nothing that prohibits any new club owner who wants to expand to build a new store," Malone said. "There is nothing legally we can do about that."

Malone said he began drafting the ordinance after he took notice of clusters of adult-oriented businesses while driving through the county. He discussed the businesses with Metro Police officials, who claim calls for services are higher in areas where cabarets or adult shops are located.