Planning board seeking proactive stand against adult entertainment

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
The Hillsboro Planning Commission took a first step toward establishing an ordinance Thursday that would restrict adult entertainment enterprises within the city limits of Hillsboro.

City Administrator Steven Garrett said the initiative was a proactive effort to keep adult-entertainment businesses from being established in Hillsboro. No such enterprise has been proposed at this point.

“We wanted to do something enforceable in case we were ever approached by such a thing,” Garrett said.

The actual ordinance, which may be considered at the commission’s February or March meeting, specifically addresses escort agencies, adult book/video stores, adult novelty stores and “adult entertainment establishments,” which it defines as “any premises which provides adult sexually oriented entertainment, whether live or by motion pictures, videos, photographic reproductions or other means.”

Garrett said court decisions do not allow the outright ban of such enterprises because of free-speech considerations. But he said ordinances can restrict such establishments to such a point where they would find it extremely difficult to locate within a community.

The notion of establishing such an ordinance came in response to the establishment of adult-entertainment businesses along Interstate 70 at the exits to Wilson and Abilene.

In both cases, the property used for those businesses was in county domain. Garrett said he hoped the Marion County Planning & Zoning Board will make sure it establishes similar restrictions if it has not already done so.

“Our whole purpose in addressing this issue is that we want to be prepared for just such that has occurred at Wilson and Abilene,” Garrett said. “In both of those instances, buildings went up in county jurisdiction, but they reflect on the municipality, too.

“We wanted to address it (within Hillsboro) because we would have no way of controlling that kind of industry without such an ordinance,” he said.

“As city administrator, I hope I’m never in a situation where I have to enforce such an ordinance, but I don’t want inaction to be a detriment to our county someday.”

Once the ordinance has been approved by the Planning Commission, it will be recommended to the city council, which will hold a public hearing on the matter on a date to be determined later.

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