CHERRY HILL, NJ — Township council will introduce an ordinance tonight that’s aimed at stopping an adult video/sex toy shop from opening along Route 70 at the center of town.

The owner of the planned store is suing the township, arguing Cherry Hill is breaking the law because it has next to no land zoned for porn stores, which are protected under both the federal and state constitutions.

Mayor Bernie Platt [pictured] and township council believe the proposed ordinance will counteract the lawsuit filed last year by Jim Restaino of Union County.

If approved, the measure would open up more land in Cherry Hill’s industrial area near Interstate 295 to porn shops, said Warren Faulk, a First Amendment attorney now advising the township.

That means adult video store owners like Restaino could no longer complain they have nowhere to operate in town, Faulk said.

Township officials selected this section of Cherry Hill for sexually oriented businesses because it’s in a mainly industrial section that’s a distance away from residential neighborhoods and major roads.

The township this week will file a motion with state Superior Court Judge Francis Orlando, Faulk said. The motion will ask the judge to reopen legal proceedings and review the proposed changes to Cherry Hill’s zoning ordinance.

Tonight’s council meeting is at 7:30 p.m. at the municipal building, 820 Mercer St.

Council will hold a public hearing and final vote on the ordinance at its Nov. 27 meeting.