Virginia- Greene County has no sex shops, but if such a store opens in the future, county officials want to make sure the rules are clear about where it could be located.

The county’s Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission will hold a joint public hearing at 7:30 tonight in the County Administration Building to consider adding a section to the county code detailing where an adult business can set up shop.

Greene Administrator Barry Clark said recent issues in Staunton are behind the push for a code change.

“We’ve had some members of the public concerned because of those stories,” Clark said.

Staunton is home to After Hours Video, which opened last fall. Within weeks of its opening, owner Rick Krial was charged with 16 felony and eight misdemeanor counts of obscenity. Last month, store employee Tinsley Embrey was charged with six felony and four misdemeanor counts of obscenity.

While Clark said the county can’t ban a business, he explained that it could make sure an adult store isn’t located near churches or schools.

“I think the community and the public kind of want to guide where these things go,” Clark said. “We’d like those types of businesses to be a little bit more discreet.”

Under the proposed code revision, adult businesses could not be located within 500 feet of a church or school, Clark said. Clark said the county’s industrial areas would be most appropriate for sexually oriented businesses.

Debbie Orme, manager of Videos Etc.’s Crozet location, said she doesn’t think sexually oriented businesses need to be located next to schools. However, she said people who don’t want to see adult products wouldn’t notice them in a carefully run store such as hers.

At Video Etc., adult films and products are kept behind a door in the back of the store. Orme said the store is vigilant about requesting identification from anyone who looks to be a teenager. When adult customers want to make a purchase, Orme said, they leave the products in the back room, where an employee will put them in a black bag before the sale is completed.

“I think it’s better for people to come into a video store rather than go out to a bar and cheat,” Orme said.

Orme said she hasn’t received any complaints from the community regarding the store’s adult section.