TAMPA – Do Hillsborough County residents want tougher restrictions on adult entertainment, or are they willing to live and let live?
Commissioner Ronda Storms thinks voters will support a tough antinudity ordinance, and on Wednesday, she renewed her call for a referendum on the issue.
“I may be dead wrong,” Storms told her colleagues.
Her proposal caught commissioners off guard. They said it’s premature to call for a referendum.
“We want to make sure we do this right,” Commissioner Ken Hagan said. “We don’t want to mess it up.”
Hagan and other commissioners said they support Storms’ desire to put the ordinance to a vote and could place it on the ballot in November.
The nudity issue flared during a morning discussion about prohibiting mobile adult entertainment venues, such as the “stripper bus” parked outside Raymond James Stadium during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ most recent home game.
Hagan said he wants lawyers to review whether regulations deal with mobile adult entertainment or whether changes to strengthen the laws are needed.
Storms said taking such an approach to the adult industry, which she described as “a bottomless pit of creativity,” was piecemeal.
“The issue for this community to deal with is the adult entertainment industry across the board,” Storms said.
Last year, commissioners refused to allow a nonbinding referendum on whether to ban nude entertainment, even after 10,000 people signed petitions calling for the vote.
This year, the county hired attorney Scott Bergthold, who specializes in adult regulations, for $10,000 to review county rules that restrict, but do not prohibit, nude entertainment.
On Wednesday, commissioners refused to accept a settlement with Gemini Property Ventures LLC, which has sued the county for prohibiting the opening of a bikini bar in Valrico.
The suit claims Storms “threatened or coerced” county employees to deny permits for the bar, a charge she denies.
The trial, and further discussion about an antinudity referendum, appears likely to occupy commissioners in January.
“This industry is very brazen and bold because the signal from local government is we are not going to treat you seriously,” Storms said.