NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts – In a steamy meeting replete with sexually explicit exhibits, the Planning Board last night approved an ordinance that would limit the display size of adult material in stores throughout most of the city.

The magazine “Naughty Neighbors” was among the talking points at the meeting, as both the Planning Board and Ordinance Committee wrestled with issues such as free speech and the definition of pornography while taking in the concerns of residents.

Proposed by Mayor Mary Clare Higgins and City Councilors Marianne L. LaBarge and Marilyn A. Richards, the ordinance would amend the zoning laws to restrict adult displays to 1,000 square feet in all zones except Highway If passed into law by the City Council, it would limit the size of the display racks at Capital Video, which has proposed opening a large store at 135 King St.

Some business owners have criticized the city’s attempts to restrict sexually explicit material, saying that it could result in a crackdown that would encompass other stores.

Lisa Fricke, who owns Modern Myths, a Bridge Street store that sells comic books and graphic novels, waved a fistful of works by award-winning artists, saying she feared they could be tagged pornography.

“Please be very careful with this legislation,” Fricke said.

Nick Pell and Courtney Souza, who were identified as assistants to entertainment lawyer Peter Brooks, set up a display shelf and covered it with material that they said could fall within the zoning amendment.

Showing the board an issue of “Naughty Neighbors,” Pell said that works by the Marquis de Sade, which some consider classics, could come under the law as well. Souza read from a Cosmopolitan story titled “A Hot Night in the Tent” until Planning Board Chairman Francis A. Johnson asked her to stop.

Residents of the King Street neighborhood applauded the ordinance, however, saying it balances free speech rights with their concerns.

The Planning Board was divided on the ordinance, voting 5-3 to recommend its passage. David Wilensky called it a “terrible idea,” saying that the ordinance is tailored toward regulating a specific store.