Johns Creek, Georgia- The new city of Johns Creek is on track to start the same way that Sandy Springs did - with a fight over adult entertainment that will likely put the city in court.
Mike Bodker, who is unopposed for mayor, declared at a Town Hall meeting last week that as soon as the City Council is official in November, it will adopt adult entertainment ordinances to regulate places like the Love Shack, an adult video chain trying to open in the heart of this north Fulton city.
Voters approved creation of the city in July. After elections in November, the city opens for business Dec. 1.
"I'm going to introduce ordinances, and they will be [the] strongest ordinances allowed," Bodker said to a cheering crowd of 1,000 or more upset residents. "On Dec. 1, if they open we're prepared; if they don't, we're prepared."
Sandy Springs did the same thing when it became a city almost a year ago. Days after Sandy Springs became a city, the City Council passed a series of ordinances redefining adult businesses and toughening zoning laws to push adult video stores and strip clubs off the town's main drag or possibly close.
"We were responding to what we heard from residents and the business community in the referendum and in the elections," Sandy Springs Mayor Eva Galambos said. "We heard loud and clear what the community was telling us, and that's, 'We don't like them and do something to control them.' "
The adult businesses promptly sued in state Superior and federal District courts, and the city's effort ground to a halt. In the meantime, the stores and strip clubs remain open as before.
The jury is out on the Sandy Springs cases. The field of adult entertainment has been well-litigated, but it's constantly evolving, said L. Lynn Hogue, a constitutional law professor at Georgia State University. He said adult businesses can be regulated but not regulated out of business.
"There's frequent skirmishing that occurs because cities and counties want to restrict the businesses," he said. "There's so much money in these businesses that it brings out legal creativity [by the businesses]."
Attorney Alan Begner, who represents the Love Shack, said Johns Creek should focus on more pressing problems.
"They're not even a city and they're messing with us," Begner said. "It's easy to challenge us as a way to divert real questions. Communities are more accepting than ever before."
John Cornetta, owner of the Love Shack chain, is trying to open an adult superstore at Jones Bridge and States Bridge roads, near a residential neighborhood and an established dance school.
For now the proposed business is governed by Fulton County. Under county law, adult businesses - establishments with more than 25 percent of their inventory being adult-oriented - can only operate in certain locations away from churches, residences, parks and other facilities.
Cornetta tried to outfox the county by trying to qualify for a regular business license by limiting his adult inventory to less than 25 percent. His other inventory includes lubricants, lingerie, rubber goods, and tobacco accessories.
Fulton County still refused to give Cornetta a business license, saying it's an adult business, and Cornetta sued in federal court. On Dec. 1, the new city will become a target in the lawsuit as well.
One change in the law that Bodker supports is to tighten the adult entertainment definitions. The 25 percent threshold probably will be reduced substantially.
Regulating adult businesses should be a priority, said Johns Creek resident Renee Todd, whose daughter attends the dance school nearby.
"I think he [Bodker] is speaking for his constituents," she said. "There are lots of places that are appropriate and this location is not appropriate. It's the type of people it attracts."
