A Federal appellate court has upheld the city’s ordinance requiring adult business to carry a special permit to operate.
The Tuesday ruling went against the owner of Dr. John’s Boutique who sued the city, claiming the measure is unconstitutional because it gave the city officials too much discretion over his shop’s operation, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
The city adopted the measure just a few months after the store opened and began selling lingerie, swimwear, vibrators, sex toys, videos and magazines. The ordinance requires all sexually-oriented businesses to be open only from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. It also requires lighting outside the building, bans loitering and requires a licensing fee.
Officials said the ordinance was meant to combat crime and so-called health problems related to the sale of explicit materials.
The owners of Dr. John’s sued the city after it was told to apply for a business license for a sexually-oriented business. The shop owner had instead applied for a general business license before filing the suit.
In 2004, a judge ruled that the regulation is constitutional but said the dispute over whether Dr. John’s is an adult store should be settled in court.
The store’s attorney, W. Andrew McCullough, said the fight will now head to federal and state court, adding that the ordinance defining stores as sexually oriented is vague and must be clarified.
