In an aim to stop an adult store from opening in the center of town, township council will introduce a new ordinance tonight.
The owner of the prospective store, Jim Restaino, has struck back by suing the township, arguing that the city is breaking the law, due to the fact that it has next to no land zoned for adult stores. Shops like the one he plans to build, Restaino argued, are protected under both the federal and state constitutions.
The Courier Post reported that Mayor Bernie Platt and township council believe the proposed ordinance will counteract the lawsuit filed last year by Restaino.
If approved, the measure would “open up more land in Cherry Hill's industrial area near Interstate 295 to porn shops,” Warren Faulk, a First Amendment attorney now advising the township, told the Courier Post.
“That means adult video store owners like Restaino could no longer complain they have nowhere to operate in town,” Faulk continued.
Township officials said that they designated a specific section of town that's a distance away from residential neighborhoods and major roads.
“The township this week will file a motion with state Superior Court Judge Francis Orlando,” Faulk told the report. “The motion will ask the judge to reopen legal proceedings and review the proposed changes to Cherry Hill's zoning ordinance.”
Council will hold a public hearing and final vote on the ordinance at its Nov. 27 meeting.
