TONAWANDA, N.Y. – After blocking a proposal for a prospective strip club, town officials are now trying to make it more difficult for all adult-oriented businesses to locate within the town limits of Tonawanda, near Buffalo, N.Y.
According to a recent report, a public hearing is scheduled for Oct. 29 on a proposed local law establishing a four-month moratorium on proposals involving adult uses, including adult bookstores, massage parlors and movie theaters. The board plans on instituting the adult business moratorium so it can take some time to strengthen that particular section of the town code.
“We are looking to tighten up the law, to make it a little more restrictive within the guidelines,” Councilman John A. Bargnesi Jr., chairman of the Town Board's Planning Board Committee, told the Tonawanda News.
The board denied issuing a permit to the Grand Island Boulevard, a strip club and restaurant, in May. The proposed club's chosen location was zoned properly, but in the end it was rejected because of a town law which allows the supervisor to "act in the best interest of the community.
The developer did not challenge the board’s decision.
Outlawing all forms of adult entertainment within a municipality is prohibited by the Constitution, but local governments do have the ability to decide where it's "least harmful" to situate them, according to the report.
“Certainly, [adult businesses] cannot be banned townwide," said town attorney, Daniel T. Cavarello said.
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