PALM BAY, Fla. - The Palm Bay City Council will resume discussions about a controversial, commercially-zoned section of the city that is being proposed as an adult business area. Council members are expected to set meeting dates today.
Last month, the council delayed a decision on where to allow adult businesses but voted to approve stricter regulations and a complete ban of public nudity. Businesses and property owners turned out in large numbers, armed with over two thousand signatures, to oppose the original location for the zone. Now, council members are charged with finding a new area for adult businesses.
According to Florida Today, citizens are urging council members to find scattered locations around the city to allow adult businesses and to not cluster them in one area.
Palm Bay Mayor John Mazziotti has listed major roadways where he said adult establishments should not be allowed because those roads would give them visibility. "They want to be on the main roads, so that would discourage them," he told Florida Today.
Palm Bay's current law allows sexually-oriented businesses in commercial districts, but require such establishments to maintain a certain distance from residential areas, daycare centers, public parks, schools, church and other institutions.
Michael Kahn, an attorney hired by Palm Bay to revise the ordinance, told city officials he feels the city should allow for 13 to 16 potential sites. However, Planning Director Dave Watkins said that Kahn's suggestion of 13 to 16 locations might be impossible with the restrictions Mayor Mazziotti has laid out.
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