Proponents of a strip club here have filed suit in federal court claiming a new state law requiring exotic dancers to be at least six feet away from patrons is illegal.
Idaho Business Holdings LLC, which proposed the Elite Cabaret, claims in its suit filed in U.S. District Court of Arizona that a new distance requirement for sexually oriented businesses makes it impossible to open the club in the city, the East Valley Tribune reported.
Although adult businesses are not banned outright by the law, the club’s owners say the measure violates their rights of free speech and equal protection.
The suit claims Tempe officials purposely delayed considering the proposed club’s business license because it couldn’t stop it from moving into town. By law, adult businesses in Tempe must be at least 1,000 feet from parks, schools, churches, neighborhoods and other public places. The suit claims the club proposal had met the requirement.
But the suit contends that Tempe officials turned to Rep Laura Knaperek, R-Tempe to make it impossible for adult businesses to operate in the city. Knaperek then drafted a bill that was ultimately approved, calling for a statewide buffer of a quarter-mile or 1,320 feet to purposely block the club.
But Knaperek denied the measure targeted Elite Cabaret, saying she never discussed the bill with city officials.
