Town officials have scheduled a special September meeting to discuss a sexually oriented business ordinance. According to a recent report, Farmingdale residents will be asked either to repeal the town's ordinance or allow the appropriately named 1st Amendment Adult Book & Video to reopen its doors.
The store closed in June to comply with the town’s current ordinance, due to the fact that it sits within a 1,000 feet of a residential area.
Will Stuart, owner of 1st Amendment Adult Book & Video, submitted a petition to the town requesting that his business be grandfathered in, despite the 1,000-foot residential buffer law.
Stuart was given five years to comply with the ordinance, at the time it was drawn up in March 2002. Opponents say that he was given ample time to move his business.
Stuart volunteered to incur the costs of the special meeting himself to avoid having the issue put off until March. Some board members have called the move a conflict of interest.
“This is a very serious question,” resident Charles Fickett told the Kennebec Journal. “If this thing is repealed, it's an invitation to anyone to come in here and peddle sexual material. I don't think Farmingdale wants that kind of a label.”
