AUGUSTA, Ga.—The city of Augusta has made a concerted effort to banish strip clubs from the downtown area, but the family of one longtime club owner who passed away last month is pushing back, filing a lawsuit against the city to keep the Discotheque Lounge and its sister club, Joker’s Lounge, in their current locations, according to a report by the Augusta Chronicle.
The Discotheque Lounge has been a fixture of the Augusta downtown landscape for decades, opening at its Broad Street location since the 1960s. The city recently changed its zoning ordinances to prohibit downtown strip clubs, and restrict the establishments to “areas zoned for heavy industry.” But as long as owner James “Whitey” Lester remained living, his two clubs were grandfathered in to the previous ordinance, according to a Chronicle report.
Lester, however, died on April 19—though his family kept his passing a secret until Lester’s will was filed in probate court and a hearing was held earlier this month. But the city said that Lester’s license to operate the adult entertainment establishments could not be transferred to his heirs, according to city Planning and Development Director Rob Sherman.
But the lawsuit filed on Friday says that the city’s alcohol and zoning ordinances violate the clubs’ First Amendment right to free expression, and 14th Amendment right to equal protection under the law.
The lawsuit, according to the Chronicle, is not the first time that the clubs have fought back against city efforts to close or relocate them. In 1997, Lester was able to keep his clubs open after the city passed an ordinance banning alcohol sales in strip clubs—as well as stripping in clubs that serve alcohol. The change caused four other downtown strip clubs to shut their doors, however.
The city has said that the two Lester-owned clubs may remain in their locations until December 31, when Lester’s license expires.
"We decided after conversation that we would agree that there would be no strip clubs in the downtown Augusta area," City Commissioner Sean Frantom told WDRW TV News.
A local realtor, Matt Aitken, told the station the move to push out the strip clubs was motivated by real estate values.
"A lot of major economic development is looking at coming downtown, and I think when we capitalize on all our properties downtown in a way that we haven't been able to in the past, it really just opens up the door for a better quality of life," Aitken said. "I've sold some stuff across the street within the last year over there, waiting for some of this stuff to kind of clear up, and now that what's happened, I think we'll start to see plans on the board."
Photo By Discotheque Lounge Facebook Page
