An adult video and novelty store has opened despite a lawsuit its owners filed against the county, challenging a zoning law that would disallow the store from opening here.
Richard Olsafsky, owner of Xpectations, along U.S. 31 in Bear Creek Township, opened his store on Oct. 18 even as his lawsuit against Emmet County over a zoning law winds its way through the judicial system, the Record Eagle reported Tuesday.
In his suit, Olsafsky says that his business meets the zoning law’s distance requirements for adult businesses from schools, churches and other public facilities, despite the county’s contentions that it does not.
The store, the county says, is adjacent to a Planned Unit Development zone which is earmarked for future homes, thus barring the store from being located there under the zoning code.
But earlier this month, the county agreed it would not take any action against the Xpectations while the suit is still pending, according to court documents. But Kathleen Abbott, an attorney representing the county said the agreement does not mean officials will change the zoning law.
Olsafsky’s lawyer, Gregory Fisher Lord, has said the case is about the county violating his client's free speech rights.
