The owners of a proposed adult store say they have worked out a deal with the city to open their shop after weeks of negotiations.
Local residents Robert and Melissa Kurbis were granted a business license last week to operate a Deja Vu Love Boutique at 2130 Industrial Court, formerly used as a bicycle warehouse at a local shopping center, the North County Times reported. It’s located just west of Sycamore Avenue, where three churches and several other businesses operate.
The Kurbises are partners with Michigan-based Love Boutique which has interests in other Deja Vu enterprises which includes strip clubs, retail stores and an adult Web site.
The city eased its regulations for adult businesses this summer after the newspaper reported on the couple’s plan to open the Love Boutique in the commercially zoned area off Highway 78.
By law, adult stores are restricted to light manufacturing zones and barred from operating within 1,000 feet of residential areas, parks, churches or schools.
The City Code had defined a business as “adult-oriented” if at least 30 percent of its stock had sexual merchandise. But officials revised the ordinance in August to indicate that a business can be deemed adult if a “regular and substantial” portion of its stock has adult material.
Robert Kurbis said the shop has 15 percent of its floor space dedicated to adult material.
The Kurbises are still negotiating a deal with city officials over a section of adult merchandise. But for now, shoppers may only peruse the main section of the shop, which features lingerie, jewelry, shoes, candles and adult games.
But eventually, the couple plans to sell sex toys and adult movies in an area separated from the rest of the shop by barriers. Last week, several of adult items were already on shelves.
Officials, however, say that for now, the adult area will remain closed.
