Bobby Cannon filed a federal suit last week against Lubbock County and county officials for denying a permit to build a strip club in Lubbock.
The county changed their zoning laws three times during one month in response to Cannon’s attempt to build the Bare Elegant Show Club (B.E.S.C), intended to be a strip club.
“They just don’t want adult businesses in Lubbock, just like the rest of the United States,” Cannon said. “We were the first company to apply for a license since they wrote their zoning regulations in the 90s. That’s why they’re fighting this so hard. That and my involvement.”
Cannon is used to being unpopular with local authorities; he was once convicted on misdemeanor charges of promoting prostitution that led to his spending less than a year in jail.
Representing Cannon is First Amendment lawyer John Fahle, who has represented adult retail chain Dr. John’s in a number of obscenity and zoning law cases.
Cannon's problems began when ten days after requesting a business permit for B.E.S.C., a trailer showed up on the adjacent property and allowing the county to deny the permit on the basis of the planned club's proximity to a dwelling.
“They denied this permit on the grounds that there was a dwelling within 1500 ft. of the property we were trying to use,” Cannon told AVN.com. “There was no dwelling, at least not what most people would consider a dwelling. The closest real dwelling was 1900ft. away."
The county then amended their codes to include trailers as "dwellings". They also decided to require people to have the right to use the land before filing for permits. That means that the land must have already been bought, leased or rented before a permit can be granted, heightening the risk of opening an adult store - a person might rent a property only to have his permit turned down.
Aspiring adult business owners must post a notice on the land for 60 days prior to seeking a permit.
Cannon hopes that the court will rule that a trailer is not a dwelling and that Cannon should be given his permit. The case should be heard within a month.
