The writing's on the wall: Fourth Street Books and Video can stay around for eight more years, if it builds a wall to separate it from the neighborhood behind the store. On the other hand, after the eight years, they'll have to close or move to another location, according to a compromise between the store and the city government.
If the store agrees to the deal, it will have to let go of a bid to get St. Petersburg's adult use zoning declared unconstitutional in a federal court action.
That law stops adult businesses from running within four-hundred feet of homes, churches, child care facilities, schools, or parks; nor can they set up shop within 750 feet of each other, according to the St. Petersburg Times. But they can get variances on the distances if they build a wall or other separation that can be seen.
The compromise also calls for both Fourth Street Books and Video and the city to pick up their own legal tabs. Last year, St. Petersburg got stuck with the legal bills after a court declared an older and tougher version of the current law unconstitutional. That ruling cost St. Petersburg taxpayers over $180,000, the Times says.
