Politics & Government
Windsor Locks Works to Revise Sexually-Oriented Business Ordinances
With a proposal to turn Ella Grasso Turnpike's Pool Table Magic into a topless bar, town staff are making use of a current moratorium on such business proposals. It's working to change town policy.
Windsor Locks in in the midst of an effort to reform policy relative to the operation of sexually-oriented businesses in town.
A working draft of a new town ordinance is in the First Selectman's office, and it is currently under review by planning and zoning staff to check compliance with current zoning regulations.
According to the First Selectman's office, the recently-created raft does not represent the development of completely to rules for sexually-oriented businesses. Instead, the document, which has undergone several revisions to date, represents the combination of the town's current relative ordinances and expands upon those guidelines based on rulings in several court cases involving municipalities and sexually-oriented establishments.
The ordinance revision comes just weeks after a moratorium on the receipt of sexually-oriented business applications was approved by the planning and zoning commission. The temporary ban was put in place specifically to allow the town to review and revise current policies, according to Windsor Locks Attorney Scott Storms, and it was a response to a recent proposal to transform Ella Grass Turnpike's Pool Table Magic into a topless bar.
The proposal is not subject to the moratorium based on the fact that it was submitted to the commission prior to the moratorium's approval in March.
Despite public outcry in opposition to Pool Table Magic's proposa, the ordinance draft currently on file does not go as far as to ban such businesses in town.
In fact, the draft makes reference to the protection of sexually-explicit performances under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The First Selectman's office has been explicit in conveying the alterable nature of the draft it has on file, saying the document is a working draft currently under review by staff. Additionally, the office said, the document currently on file could, once it receives input from the town, be completely different from what has been proposed.
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