The council passed the ordinance unanimously, although two amendments were added after negotiations with assistant City Attorney Kenyatta Cox.
“I think this is an important ordinance for our community,” said Councilwoman Diana Pappin, who sponsored the measure.
The terms of the ordinance make it illegal for adult entertainment businesses to be located within 1,000 feet of residences, churches, schools, public parks and recreational areas. It also requires that all business owners, partners and managers be listed in the application filed with the city of Richmond. Additionally, there are overhead lighting and customer visibility mandates in the ordinance.
The relocation clause was amended to allow Richmond’s two current adult stores to remain at their present addresses, but will require all new adult businesses to be located in the relatively small C4 business districts on the city’s far East end.
Businesses previously confined to these districts included automobile, truck, trailer and farm implement sales, hire and repair, battery and tire service stations, laundries, commercial greenhouses and building material sales shops.