Columbia’s first licensed sex shop might be shut down by the end of January under a new law that controls where sexually oriented businesses may operate. But city officials are bracing for a legal fight.
A law City Council adopted Thursday established Columbia’s first restrictions specifically for sexually oriented businesses — including a 700-foot buffer between any establishment that primarily sells sex items and the nearest protected property. Such properties include homes, churches, public parks, schools and day cares.
In the case of the controversial Taboo Adult Superstore, at 4716 Devine St., the closest protected property is a residence at 715 Montague St. The closest distance between the store and the house is about 609 feet, according to Richland County’s online mapping system and a Columbia zoning map.
The new law took effect immediately upon the 6-0 vote. Councilman Brian DeQuincey Newman did not attend the specially called meeting.
The short leash on Taboo grows from a provision in the new law, stating that a sexually oriented business operating legally now automatically gets to continue in business for 30 days, even though all business licenses lapse Saturday in Columbia and Richland County.
During the 30-day period, Taboo would have to seek a new license — which the city could deny based on the buffer.
Asked if the new, 19-page law is aimed at shutting down Taboo, council members answered with near-unanimous language: The law targets adult businesses across the city, not Taboo.
Yet Taboo is the only licensed sexually oriented business in Columbia, according to city records. It received its license Dec. 4, after meeting the city’s zoning standards, the records show.
Efforts Thursday to reach Taboo owners Mark White and Jeff White, store manager Allen Pardon and the property owner were unsuccessful. Earlier this week, the store owners removed the “adult superstore” wording from the sign in an effort to lower its profile and placate critics.
Council tightened the distance requirement from the 750-foot buffer it adopted just a week ago upon the advice of its attorney and a lawyer it hired from Chattanooga, Tenn., who specializes in writing laws for sexually oriented businesses.
City staffers also analyzed computer mapping to determine buffer lengths. City officials declined to release the mapping information, saying it’s protected by the attorney-client relationship.
Columbia is walking a tightrope between regulations and outright bans of sexually oriented businesses, which courts will not allow. On one hand, council is answering loud protests from neighbors and other businesses along the thoroughfare that is the largest eastern corridor into the capital city and is at the doorstep of Fort Jackson.
Several council members said they would not be surprised if the city is sued.
A shortened buffer did not sit well with several residents who attended Thursday’s meeting.
“I’m still trying to grasp the understanding of what 700 feet does,” said accountant Doug Neal. “The bottom line is we do not want sexual businesses in the commercial areas of our neighborhoods. I ask you to do what’s necessary to make this happen.”
Another resident of the Hampton Hills neighborhood also wanted larger buffers. “I’m against reducing the amount of feet,” she said. “I was hoping it would be 1,000 feet.”
City attorney Ken Gaines would not explain publicly how the city settled on 700 feet. He told council that 750 feet might have the effect of barring any sexually oriented businesses. The city can defend 700 feet in court, Gaines said.
All Columbia businesses have until April 15 each year to pay the annual fee to renew or receive a business license, licensing director Brenda Kyzer said. That means all businesses have a 31/2-month yearly grace period to continue operating before they become delinquent on their license fees, she said.
Violations of the new law carry a $50-per-day penalty. However, it was unclear Thursday how the grace period for fees might affect Taboo’s license.
Should the sex shop be denied a business license based on the new law, it can apply for a “hardship extension” that would allow it to stay in business up to two years to recoup the money its owners invested.
Taboo is a permitted business under 1990 zoning laws that said sexually oriented businesses must be at least 500 feet from protected properties, planning director Krista Hampton said. That means the shop fell about 109 feet outside that previous buffer.
Tax and deed records show the Devine Street site is owned by Restaurant Income Properties, which bought the location in November 1993. Property assessments and taxes are mailed in the name of Fred Kotoske to a post office box. It is the same box listed for a Taco Bell restaurant on Decker Boulevard. City officials who know of Kotoske said he owns most of the Taco Bells in the Columbia area. Efforts to reach him on his mobile phone were unsuccessful.
Critics of Taboo say it will hurt new development near Fort Jackson Boulevard where a Whole Foods store is about to open. The managing director for Edens, a longtime Columbia real estate development firm, estimated that store alone would generate nearly $2 million yearly in sales tax, provide 300 permanent jobs and spur more development in what is being called Cross Hill Market.
“I am confident that had the (Taboo) store been open earlier this year, Whole Foods would have passed on the market,” wrote Lyle Darnall in a Dec. 21 letter to Mayor Steve Benjamin.
Taboo and its neighbors
This map shows the approximate measurement from the Taboo building and the nearest residential parcel at 715 Montague St. This is an interactive map you can explore by clicking and dragging the map image.
View Examining Taboo's location in a larger map
E-Mail
Print
Get The State newspaper delivered to your home. 
