Opponents of a sex shop on Devine Street were taken aback to learn that Taboo Adult Superstore got permission Thursday from the city to stay open for up to two years.
“I’m just speechless and disgusted with our city (leaders) in general,” said Hampton Hills Homeowners Association president Janet Jordan, one of the shop’s most vocal critics. “I’m furious with the city. The highest and best use of that location is not a porn store.”
Taboo, which sells videos and sex toys, was granted an extension to its business license under Columbia’s new, tougher law that governs sexually oriented businesses.
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Efforts to reach Taboo co-owner Jeff White were unsuccessful.
White argued earlier that he had submitted written requests for permission to open his shop and he followed all city regulations in applying for a zoning permit. As public pressure mounted to close Taboo, White said he would sue to keep his business open. He also said he considered turning the location into an adult nightclub.
Jordan said opponents were “pretty much assured” by City Council members that the new business license law would effectively shutter the shop, at 4716 Devine St. A new 700-foot buffer from nearby protected properties would have put Taboo in violation of the new minimum distance requirement.
“The 700 feet the city said would knock them out, did not?” Jordan asked when a reporter notified her of the decision. “They weren’t going to be knocked out of the city. But they were going to be moved to a more appropriate location.”
The city’s business license office granted Taboo permission to operate under what is known as a “grandfather” provision even though the plum-colored shop is within 700 feet of residences. Grandfathering means the shop had met codes before City Council changed the law on Dec. 29, therefore Taboo may continue operating under the new law for up to two years, business license director Brenda Kyzer said.
Councilwoman Leona Plaugh, whose district abuts the shop property and who pushed to change the law, said City Council has done what it can. Under the renewed license, Taboo’s hours are now restricted to 6 a.m. to midnight, Plaugh said. Before, its hours were whatever owners wanted.
She also expects the city staff and police to monitor Taboo closely to be sure it remains in compliance with city codes.
Councilman Daniel Rickenmann said council had been warned by the city attorney that courts generally allow businesses time to recoup their investments before a change in law can close a private operation. White has said he invested about $75,000 upgrading the building that once housed a Taco Bell restaurant.
“I’m highly disappointed that we couldn’t figure out another location for this,” Rickenmann said. He said the city might have to intensify its monitoring of the shop, including perhaps posting surveillance cameras along the commercial corridor. Plaugh said she agrees with that because sexually oriented businesses often attract crime.
Taboo opened late last year to outcries from surprised neighbors and nearby businesses. Critics said Taboo would hurt the reputation of a stretch of Devine Street that is beginning to attract what they consider to be better quality businesses, such as the Whole Foods store that’s to open later this year.
The city had given Taboo permission to open its doors because the shop met the 500-foot buffer required in city zoning codes.
After the protests, City Council adopted a business license law specific to sexually oriented businesses.
All business licenses in the city are issued for one year. If it wants to stay open longer than a year, Taboo must apply again in 2013 under the same grandfather exemption, Kyzer said.
In 2014, or if owners Jeff and Mark White sell the shop or transfer ownership, the business would have to meet all aspects of the new law, including the 700-foot buffer, effectively closing it at that site, Kyzer said.
Jordan said that in the future neighborhood groups will have to keep a closer watch on the kinds of businesses that come to the Devine Street/Garners Ferry Road corridor. That is the primary thoroughfare at the city’s eastern gateway.
Taboo has been open under a temporary license while the business license office evaluated the owners’ application.
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