Columbia zoning board denies Taboo’s latest appeal to stay open

Taboo the Couples Superstore’s latest bid to stay open on Devine Street fell upon deaf ears on Tuesday.

Columbia’s Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to dismiss Taboo’s challenge of city zoning decisions that block the store from operating as Columbia’s only sex shop.

Board members for more than an hour butted heads with Taboo’s attorney, Tommy Goldstein, before upholding Columbia zoning administrator Brian Cook’s decision to enforce a city zoning ordinance against Taboo, plus Cook’s refusal to accept the store’s application for a special exception to stay open.

Goldstein argued, among other things, that the city harbors unwarranted prejudice against adult stores because of perceived negative effects on the community.

But in refusing to hear Taboo’s application for a special exception to stay open where it is, some board members echoed Cook’s argument that under Columbia zoning law, the board has no authority to grant an exception for a sexually oriented business.

“You’re wasting our time,” said board member Patrick Hubbard, who sparred with Goldstein throughout the hearing. “Your grievance is in the wrong place.”

The hearing was the most recent struggle in years of legal wrangling between Taboo and the city since officials rewrote its zoning laws to restrict where sexually oriented businesses could operate. The city rewrote the laws shortly after an uproar from neighbors against Taboo, which opened legally in December 2011.

Columbia gave Taboo a two-year grace period that could be extended if the owners could prove moving would cause a financial hardship. But Taboo’s request for an extension was denied after a public hearing.

Taboo filed a suit alleging the laws were unconstitutional and were rewritten to keep any adult businesses from operating anywhere in the city.

Federal judge Terry Wooten has twice rejected Taboo’s suit, and the store has appealed his ruling to the U.S. Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Va. Taboo owner Jeff White has said he will take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Goldstein was unsurprised the board offered Taboo no help and said he will appeal its ruling to state Circuit Court.

“I’m just dotting my I’s and crossing my T’s so I can get a real hearing before a real judge, and maybe I’ll get a fair shake,” Goldstein told the board. “I’m not getting a fair shake here. We all know that.”

For now, Taboo has purged its shelves of its most explicit inventory and is operating as a general retail store, Goldstein said. Taboo has operated without a business license for years because Columbia officials won’t give it a license as a sexually oriented business or as a general retailer, he said.

“They won’t even talk to us,” Goldstein said.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Columbia zoning board denies Taboo’s latest appeal to stay open."