County enacts moratorium on adult entertainment

KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- You can't have an adult-oriented business in New Ulm.

Or in Essig. Or Hanska. Or Searles. Or Sleepy Eye.

Or practically anywhere else within Brown County's borders, for that matter, because with a majority vote on Tuesday morning, the Brown County Board passed a resolution curbing adult business activity in parts of the county that aren't officially towns.

The purpose of the resolution, county officials say, is to give the county time to consider the issue.

"The moratorium is a period of time that allows the county to study the matter and come up with a plan that will address adult uses in Brown County," said Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator Laine Sletta. "Adult uses are on hold indefinitely until we have zoning ordinances that regulate them."

The county's moratorium follows a string of similar measures taken by the city of New Ulm, all in response to a surprise that landed in the lap of the town of Nicollet nearly one month ago. A alcohol-free adult entertainment club, the Mirage, was able to open in Nicollet without authorities noticing. The clubs owners used loopholes in the city's zoning ordinances and opened the club virtually unnoticed.

"We never had it formally on the board agenda," Brown County Administrator Charles Enter said. "Instead, we said 'Let's have Planning and Zoning look at it'."

The resolution was developed by Planning and Zoning Administrator Jane Starz as the result of informal discussions about the Mirage by county commissioners, said Enter.

Although there was never a formal request to develop the resolution, Enter said a lot of questions were raised about ordinances after the Mirage first appeared on Sept. 28.

The approved resolution says the restriction of adult entertainment activities is "necessary and appropriate" to protect against the possible effects of adult entertainment and to protect the general public welfare until the study is complete. It cited several findings from a 1989 report made by the Minnesota State Attorney General's Office as the reasons for drafting the ordinance. The report concluded that sexually-oriented businesses are associated with high crime rates and depression of property values.

Brown County Attorney James Olson said he looked at the ordinance in Nicollet and included it in the county's version.

"When I reviewed the ordinance, I felt it passed constitutional muster," Olson said.

The ordinance defines what it calls "adult uses" as "places where open to some or all members of the public ... which there is an emphasis on the presentation, display, depiction or description of 'specified sexual activities' or 'specified anatomical areas.'.." The ordinance includes bookstores, movie theaters, video rentals, massage parlors, health and sport clubs, cabarets, modeling studios, hotels and motels among others.

According to the resolution, Starz has one year to study which businesses and products should be regulated by the ordinance, the particular areas where adult entertainment businesses should be allowed, the amount of adult businesses in the county and the effect of adult entertainment on surrounding areas.

The resolution will affect the county's townships, including Essig and Searles. The cities of Hanska and New Ulm have recently adopted similar moratoriums. The City of Sleepy Eye has had adult entertainment ordinances in place since 1996, said City Attorney Errol Hauser.

Paul Muske, city attorney for Springfield and Comfrey, said the city councils have discussed adult entertainment ordinances and are currently considering resolutions, but have not yet made any formal decisions. It is unclear whether or not the town of Evan is considering any type of similar resolution.