Sex-shop laws to get an overhaul

Officials want the ordinances in place before any businesses move in.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Township officials are scrambling to revamp zoning ordinances relating to sexually oriented businesses, and one business looking to open shop here says there's a different way to perceive its "adult love products."
Trustee Tom Costello said trustees authorized the hiring of Alan C. Weinstein, a consultant out of Cleveland, to help reconstruct the township's adult-business ordinances after a magistrate struck down Austintown's as unconstitutional.
Costello said current Boardman ordinances are similar to those deemed unconstitutional.
He said township officials are joining forces with Austintown and Beaver Township officials to hire Weinstein before the issue becomes more urgent.
"We are definitely not anti-business," Costello explained. "But there are certain types of businesses that we just don't want in the community."
What they don't want
Costello said trustees want to eliminate the potential for adult cabarets or strip clubs, massage parlors and adult bookstores. Township officials may have to address the issue of an adult book and novelty store in the near future, however, as a Cleveland-based company plans to put a store here.
Jennifer Downey, owner of Ambiance the Store for Lovers, said her company is seriously looking at moving into the township, but residents will not have to worry about signs advertising 25-cent peep shows or movies stamped triple X. She said the company targets a different audience.
"I truly believe our store is different than the other stores out there because we want to be the place where 'mom' can come to shop," Downey said. "We want to create a place for women who don't want to go into a pornography store to buy some of the products they want."
In place of the triple X movies, Downey said customers will find lingerie for men and women, massage oils, adult toys, adult-based games and books on anything dealing with relationships.
She said it all comes down to enhancing the love life of monogamous couples -- something she feels everyone can appreciate.
Downey was not specific as to where in the township the company is looking to move, but said the store would fit comfortably into any setting. The company has seven stores in various shopping districts throughout Cleveland.
The company's first store, she said, was located next to a popular child entertainment and eating center and proved successful because parents could visit the store while their children were entertained at the other business.
Aware of plans
Costello said township officials are aware of the company's plans to move into the area, but are far less than enthused.
"Officially, the township would like to say 'thank you but no thank you' to the company, but we are waiting for a response from the prosecutor's office on what we can and cannot do," he said.
Downey said it is important for township residents to remember that Ambiance has been in upscale Cleveland communities for 21 years without complaints.
"In respect to Boardman, they must understand that we are good neighbors," she said.
jgoodwin@vindy.com