Council mulls adult club limits

SHARON, Pa. -- City council is looking at restricting where adult entertainment businesses can be located.
There are no strip clubs or similar entertainment venues in the city now but Fred Hoffman, council president, said Thursday that he recently learned that someone interested in opening a strip club has been making inquiries about vacant buildings on both East and West State Street, the city's main business district.
The courts say such businesses can't be banned entirely and that municipalities have to make some allowances for them, he said.
Atty. William Madden, city solicitor, said the law requires that municipal zoning provide a place for every type of legal use and adult entertainment facilities are included. The city can direct where they must be located, but it must be a reasonable zoning regulation that would provide such a business with an opportunity to buy or lease space, he said.
Hoffman offered no suggestion as to where in the city that might be but said council needs to act on the issue.
It will take two months to get a zoning ordinance approved, he said, warning that a business could move into the city before that time and be exempt from the new regulation.