The dilemma facing the Browntown Village Board should be a cautionary tale to any local village and municipality that does not have an ordinance to address controversial issues or businesses.
The Browntown board last week heard concerns from residents about allegations that there have been strippers at the Trailside Inn. About 20 residents attended last Tuesday's village board meeting - when was the last time that happened? Village Clerk Carol Davis called the residents in attendance "very upset" about what is going on at the tavern.
Dale Hoesly, the bar's owner, told the Times he allows women to dance around a pole that was added to the establishment about a year ago. Hoesly said he told the board he was putting the pole in the bar, and that the board told him it didn't have any problem with that.
Hoesly said women have taken their tops off while dancing around the pole. He said the women who dance are tavern patrons and are not paid.
Village Board President John Schmitt told reporter Brian Gray (The Beat blog, "A strip bar in Browntown?" posted Feb. 4) the board had no objections to the pole. But Schmitt also said the board would monitor the situation and watch for citizen complaints. He also said the village has no ordinance against stripping or strip clubs.
And that's a problem for the Browntown board.
If what is going on at the Trailside Inn is as Hoesly describes it, it is not a traditional strip club. But if tops are coming off, there is stripping going on. And, because the board didn't object to the pole being installed, it tacitly allowed the stripping to occur. What else would the pole be for?
The cautionary tale is that it is far better - and legally less perilous - for a village or city to decide whether or not to allow strip clubs within its boundaries before one exists. For that matter, the same logic would apply to other controversial issues.
As Schmitt correctly pointed out, the board must be careful not to write an unconstitutional ordinance. As ridiculous as it may seem, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled nude dancing is a form of expression protected by the First Amendment. But Browntown can write zoning laws that essentially prohibit strip clubs and nude dancing.
Other communities without nude dancing ordinances would be wise to decide how they want to address the issue sooner rather than later. They also might get a few people to attend their meetings.
The Browntown board last week heard concerns from residents about allegations that there have been strippers at the Trailside Inn. About 20 residents attended last Tuesday's village board meeting - when was the last time that happened? Village Clerk Carol Davis called the residents in attendance "very upset" about what is going on at the tavern.
Dale Hoesly, the bar's owner, told the Times he allows women to dance around a pole that was added to the establishment about a year ago. Hoesly said he told the board he was putting the pole in the bar, and that the board told him it didn't have any problem with that.
Hoesly said women have taken their tops off while dancing around the pole. He said the women who dance are tavern patrons and are not paid.
Village Board President John Schmitt told reporter Brian Gray (The Beat blog, "A strip bar in Browntown?" posted Feb. 4) the board had no objections to the pole. But Schmitt also said the board would monitor the situation and watch for citizen complaints. He also said the village has no ordinance against stripping or strip clubs.
And that's a problem for the Browntown board.
If what is going on at the Trailside Inn is as Hoesly describes it, it is not a traditional strip club. But if tops are coming off, there is stripping going on. And, because the board didn't object to the pole being installed, it tacitly allowed the stripping to occur. What else would the pole be for?
The cautionary tale is that it is far better - and legally less perilous - for a village or city to decide whether or not to allow strip clubs within its boundaries before one exists. For that matter, the same logic would apply to other controversial issues.
As Schmitt correctly pointed out, the board must be careful not to write an unconstitutional ordinance. As ridiculous as it may seem, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled nude dancing is a form of expression protected by the First Amendment. But Browntown can write zoning laws that essentially prohibit strip clubs and nude dancing.
Other communities without nude dancing ordinances would be wise to decide how they want to address the issue sooner rather than later. They also might get a few people to attend their meetings.
