Forrest City, AR–The city council may soon be deliberating over an ordinance designed to severely limit so-called “adult entertainment” or “sexually-oriented businesses” in Forrest City.
That was one of the main topics of discussion at a retreat held at the civic center, attended by the mayor, city council members and others, on Monday evening.
Kenny Fletcher, the city’s code enforcement officer, distributed a sample ordinance from North Little Rock. He said he and council member Danny Capps have spoken on the subject a number of times.
“Basically, somebody could come in here right now and put up anything — anything — adult entertainment-wise, and there’s nothing we can do about it,” said Fletcher. “What I’m proposing here is to put this ordnance in place, however we choose to draw it up, and regulate whatever we choose to regulate, before somebody can come in and put an adult store or even a strip club. They could put one right in the middle of Forrest City, and right now, we have nothing on the books that can stop them.”
The North Little Rock ordinance addresses adult entertainment in two ways. First, it confines sexually-oriented businesses to certain zones within the city. Secondly, even within the zones where adult entertainment is allowed, a sexually-oriented business cannot be located within 1,000 feet of a church or other religious facility, a public school, the boundary of a residential zone, a public park, a hospital or other medical facility or properties listed on the National Register of Historic places.
The sample ordinance also gives definitions of what a sexually-oriented business is. It further gives explicit descriptions of “specified anatomical areas,” the display of which would be considered sexually oriented, and “specified sexual activities” which might take place at such a business.
Adjustments could be made in the sample ordinance to suit specific needs in Forrest City. For example, Fletcher agreed that the 1,000-foot limit could be expanded to 2,000 feet if the council so desired. The city already has a law that could keep signs from being built over 50 feet high.
Fletcher said that if the council is to adopt the ordinance, it would be a good idea to do it before the area around the bypass is annexed.
“I doubt any of us know who has secured what out there,” he said.
On another matter, Fletcher introduced another sample ordinance, this one from Fort Smith, which establishes a permit for demolition. He said that while the city has building permits, there are no permits for demolition.
Fletcher said this was brought home to him recently, with the demolition of an old water tank.
He said that job had some dangers, even though no one was hurt and no private property was damaged.
However, he said large demolition jobs carry some risk, and he said the city should be able to regulate the methods of demolition. The city could regulate the possible risk to private property and utilities, according to Fletcher.
Fire Chief Johnny Ruffin was also present, and distributed a proposal by which the city would adopt the most recent (2007) Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, which supersedes the 2002 edition. He said keeping up to date on the fire code is necessary if the city wants to keep its ISO fire rating as low as possible.
On a related matter, in answer to a question from Steve Hollowell, Ruffin said a site for a fire substation is being studied, for the best ISO rating. Mayor Gordon McCoy commented that a piece of ground near Sanyo, which the city was looking at, may not be purchased by the city after all.
On another matter, council member Cecil Twillie brought up the subject of stray dogs. He said he has received a lot of complaints from constituents, and said he has seen a lot of strays, himself. He suggested a public forum to address stray dogs only. No date was set.
On a related matter, council member Chris Oswalt asked where the Forrest City Area Humane Society stops and city animal control begins. He said he was concerned over the liability if a volunteer is injured.
There was also a discussion, brought up by a member of the small audience, about property being rezoned without the knowledge of the owner. Apparently this has happened to some people in the past. The consensus of the council was that people should be informed, but no action was taken.
Pest Control Officer J.C. Rice spoke briefly about a possible adjustment in the city’s pest control fee, which will be addressed later by the council.
Council members Twillie, Oswalt, Hollowell, Mary Jeffers, Louise Fields and Roger Breeding attended. Henry Peacock and Capps did not attend.
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