Spanish Fork OKs sex-shop law
Ordinance aims to keep such businesses out of downtown
The City Council's new sexually oriented business ordinance, adopted early Monday morning, includes those kinds of shops as well as sexual-encounter establishments. The ordinance defines sexual-encounter businesses as establishments that offer semi-nude wrestling or tumbling or semi-nude modeling, unless the modeling is part of an educational college class and does not advertise.
That element appears to be a loosening of the previous ordinance since it will allow art classes that teach drawing of the human form.
The meeting was held at 6:30 a.m. so Mayor Dale Barney could travel out of town for a military reunion.
The new ordinance continues to restrict sexually oriented businesses to the city's industrial areas north and west of I-15 and will affect any stores earning at least 15 percent of their revenue or devoting 15 percent of their floor space to sexually oriented items.
The city currently has no licensed sexually oriented businesses and has received no applications for a license. Officials say the intent of the new ordinance is to restrict any future businesses to the city's industrial area to keep them away from neighborhoods, schools and churches. Such businesses have a "secondary" harmful effect on people, according to the ordinance.
The city does have one store that primarily sells adult lingerie and carries a modest stock of adult novelty items.
Dirty Jo Punsters has operated in Spanish Fork less than a block from City Hall since 1990 under a standard retail business license. Baker said he doubted the new ordinance would affect it.
"It's just a lingerie shop," he said.
Co-owner Shayne Ahlin, who operates the store with his wife, Tresa, said the novelty items make up less than 15 percent of the store's revenue and floor space, which would put it in compliance with the new ordinance. He said the store doesn't carry adult magazines or videos.
The council took its cue to update the city's sexually oriented business ordinance from Provo, which recently beefed up its ordinance. Spanish Fork leaders feared the toughened Provo ordinance could push potential sex shops south toward Spanish Fork.
"That made us nervous," Baker said. "We don't want to wait until it happens."
The Provo update didn't change where such shops could locate — they were already confined to the city's industrial zone.
"There was nothing that would have pushed . . . sexually oriented businesses to other communities," Provo spokeswoman Raylene Ireland said.
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