DETROIT, MI — The power of the bare female breast must never me under estimated, especially when viewed by adult males within close proximity of alcohol. Such appears to be the fear of some Detroit lawmakers who are keen to keep liquor out of area strip clubs that allow their dancers to actually strip. Fortunately for the area’s clubs, the City Council’s interest in keeping alcohol and bare breasts apart did not manifest into what The Detroit News quoted attorney Michael Donaldson as calling an “all-out war.”
Not yet, anyway.
According to the News, most of the council members were uncomfortable with aspects of the revised ordinances, which would effectively ban lap dancing and VIP rooms by keeping dancers six-feet from customers and on an 18-inch high stage at all times, as well as require performers to wear opaque pasties regardless of whether alcohol was available on premises or not.
Although several members questioned the motivation and intent of the proposed crackdown, Councilwoman JoAnn Watson insisted that the council needed to take neighborhood concerns into consideration.
“The citizens’ issues should be at least as important as lawsuits,” Watson said, referring to fears some expressed that a booze ban would result in a prompt legal blowback. “We have an obligation to respond to quality-of-life issues.”
At issue is a court battle in 2007 that resulted in a judge striking down Detroit’s zoning regulations concerning adult clubs and ordering them to be rewritten “forthwith.” As U.S. District Judge Julian Cook saw it, the city had too much power over club locations and took too much time handle applications.
Since then, the city has dragged it collective feet and, instead, toughened some laws to include greater restrictions, including where alcohol will be allowed. The council and mayor’s office have stopped new clubs from opening by taking no action on transfers of liquor licenses, a move that has earned them at least five federal lawsuits.
While City Council members appear unenthusiastic about the proposals, religious leaders welcome them and appear poised to push for their enactment into law.
Owners of the 31 topless clubs in the area have vowed to fight, with Donaldson calling the attempt to push through the ordinance changes “totally stupid.”
