About Brookhaven reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 20??-current | View Entire Issue (June 14, 2013)
COMMENTARY Reporter Newspapers Brookhaven Reporter I Buckhead Reporter Dunwoody Reporter I Sandy Springs Reporter www.ReporterNewspapers.net Published biweekly by Springs Publishing LLC 6065 Roswell Road, Suite 225 Sandy Springs, GA 30328 Phone: 404-917-2200 • Fax: 404-917-2201 ABOUT US Our miuion it to provide our readers with freak and engaging information about life in their communities. CONTACT US PUBLISHER Steve Levene stevelevene® re porter news papers, net MANAGING EDITOR Joe Earle joeearle® reporter newspapers, net ASSOCIATE EDITOR/ DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER Dan Whisenhunt danwhisenhunt@reporternewspapers. net INTOWN EDITOR Collin Kelley collin@atlantaintoenpaper.com STAFF WRITER Melissa Weinman me lissawein man® re porter news papers, net COPY EDITOR Diane L. Wynocker DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE AND INTERACTIVE MEDIA Christopher North chrisnorth® reporter newspapers, net GRAPHIC DESIGNER Walter Czachowski waiter® re porter news papers, net ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Amy Arno a my a r no® reporter newspapers, net ADVERTISING SALES Janet Porter Senior Account Executive janet@atlantaintownpaper.com Sylvia Pearlman Account Executive sylvia@reporternewspapers.net Davis Burleson, Linda Howell Sales Consultants CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING & OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Deborah Davis d ebo rah d avis ©reporter newspapers, net CONTRIBUTORS Allie Goolrick, Collin Kelley, J.D. Moor, Phil Mosier FREE HOME DELIVERY 65,000 copies of Reporter Newspapers are delivered by carriers to homes in ZIP codes 30305, 30319, 30326, 30327, 30328, 30338, 30342 and 30350 and to more than 500 business/retail locations. For locations, check “Where To Find Us” at www.ReporterNewspapers.net For delivery requests, please email delivery@reporternewspapers.net. © 2013 With all rights reserved Publisher reserves the right to refuse editorial or advertising for any reason. Publisher assumes no responsibility for information contained in advertising. Any opinions expressed in print or online do not necessarily represent the views of Reporter Newspapers or Springs Publishing, LLC. 8 | JUNE 14 -JUNE 27, 2013 STREET TALK O: Are local cities doing the right thing by attacking strip clubs? “I’m opposed to the strip clubs. It just seems like a lot of unnecessary things happen around that environment. We’d like to keep it as far away from our family as possible.” Mark Star in “It’s a hard question to answer. Strip clubs will exist no matter where you are. If you move them out of the city of Atlanta, they will move somewhere else and the city will lose the revenue. They’re going to exist somewhere, but where are they going to go?” Dana Major- WiLon “It sounds like a good thing to me. Generally speaking, you want to live in a neighborhood that is much more community oriented. I don’t think strip clubs really promote that.” Sandy Me/icher “I think every city has them. I don’t know that you can legislate out all the undesirable businesses from a city.” Aluua ManoleJcu | www.ReporterNewspapers.net Editor’s note: Several local city governments recently have debated or taken action against strip clubs and other adult entertainment businesses. We asked Brookhaven Mayor J. Max Davis, lawyer Aubrey Villines, who represents clubs in Brookhaven and Atlanta, and residents of Reporter Newspapers communities whether the cities were doing the right thing. See related article on pages 10 and 11. We wouldn’t make a deal Brookhaven has spent the past six months filling potholes, repair ing sidewalks, hiring police commanders and issuing permits. We’ve passed a budget, started live-streaming video of City Council meet ings and made it much easier to do business in the city. This is just the beginning. Before the end of the summer, we will have Brookhaven police officers patrolling city streets, have identified a location inside Brookhaven for a city hall and have our comprehensive plan launched. Typically, these aren’t the things I’m asked about at the grocery store or on the Little League field. It’s easy to overlook all of the work in volved with building a new city, particularly when many of the head lines are focused on just one of the many ordinances we have adopted to make Brookhaven a better community for all residents. Even though I am an attorney, the sexually-oriented business or dinance was not something with which I was familiar or which I ex pected would be an issue. Like many of the other ordinances we have passed, we modeled our ordinance after those that have been enact ed in other communities. In fact, our ordinance mirrors ordinances adopted in Doraville, Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, DeKalb County, Fulton County and other governments around the metro region. This is the same ordinance that has been upheld by many courts. Just to be clear, Brookhaven adopted this ordinance using the same litmus test we use for every action we take — to protect the health, safety and welfare of Brookhaven’s residents and businesses. It is important to understand that the reason Brookhaven is being sued is not because it adopted adult business regulations — DeKalb County currently has similar regulations. Rather, Brookhav en is being sued because our City Council refused to take money from this industry in exchange for letting the industry ignore these laws. Although DeKalb County struck such a deal with the sexually-oriented business industry, it is a faulty precedent that Brookhaven should not follow. Future businesses would naturally expect and likely be entitled to a similar deal. Imagine the outcry that would erupt if one day this sum mer a sign popped up by Cambridge Square or on Dresden Drive advertising a new adult busi ness opening. Residents of our neighboring cities, communities and courts across the country have found that these types of establishments bring a host of negative secondary effects, such as drug dealing, crime, prostitution and adverse impacts on surrounding properties. As erotic dancing is protect ed under “free speech” and cannot be banned, communities surrounding Brookhaven, including DeKalb County, have enacted and successfully defended ordinances to limit these negative sec ondary effects. These adult businesses are now looking for a place to go and it is our duty to make sure our neighborhoods are equally protected with similar ordinances. We are working hard to build a better Brookhaven. The city inherited many problems from DeKalb County, but maintaining the status quo, or cutting deals that allow the law to be ignored in exchange for money, is not the way to accomplish this goal. It is only common sense that the city may consider temporarily halting enforcement of its sexually-oriented business ordinance pending the outcome of litigation. But this is entirely different from entering a agreement that pays the city money in exchange for letting a business ignore the law. In this transition period, we have been sued because we did not cut such a deal. I am confident that our sexually-oriented business ordinance will be upheld, but for situations like this, we have and will continue to maintain insurance coverage. The next time you see me in the grocery store or at the Little League fields, please stop and let me tell you about all of the good work we are doing in Brookhaven. This ordinance — like every action we take — is intended to make a better Brookhaven for not just my family, but everyone who lives and works in our city. J. Max Davis is the mayor of Brookhaven. J. MAX DAVIS GUEST COLUMN “I’d rather not have strip clubs in the neighborhood. I feel like they can exist. I just don’t want them in my neighborhood. ” “I have feelings on both sides of the issue. I guess that on one hand, I respect the city’s right to try and improve the neighborhoods ... but on the other hand, I respect the business owners’ rights to operate as long as they comply with the law.” Abbe Kantor Peter Cook BK
