ND judge upholds Grand Forks ordinance restricting location of adult-oriented …
November 4, 2012 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A North Dakota judge has upheld a Grand Forks ordinance that prevented an adult-oriented business from opening a store near an elementary school.
District Court Judge Lawrence Jahnke denied an appeal by owners Jim and Kim Patterson, the Grand Forks Herald reported (http://bit.ly/SC0c3C ). They were contesting a city ordinance banning adult-oriented businesses from opening near schools, churches and most residential areas.
The Pattersons had planned to open Fantasy’s, a shop selling lingerie, video and adult toys, in a busy commercial area one block from an elementary school. The Grand Forks City Council passed the ordinance in April, preventing the store from opening.
Jahnke’s ruling said the sale of sexual paraphernalia is not a constitutionally protected activity and the ordinance does not violate protections of commercial speech. The ordinance also does not restrict consumers’ access to such products, but only sets rules on where they can be sold, the judge said.
“The City of Grand Forks has offered sufficient legitimate reason for restricting the commercial sale of sexual devices within certain geographical parameters in the Grand Forks City Code,” the judge wrote.
The Pattersons own a Fantasy’s store in Fargo and one in East Grand Forks, Minn.
After the East Grand Forks store opened in May, city officials closed it. But a court ruling in July allowed that store to reopen pending the outcome of federal lawsuit between the Pattersons and the Minnesota city.
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Information from: Grand Forks Herald, http://www.grandforksherald.com
