Augusta reconsidering adult entertainment laws, looking at other cities' codes

Miguel Legoas, Augusta Chronicle
·3 min read
The sign for X-Mart Adult Supercenter off Gordon Highway on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022. Augusta is considering changing its adult entertainment ordinances.
The sign for X-Mart Adult Supercenter off Gordon Highway on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022. Augusta is considering changing its adult entertainment ordinances.

Augusta's adult entertainment scene has dwindled in recent years. But that could change in the near future.

The city's public service committee last month unanimously approved allowing the Planning & Development Department to review and recommend updates to sections of the city code that pertain to adult entertainment.

Commissioner Ben Hassan said he made this request because "several" people have reached out to him recently, calling the code "restrictive" in regards to adult entertainment. He asked Planning & Development to look at the city codes of Savannah, Atlanta and Columbia, South Carolina for reference.

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When asked for specifics on Nov. 2, Hassan said whatever they recommend will largely depend on what the other cities are doing and what is working for them, but also that this is their opportunity "to get it right."

The commission is expecting to hear some updates and recommendations during their meeting on Dec. 6.

What is considered 'adult entertainment?'

Augusta's code considers most businesses that are erotic or sexual in nature 'adult entertainment,' with the exception of some stores that sell lingerie or sex 'toys.'

Specifically, adult video or book stores (businesses that sell pornographic visuals) are considered 'adult entertainment,' like X-Mart Adult Supercenter off Gordon Highway. But stores like Spencer's Gifts or Seduction by Tiffani, which just sell clothing and accessories, are not.

FILE - Discotheque Lounge on Broad Street was one of Augusta's last two strip clubs in operation, but is now open simply as a bar.
FILE - Discotheque Lounge on Broad Street was one of Augusta's last two strip clubs in operation, but is now open simply as a bar.

Adult entertainment and alcohol

One of Augusta's ordinances that has been a big point of discussion in the last few years is Sec. 6-2-27, which does not allow a business to hold a liquor and an adult entertainment license at the same time.

This is part of what led to Augusta's last two strip clubs, Discotheque Lounge and Joker's Lounge, giving up their adult entertainment license and moving to a model of selling liquor and having clothed dancers.

Though that law was changed in 1997, these clubs were able to stay open under a grandfather provision that was granted to their previous owner, James "Whitney" Lester. But when he died in 2019, the city refused to transfer the licenses to his family, so they sued.

They lost that suit in September 2021, almost immediately appealed it, and lost that appeal in October.

Atlanta's code restricts liquor at "adult dance halls," but it offers six exceptions, with the first on the list being the easiest; it exempts businesses with less than 100 occupants. Columbia's code only prohibits the sale of liquor at "sexually-oriented businesses" to minors. Savannah's code says liquor license holders cannot allow nudity or anyone in clothing "as to expose to view any portion of the female breast below the top of the areola or any portion of the male or female pubic hairbands, anal cleft, vulva or genitals."

FILE - Joker's Lounge on Broad Street was one of Augusta's last two strip clubs in operation, but is now open simply as a bar.
FILE - Joker's Lounge on Broad Street was one of Augusta's last two strip clubs in operation, but is now open simply as a bar.

Location, location, location

Any changes to the alcohol ordinance will likely not change the fates of Discotheque and Joker's since another early zoning amendment only allowed adult entertainment in Augusta areas zoned light or heavy industrial, which would preclude downtown.

Augusta's last open adult entertainment business, X-Mart Adult Supercenter, is located at Gordon Highway and Doug Barnard Parkway. However, if Augusta's alcohol ordinance was amended, it could allow new strip clubs to open in the permitted areas.

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Augusta, Savannah, Atlanta and Columbia restrict adult businesses from being within a certain distance from schools, places of worship, etc. However, only Augusta specifies a particular zone, while the other cities' codes focus on not allowing adult businesses to be too close to particular businesses or public facilities.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Adult entertainment laws being reconsidered by City of Augusta