The city of Murfreesboro sued Vince Bohanon and Sisters Properties, the company that manages 21 Up Videos and More, in Rutherford County Circuit Court Feb 14. The suit requests that Judge Royce Taylor shut the store down.
Murfreesboro zoning laws regulate adult businesses that sell DVDs, toys, novelties and lingerie to an area zoned for commercial businesses. The ordinance states that adult stores can’t be within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, daycare centers, other adults-only businesses or any store that sells alcohol.
Bohanon’s lawyer believes the zoning law is unconstitutional.
“Our position has been that the ordinance violates the state and the federal constitution,” Philip Elbert told the Tennessean.
Bohanon is no stranger to middle Tennessee’s restrictive zoning ordinances. He won a similar case before the Tennessee Supreme Court after the city of Knoxville shut down his Fantasy Video store. The court ruled that the city’s zoning laws were “too vague.”
On Sept. 28, shortly after 21 Up opened, the Murfreesboro City Council changed the parameters of how adult businesses are defined. The definition now specifies that stores with “20 percent of the inventory by units or by value or more than 20 percent of revenues, or a total inventory of more than 200 units” be classified as adults-only stores.
The suit also alleges that 21 Up opened without obtaining the proper building and business licenses.