This may not help VIP owner Gary Porter as he tries to open a new store in Berlin, Conn., which would be his fourth store in the state.
Orange Assistant Police Chief Ed Koether reported that from 2005 to this year there have been three arrests at VIP, Orange’s only sex shop, and none of those cases dealt with crimes of a sexual nature. The arrests were for shoplifting, a young child left alone in a car, and an argument between two people outside the business, he said.
"This is actually relatively light," Koether said. "Shoplifting, for instance — there are some stores on the [same street] that are extremely heavy; disorderly conduct complaints happen everywhere."
And according to property records, VIP has not decreased the value of any nearby businesses or residential homes, which have all increased in value since the town did its last revaluation in 2006. Records show that every house on Lindy Street, the closest residential area to VIP, has seen property value increases since 2000.
As in Orange, town planning and zoning boards denied the application for the new store in Berlin, leading Porter to file a federal lawsuit challenging the regulations that led to the denial.
Berlin, however, has a new ally in their fight against the store there: Connecticut state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who filed an amicus curiae brief in March. Blumenthal has also been allowed to help defend the town against Porter’s lawsuit, which claimed that Berlin’s requirement that any "sexually oriented business" be located away from homes and schools is unconstitutional.
Blumenthal is framing this fight as addressing the rights of Connecticut’s small towns to decide for themselves what businesses are appropriate, and which are not.
"There is a proliferation of these sexually-oriented businesses that impact property values and quality of life ... our point is they have that right," Blumenthal said.
The Supreme Court has ruled that towns cannot ban sexually oriented businesses outright, but can place restrictions on where they are located based on fears of negative "secondary effects."
"Challenges to new and existing adult entertainment businesses using the threat of so called 'secondary effects' continues," Free Speech Coalition Executive Director Diane Duke told XBIZ. "The myth of secondary effects has been discredited time and time again."
Berlin mayor Adam Salina said not to expect an out-of-court settlement. "We will not negotiate," he said.
VIP Attorney Daniel Silver said he feels the "Berlin situation has really gotten out of hand." Both Silver and Porter said they are a little taken aback by Blumenthal joining the case.
"Why the AG has done this one could surmise," Silver said. "Is it politics? I don’t know. It’s a local decision that has nothing to do with the state of Connecticut."
Porter says that each of his stores draws an average of 400 paying customers a day.
"[Business] is absolutely great; we are getting the traffic," Porter said. "I understand their issues, but they have to understand my issues … all of us care about keeping this stuff away from children."
"Adult business owners like Mr. Porter constantly step up to the plate to meet community regulations," Free Speech Coalition's Duke told XBIZ. "The problem is, the politicians keep changing the rules. Some politicians will use whatever smoke and mirrors they can to get elected. They believe that using the guise of 'protecting our community from secondary effects' will help get them or keep them in office. The problem is it harms responsible businesses and responsible business owners like Gary Porter."
