Hamlet Town Council members stress that a so-called “gentleman’s club” will probably not be in the town’s future. Earlier this month, local business owner George Filip asked council members if there were any rules prohibiting a particular property from being used for that purpose.
During Tuesday’s meeting, council member Brian Earnest clarified that Filip simply asked about the rules that are currently in place and didn’t approach the council with any solid plans. “If it got to the point where there was actual talks of actually doing it, it would be something that I would be against,” Earnest said, “and that we would have a town-wide, you know, let people come in and voice their concerns, before we ever move forward with it, anyway.”
Earnest said he wants to look into the possibility of putting some type of restrictions in place. He explained that adult entertainment businesses cannot be banned outright, but zoning restrictions could be put in place that would strongly discourage their development. Earnest has begun researching what some larger cities have done and added that any new rules should address various forms of “sexually-oriented businesses” without leaving loopholes. He was also concerned that not addressing the issue could pave the way for larger adult entertainment companies to set up shop in Hamlet.
Council President Dave Kesvormas also opposes the idea of a “gentleman’s club,” but he noted that the town can’t prohibit every type of business that might be considered undesirable. “I certainly don’t want to send the message that you can’t come ask us because we have a school that’s in need of putting some roofs under it, as well as generating some revenue as well as jobs,” he said. “So I’m not saying a want those kind of jobs. I’m just saying we have to craft a creative ordinance.”
Still, Kesvormas doubted that Filip’s curiosity about the town’s adult entertainment rules would develop into an actual business. “There’d have to be lots of dancing, lot’s of – to be lucrative enough to make that happen, and as crazy as it sounds, I think it was a publicity stunt on him, just out of boredom, I guess,” Kesvormas said. “It was something that took less than a minute. It wasn’t like, ‘Hey, I got plans. I want to do this.'” Town officials noted that, at this point, Filip doesn’t even own the building he was asking about.
Tuesday’s discussion began after a resident expressed his concern and disapproval of the idea, calling it “absolutely crazy.”
