by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
To address an ever present City concern over Jacksonville’s adult entertainment industry, Mayor John Delaney introduced an ordinance before City Council Tuesday night calling for more specific guidelines and even more stringent penalties when the lines of obscenity are crossed.
“There’s no question we want to conduct more regulation than in the past,” said Delaney. “It’s a policy call.”
Council president Jerry Holland called the ordinance, which was been assigned to the Land Use and Zoning and the Public Health and Safety subcommittees for further review, “a slight modification” of what’s already on the books. Several definitions associated with adult entertainment and, more specifically adult bookstores, have been more clearly defined while licensing guidelines and the emphasis of owner culpability have been bolstered.
While making the ordinance his mayoral swan song, Delaney said it was also long overdue.
“Obviously I won’t be able to see it through, but I think it has become increasingly more important for the City to better regulate adult-oriented entertainment in Jacksonville,” said Delaney. “It’s a quality of life issue. This is a family town and we need to set boundaries. I also believe that with respect to those places of business there is a greater prevalence of drug use, prostitution and other criminal acts, especially in those places that serve alcohol.”
Delaney admitted the increasing and widespread anticipation surrounding the 2005 Super Bowl further heightened City awareness and concern.
“Yes, that was definitely a factor,” he said, “and this isn’t our first stab for something like this.”
According to Delaney, an older bill was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court years ago because of its overly restrictive nature.
“We were told we can’t ban adult material outright and that we must allow it to exist in at least one zoning category,” he said. “This process further will help us determine those zones.”
And as letters arrive at City Hall decrying a perceived loss of First Amendment rights and “over zealous vice members,” Delaney says the proposed revisions are in the best interest of Jacksonville and that adult material will not be completely outlawed within city limits if passed.
“It’s like I used to say when I was a prosecutor, Playboy is adult material,” said Delaney.” That’s legal, and it can be regulated. Some of the material currently sold in Jacksonville is beginning to cross the line and it’s becoming clearly obscene and pornographic. That’s not legal and we’re going to do something about it.”