Love Shack Closes in Johns Creek, Georgia
Posted by NPNAdmin at 10/2/2008 2:28 PM 
Categories: Ordinances and Regulations,Debate on the Issues,First Amendment,Secondary Effects
Categories: Ordinances and Regulations,Debate on the Issues,First Amendment,Secondary Effects
Congratulations to our friends at Keep Johns Creek Safe. Love Shack, a large porn shop that tried to evade the new city's adult zoning regulations, has decided to close. Owner John Cornetta claims he's losing about $40,000 a month. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports today:
That secondary effects occur is no surprise when you consider the attitude of many porn shop operators to their communities. Here is Mr. Cornetta in 2007:
See also:
Struggle Over "Love Shack" in Georgia; New City Adopts State-of-the-Art Adult-Use Ordinance (12/22/06)
The Johns Creek SOB ordinance ( PDF, 5.9 MB ) was adopted this month. In many aspects it appears to be the 'state of the art' in adult-use regulations. It cites the latest relevant court cases and many recent secondary effects studies, and addresses some of the dodges adult businesses have used to try to get around ordinances elsewhere (see "Spanish Popeye").
Yes, Let's Talk about Jobs
We are not in favor of “banning” porn (except child porn, which is already banned). We are trying to get people to not want it. But let’s talk about jobs. Studies show that many adult enterprises are ‘vampire’ businesses that suck the economic life out of their surroundings.
San Francisco: Loss of Porn Shop Brings Hope to Tenderloin District
When an art gallery moves to the worst block in the Tenderloin, times are clearly changing. This is particularly true when the prior use of the site was a large porno emporium that contributed mightily to the community’s negative image.
The SRO’s with the worse conditions tend to be those above porno shops. These businesses frequently have drug dealers doing business outside, and take no action to remove them...
Past experience shows that making the Tenderloin safer and more desirable requires these types of physical changes to sites, not more police. And eliminating such problem spots not only costs no taxpayer money, but it actually increases the city’s revenue when vacant and underutilized sites are developed.
The Evidence of Relationships Between Adult-Oriented Businesses and Community Crime and Disorder
Prosperous Minneapolis Commercial Area Blighted by Proliferation of Adult Enterprises
New York City Porn Shops Depress Demand for Neighboring Properties
Des Moines, WA: Adult Uses Cause Business Failures, Scare People Away
Porn Merchant Implies: Host Community Put at Risk So Outsiders Might Enjoy Themselves
In a November 17 newspaper article, Mr. Porter is quoted as making light of citizen concerns and suggesting that the store's customers will mostly come from out of town:
“I guess I could say we’re relieved,” said Kitty Garrison, owner of North Atlanta Dance Academy, across the street from the Love Shack.One Johns Creek resident, Don Kennedy, expresses dismay that the city pressured a small business to close. He may not be aware of how adult businesses can depress the economic life of surrounding businesses and stimulate criminal activity. These are called "secondary effects", and they are why proactive cities regulate adult businesses through zoning:
“It was the issue of a sexually oriented business close to a residential area, a school bus stop, and 400 young dancers that made the community nervous,” Garrison said...
State of Minnesota, Report of the Attorney General’s Working Group on the Regulation of Sexually Oriented Businesses, Office of the Attorney General (June 6, 1989)Springfield, MA is quite familiar with secondary effects, as discussed in Capital Video's Springfield Porn Shop Repels Sought-After Businesses and Springfield Police Commissioner: "...it is fair to say that 'Amazing' constitutes an attractive nuisance that contributes to blighted conditions there".
This is a seminal work which investigates the secondary effects of adult businesses from a number of different research perspectives. Not only is the effect on crime included, so is the effect on neighborhood disorganization and disorder, as are the effects on property values addressed. The New York study also concluded that business locations with adult-oriented businesses had a significant loss of sales tax collections (42%) as compared to control areas. Studies of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Indianapolis, Phoenix, and Los Angeles are cited. RICO and organized criminal elements of the industry are also discussed. It was found that dramatic increases in crime rates were directly associated with the introduction of adult-oriented businesses into any community studied. Evidence is articulated indicating that property crimes were forty to fifty percent higher, and sex-related crimes were found to be seventy to as much as 500 percent higher--depending upon the municipality. Other non-crime community issues are also discussed.
That secondary effects occur is no surprise when you consider the attitude of many porn shop operators to their communities. Here is Mr. Cornetta in 2007:
Aspen Newspapers: "Johns Creek takes another crack at Shack", 6/27/07
Johns Creek filed a petition last week in the Superior Court of Fulton County to declare Love Shack in violation of city ordinances and order it to comply or close...
Cornetta said the petition is 'no big deal,' citing his more than 15 years of traveling down this road. This is just another day, he said.
"This is what I do for a living. I chew up and spit out local municipalities like Popeye chewed spinach," said Cornetta.
See also:
Struggle Over "Love Shack" in Georgia; New City Adopts State-of-the-Art Adult-Use Ordinance (12/22/06)
The Johns Creek SOB ordinance ( PDF, 5.9 MB ) was adopted this month. In many aspects it appears to be the 'state of the art' in adult-use regulations. It cites the latest relevant court cases and many recent secondary effects studies, and addresses some of the dodges adult businesses have used to try to get around ordinances elsewhere (see "Spanish Popeye").
Yes, Let's Talk about Jobs
We are not in favor of “banning” porn (except child porn, which is already banned). We are trying to get people to not want it. But let’s talk about jobs. Studies show that many adult enterprises are ‘vampire’ businesses that suck the economic life out of their surroundings.
San Francisco: Loss of Porn Shop Brings Hope to Tenderloin District
When an art gallery moves to the worst block in the Tenderloin, times are clearly changing. This is particularly true when the prior use of the site was a large porno emporium that contributed mightily to the community’s negative image.
The SRO’s with the worse conditions tend to be those above porno shops. These businesses frequently have drug dealers doing business outside, and take no action to remove them...
Past experience shows that making the Tenderloin safer and more desirable requires these types of physical changes to sites, not more police. And eliminating such problem spots not only costs no taxpayer money, but it actually increases the city’s revenue when vacant and underutilized sites are developed.
The Evidence of Relationships Between Adult-Oriented Businesses and Community Crime and Disorder
Prosperous Minneapolis Commercial Area Blighted by Proliferation of Adult Enterprises
New York City Porn Shops Depress Demand for Neighboring Properties
Des Moines, WA: Adult Uses Cause Business Failures, Scare People Away
Porn Merchant Implies: Host Community Put at Risk So Outsiders Might Enjoy Themselves
In a November 17 newspaper article, Mr. Porter is quoted as making light of citizen concerns and suggesting that the store's customers will mostly come from out of town:
"We'll be helping the community, maybe not Berlin, but surrounding communities," Porter said jokingly, "community service is what we're all about."Capital Video Representative Swears at NoPornNorthampton During Public Meeting
Porter said they have been delayed between three to four months, and believes the store will open in September rather than July as was previously expected.
"Though Mr. Porter's arrogance may be noble in the sex shop and novelty world, it does not serve him well in the town of Berlin," [Berlin mayor Adam] Salina said.
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