Adult Store Facing Permit Troubles In Rapid City, SD

RAPID CITY, S.D.—The owner of what would be named Dick and Jane's Naughty Spot was willing to change that to Dick and Jane's Super Spot if the Rapid City City Council would only give that owner, David Eliason, a permit to open his adult storefront at 1141 Deadwood Ave. But Eliason's business license application was shot down at the city council meeting on Monday, September 18, because several citizens complained that the store would be too close to Karate for Kids, a martial arts training center a few doors away in the same strip mall. But here's the kicker: According to a report in the Rapid City Journal, "In a Sept. 18 memo to council members, Assistant City Attorney Carla Cushman and the city attorney’s office appeared to side with Eliason. "'Staff do not believe that Karate for Kids is an educational facility under the ordinance that would require a 1,000 foot buffer from any sexually oriented business,' Cushman wrote. "In Monday’s meeting, City Attorney Joel Landeen defended that assertion, saying he had reviewed an opinion by South Dakota District Court Chief Judge Jeffrey Viken on the matter. "'It gets pretty clear we don't feel like we have a good chance of success,' Landeen said of defending the permit denial in court." Perhaps the biggest bone of contention is the wording of the city's adult business ordinance, which defines the term "educational facility," which several who spoke at the city council meeting claim Karate for Kids to be. "Educational facility" is defined in the city code as "a public or private facility including but not limited to child day care facilities, nursery schools, preschools, kindergartens, elementary schools, private schools, intermediate schools, junior high schools, middle schools, high schools, vocational schools, secondary schools, continuation schools, special education schools, junior colleges, and universities." As far as Alderman Jason Salamun is concerned, Karate for Kids fits the definition under the "but not limited to" clause. "Do I think the Karate for Kids is teaching children?" he asked. "I do. This list is not meant to be exhaustive." Alderwoman Becky Drury agreed. "The intent was to keep the adult-orientated businesses away from our children," she said. But Eliason has dealt with such obstructionism previously—and he's ready for another battle if it comes to that. "We’ve done it before," he said. "I’ve been to federal court multiple times, and I’ve never lost." (Eliason already has another adult store in Sturgis, S.D.) Eliason even offered the city a deal: If they'd find him a location that the council would pre-approve for his business, and allow him to forgo the conditional permit process the city requires of all sexually oriented businesses within city limits, he'd abandon any efforts to move into the Deadwood Avenue location. Failing that, Eliason indicated that a lawsuit was a real possibility, though according to the Journal, he stated that he would have to "meet with his representation to gather facts, assess the situation and that he had meetings scheduled with city staffers to discuss the matter further." Finding that alternate location might not be an easy task, since the adult ordinance requires that adult businesses be located at least 1,000 feet from residential areas, from the Central Business District, and from all "sensitive uses" like schools, parks, churches, convention centers, museums, fairgrounds and theaters. Moreover, all adult businesses must have opaque windows and must position adult items in such a way that they cannot be seen through an open door—and of course, all entrants must be at least 18 years old. "We cannot ban them," lamented Alderman Steve Laurenti. "Pity is, there are always going to be people who choose the wrong path ... but that doesn’t mean that we can’t regulate. That doesn’t mean that we can’t make sure our community reflects the moral fortitude of the majority of people in this city." But considering that Rapid City is just a couple of miles from Keystone, site of the Mount Rushmore National Monument, Laurenti might want to ask himself what the Founding Fathers and other highly respected presidents depicted there would think of his would-be censorship?