TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Swingers Club Wants Case Decided By Court, Not County

ADVERTISEMENT

By THOMAS W. KRAUSE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 29, 2008

Updated: 08/29/2008 02:18 am

TAMPA - Operators of a nightclub that caters to swingers are trying to cancel a code enforcement hearing scheduled for next week.

Instead, the owners of Pleasure Palace insist, the matter should be heard in a courtroom before a jury.

In a petition filed Thursday in circuit court, owners of the club have asked a judge to cancel the Sept. 3 hearing, where Hillsborough County code enforcement officials are expected to determine whether the nightclub should be licensed as a sexually oriented business.

The nightclub's attorneys state in the petition that they have moved the case to county court and already have a Sept. 14 court date before Judge James Dominguez.

In the petition, filed by JLA Investment Corporation, the owners state that they opened the business in 1999 at 8504 East Adamo Drive, "catering to adults who subscribe to the notion of open sexuality."

They operated without interruption until April 27, 2001, when they were charged criminally for operating a sexually oriented business without a license.

After much litigation, the petition says, the charge was dropped.

For several years, Pleasure Palace again operated without a problem.

On April 2, however, code enforcement officials alleged the business was sexual in nature and did not have a license. The owners asked for a ruling from zoning administrators, who determined that Pleasure Palace was a sexually oriented business.

Following procedures, the owners appealed to a land-use hearing officer, the petition states. That appeal is pending.

The owners asked for a postponement of the Sept. 3 code enforcement hearing while it waits for a ruling on the appeal, but code enforcement officials declined the request, the petition states.

In response, the owners asked to have the case moved to county court and received the Sept. 14 court date.

The lawsuit asks a judge to cancel the Sept. 3 code enforcement hearing or ask code enforcement officials to show why it should not be canceled.

Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813) 259-7698 or tkrause@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT