Ordinance 2008-316 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Using the Vincent case as a benchmark, and considering the total square miles of the City, one or more sites per 2.5 square miles in the City would appear to be sufficient to meet the Constitutional standard. The Town Center District, with the applicable separation standards will provide adequate acreage to meet Constitutional requirements. Moreover, the City's Planners support the designation of the Collins A venue Corridor of the Town Center District as the appropriate location for adult uses because it is consistent with the City's development plans. VI. Amortization of existing nonconforming uses The Vincent case also explained that the Constitution does not require a "grandfathering" provision for the existing adult businesses made nonconforming by the zoning ordinance. Additionally, an amortization period requiring the relocation of adult uses has been upheld, where there are an adequate number of sites for relocation. See, e.g., Ambassador Books & Video, Inc. v. City of Little Rock, 20 F. 3d 858 (8th Cir. 1994) (three years); Dumas v. City of' Dallas, 648 F.Supp. I06L 1071 (N.D.Tcx.1986), C?fJ'd. 837 F.2d 1298 (5th Cir.1988), afrd in part and vacated in part, 493 U.S. 215 (1990) (three years). The Broward County ordinance upheld in Vincent required existing adult uses to relocate to the proper zoning district within five years. 200 F.3d at 1328. Florida law has long held that nonconforming uses may be required to discontinue or "amortize" after a reasonable period of time. See, Standard Oil Co. v. City of'Tallahassee, ] 83 F.2d 410 (5th Cir. 1950). Nonconforming uses generally are recognized as uses that should have a limited duration, and thus also may be eliminated by abandonment and by restrictions on their expansion. In this case, the existing adult use is already nonconforming to the district in which it is located, and would not be made nonconforming simply by the adoption of new adult entertainment use regulations. This further supports an argument for the reasonableness of an amortization period. VII. Conclusion To ensure compliance with the law, the City must amend its code to designate adult use as a permitted use within a zoning district. However, the City is able to impose reasonable limitations to protect the City from the secondary effects of adult uses. Page 7 of7