In the News

City, Adult Store Work Out Deal

The Wichita City Council Is Expected To OK A $62,000 Settlement With The Adult Superstore.

By Jean Hays,
The Wichita Eagle
February 8, 2003

When the city shut down the Adult Superstore last summer, neighbors, members of a nearby church and some Wichita police officers planned a party to celebrate.

It was a short-lived celebration. The adult book and video store reopened within two months at the same location.

Now the city of Wichita will pay the owner $62,000 to settle a federal lawsuit over lost business during the 45-day closing.

The Wichita City Council is scheduled to vote on the settlement during Tuesday's meeting. The item appears on the consent agenda, which is usually adopted without discussion.

Christopher McHugh, the lawyer for the bookstore, said he could not discuss the settlement until it has been approved. The store will stay open, he said.

Neighbors and members of the nearby Christian Chapel Foursquare Church have been trying to shut down the bookstore at 5858 S. Broadway Ave. since it opened in February 1997.

They have staged prayer vigils, distributed anti-pornography pamphlets to customers and complained constantly to elected officials about sex toys and pornography strewn about the neighborhood.

Both the city and county tried - and failed - to shut down the business.

The Sedgwick County Commission enacted an ordinance requiring adult bookstores to be at least 1,000 feet from a church, but allowed the store to stay open because it was in business before the ordinance was adopted.

In March 2000, the city of Wichita annexed the neighborhood and required the store to get a license, which it then refused to grant because the bookstore was within 500 feet of a church.

On May 10, 2002, a police detective gave employees 30 minutes to close the store or be arrested.

The store owner, Gail Crump of Dallas, claimed in a lawsuit that the city's ordinance was unconstitutional because it imposed prior restraint on her First Amendment rights to free speech. The ordinance also did not allow for a timely appeal of the City Council's decision, she said.

The city has since changed the ordinance to allow for faster appeals, said Gary Rebenstorf, a lawyer for the city.

In settling the lawsuit, the city admitted no wrongdoing.

Reach Jean Hays at 268-6557 or jhays@wichitaeagle.com.