THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 31, 1996 TAG: 9605310487
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: 65 lines
Mermaids, a nightclub that features topless dancing, has again been denied a permit to operate, but its owner vows to remain open anyway.
The Currituck County Board of Adjustments on Wednesday night unanimously voted to deny a conditional use permit for Robert F. London, Inc., to operate a bar and pool hall in Point Harbor.
Several neighbors objected to the club, including Phil Heffernan, a member of the county's economic development board.
Heffernan said he was disturbed by some tourists referring to his neighborhood as ``the red-light district.''
``I don't think it's right for us to live in a place where someone thinks it's a red-light district,'' Heffernan said.
London, an owner of the controversial nightspot, said he was not surprised by the outcome. ``This was a formality to get to a final conclusion,'' he said immediately after the decision.
When asked if he planned to remain open, London quietly responded: ``Oh, yeah.''
The Board of Adjustments' permit denial followed a ruling 1 1/2 years ago.
Superior Court Judge Gary Trawick ruled in December 1994 that London had substantially misrepresented his business intentions at an earlier public hearing held in Currituck County.
London initially had told a county board he did not intend to have topless dancing at his club.
After learning the practice was legal in Currituck County, London wrote county officials to let them know he was featuring semi-nude female dancers.
Since then, county officials have attempted to shut down Mermaids or relocate it to one of a few remote parcels zoned for heavy manufacturing.
London said Wednesday that business has been great. Nightly crowds average 50 to 70 people and are expected to get larger as summer tourism picks up, he said.
The Board of Adjustments decision was based on Mermaids' proposed use - namely topless dancing and go-go dancing - failing to meet several county standards.
The panel decided the nightclub would endanger public health and safety and lower nearby property values. It also would not be in harmony with the neighborhood nor comply with land-use plans or zoning regulations.
Several Point Harbor residents spoke against the nightclub at Wednesday's public hearing.
Many lived in Old Oak Estates, a 29-lot subdivision of upscale homes next to the nightclub, which is just east of the Wright Memorial Bridge.
Gwen Cruickshanks, president of the Old Oaks Community Association, said residents worried about crime increasing in the area and property values dropping.
A May 20 letter to London from the county sheriff, however, indicated there had been only one minor criminal incident in the Mermaid parking lot.
Four land deeds introduced Wednesday showed a decline in lot sales between January 1995 and February 1996, supporting contentions that Mermaids was bad for home sales.
A local law enacted in September 1994 now requires adult entertainment to be located in heavy manufacturing zones. Adult businesses also must be more than 1,000 feet from a dwelling, residential zone or public place.
Mermaids is in a general business zone and is within 1,000 feet of 14 homes. A new church also has been established just outside the 1,000-foot limit.
The saga continues next week when London goes on trial in Currituck County Superior Court. He is appealing earlier convictions of operating without a valid permit. by CNB