DATE: Thursday, September 4, 1997           TAG: 9709040461

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NAGS HEAD                         LENGTH:   50 lines

NAGS HEAD EXTENDS BAN AGAIN ON SEX BUSINESSES

A municipal ban on sexually oriented businesses that was scheduled to expire in October was extended for six months Wednesday by the Board of Commissioners.

The extension, approved 4-1, prohibits permit applications for adult bookstores, movie theaters and clubs until April 1, 1998.

Mayor Renee Cahoon, along with commissioners Lillian ``Doll'' Gray, Doug Remaley and George Farah III, voted for the extension. Commissioner Bob Muller opposed it.

Supporters of the ban, first enacted in April 1996, want to give the General Assembly time to pass a bill that would clarify how towns can regulate such establishments. The ban already had been extended before, in April.

The Senate passed the bill during the recent regular session. In the House, however, the measure stalled in committee. Lawmakers are expected to take up the bill during the short session next spring.

``Any `I' that can be dotted or any `T' that can be crossed is going to help us,'' Farah said. ``Let's see what they (lawmakers) do.''

``I don't think this board is dragging its feet,'' he said. ``I think we're waiting for the legislation to determine what we can do.''

But some officials, including Muller and Town Attorney Tom White, say the bill gives localities little more power than they already have to regulate sex shops.

``I've always been concerned that with a moratorium that extends over a long period of time, the longer it goes the weaker it gets, and the more likely a court is to strike it down,'' White said. ``This moratorium has gone on for two years. That's the reason I asked what we would do after the legislation passes.''

At a number of public hearings, citizens urged municipalities to fight in the courts if necessary against any court challenges. Legal battles of this type, however, generally cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, White said.

Muller called on the town to move in one of two directions.

``The town's current policy is an outright ban,'' Muller said. ``Those have traditionally been struck down (by the courts). If we're going to wait for the legislature, we need to clarify what we'll get as a result of the bill. I'm not convinced it's going to give the towns any more power. We need to either keep the outright ban, or begin working on new regulations. The longer we keep the moratorium, the more likely it will be challenged.''

All local governments in Dare County have a moratorium on permit applications for sexually oriented businesses. The governments have been working - together with Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight, the North Carolina Local Government Commission and the attorney general's office - to devise a policy to restrict adult establishments.

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