THE ANATOMY OF A TOPLESS BAR LAWSUIT

A businessman who wants to become the first topless bar owner in Destin says it is “absolutely a business just like anything else.”

“Well, maybe not like anything else,” said Terry Stephenson, who is operating the Oasis on Mountain Drive. “But if the biggest issue you have to deal with is that an adult, 21 and over, wants to go to a club, watch girls dance, and have a drink … Surely there are other big issues to deal with than what an adult does in his spare time.”

Stephenson and his attorneys recently filed a First Amendment lawsuit in federal court alleging that the city of Destin is infringing on the bar’s right “to offer nude-dance entertainment.”

“Ultimately, I feel like the erotic dancing format is a commercially viable situation in Destin. So that’s pretty much what I’m gonna pursue,” he said.

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To read the entire lawsuit, click here.

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LINKS TO PAST STORIES

Mountain Drive topless bar seems DOA

Topless bar application puts Destin in uncharted territory

Destin to review 'adult entertainment' ordinances

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Even before being slapped with the lawsuit, city officials were expecting the move after meeting with Stephenson and his attorneys. Stephenson, who has managed the Atlanta area strip club Pin Ups for the past 15 years, applied for a permit to convert the establishment into a topless bar earlier this month.

“They basically let us know, ‘You are better off working with us than against us,’ ” City Manager Greg Kisela said. “These guys and their attorneys, that’s their expertise. All they had to do is take the last community and county they sued and insert in the city of Destin.

“They have been to this rodeo before.”

For his part, Stephenson says he is just an “average guy.” He said he owns a pool hall, does real estate work and is a father of four. He even owns a charter boat in Destin.

“I’m not telling you which one because I don’t want it sunk,” he said.

At the meeting with zoning officials, city leaders told Stephenson and his attorneys that Mountain Drive, which is in the Harbor Redevelopment District, wasn’t zoned properly for adult entertainment. They said that such an establishment could be located in only two areas off Airport Road.

Stephenson wasn’t impressed.

“Part of your Industrial Zoning, for lack of a better description, is a strip of land at the end of the runway,” he said, adding that the other zoned areas are mostly warehouses.

“There’s nothing usable over there.”

So instead of appealing the ruling or requesting a zoning change, Stephenson turned to the federal court system.

And as city officials wait to be served, staffers are reviewing the 20-year-old “adult entertainment” ordinances at the heart of the case.
It prohibits nudity in bars, night clubs and any business “which sells alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises.” The ban includes showing the female breast “below the top of the areola” and any exposure of genitals or buttocks.

City leaders could meet in executive session to discuss the lawsuit as early as Dec. 16.

The city has settled numerous lawsuits this year in an effort to clear the deck for new city councilors that took office in March, but Kisela said it would be a mistake to interpret that as a sign that the city will buckle.

“Just because we settled litigation doesn’t mean we are intimidated by litigation,” Kisela said.