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January 30, 1997Victoria restricts sex shops <br />By Mark Wilde <br />"T"n a preemptive measure <br />I intended to discourage adult <br />JLoriented businesses from <br />opening up in Victoria, the city <br />council passed a resolution at its <br />Jan. 16 meeting restricting them <br />to an isolated portion of down­ <br />town. <br />Although no adult entertain ­ <br />ment commercial enterprises <br />have attempted to locate in <br />Victoria, the Council felt an ordi­ <br />nance was needed as a deterrent. <br />Other cities, including <br />Minnetonka, have passed similar <br />ordinances in the past few <br />months. <br />According to the resolution, <br />adult entertainment busines.ses <br />could ''endanger the morals of <br />the community by being sites of <br />acts of prostitution, illicit sex and <br />occurrences of violent crime." <br />Although the city can not ban <br />such businesses outright, the <br />strict limitations would make it <br />very difficult for any prospective <br />business owner. <br />"Adult use" in the ordinance <br />covers everything from adult <br />bookstores and video rentals to <br />adult body painting studios. If <br />the building excludes minors and <br />emphasize? '"specified sexual <br />activities" or ''spec ’.^j^f anatomi­ <br />cal areas," it is considered adult <br />use under the ordinance. <br />If the principal use of the busi­ <br />ness is adult oriented, it is <br />required to be located in the <br />Central Business District, a few <br />blocks in downtown Victoria. <br />However, video stores or book­ <br />stores will still be able to carry <br />small quantities of adult material <br />as long as it does not make up a <br />majority of the establishments' <br />business. <br />For example, under the ordi­ <br />nance, a video rental store located <br />outside the Central Business <br />District would be able to carry <br />pornographic movies if they are <br />located in a separate room and <br />make up less than 20 percent of <br />the store's business. <br />In other news, the Council <br />braced for the end of the subdivi­ <br />sion moratorium that has been in <br />place since 1995. Understate law, <br />Victoria is only able to enforce the <br />subdivision moratorium for two <br />years, and it is scheduled to end <br />June 21,1997. <br />At that time, developers and <br />landowners are free to petition <br />the city for the right to subdivide <br />land and build housing. City <br />planner Bill Goff expects a long <br />line of interested parties. "I'm <br />sure there will be quite a few <br />developers ready with plans to <br />begin building," Goff said. <br />In the past two years, the city <br />has gone over all the pertinent <br />codes and regulations and devel ­ <br />oped an overall plan for expan ­ <br />sion. The city eslabli.shed devel ­ <br />opment standards and lot sizes to <br />insure the quality and aesthetic <br />levels of the homes remain con­ <br />sistent with city goals. <br />As an example, Goff cited the <br />east side development study, <br />which was conducted by SRF <br />Inc., a Minnetonka consulting <br />firm. SRF undertook a long <br />process of meetings with <br />landowners, city officials and <br />experts in an attempt to develop <br />a blueprint of how the east side <br />should look 20 years from now. <br />According to Goff, the east side <br />is guaranteed quality homes and <br />developments because of the for­ <br />mal blueprint process. "Heavy <br />citizen participation will hope ­ <br />fully head off problems," Goff <br />said. "People have a slake in what <br />is being built, and there won't be <br />any surprises." <br />Although the Council does not <br />need to take any formal action to <br />end the subdivision moratorium, <br />Goff admits it will be a very <br />active time for the Council <br />around the end of June. "The <br />moratorium will run out, and we <br />are open for business," he said. <br />IriTT <br />'••V <br />v.*' '.v; '.,. • . .'i <br />, ;a <br />/ - v" <br />I i f . n*? f <br />Grimm restoration looking brighter <br />Long Lake resident Robin Hoseth and her mother, Shirley Theel, <br />Excelsior, presented the Hennepin Parks Board of Commissioners <br />with a check from the R.E. Thcel Foundation for $52,837.41 for the <br />Grimm Farm Restoration.'Pictured (I to r): Shirley Theel, Tom <br />McDowell (Hennepin Parks), Robin Hoseth and David <br />Dombrowski (Hennepin Parks). <br />Medina seeks residents for Planning Commission <br />The City of Medina has three openings on the Medina Planning <br />Commission for terms beginning March 1997. Terms are for three <br />years. This is a commission that makes recommendations to the City <br />Council concerning applications for subdivisions, conditional use per­ <br />mits, variances, etc. <br />City ordinance 825.33 states that members of the planning com­ <br />mission shall be persons who have resided in the City for at least three <br />years immediately preceding appointment. <br />Interested persons should submit a letter to Sandie Larson at the <br />City. Letters must be received no later than Thursday, Feb. 13,1997. <br />*Pride is Building’ at WayzataWest Junior High School <br />As part of school pride week, staff and students at Wayzata West are <br />raising money to benefit Habitat for Humanity-Guatemala. If daily <br />fund goals are reached, school Counselor Jim Hartmann will sleep on <br />the school roof Monday through Thursday nights. <br />** ' - J Kr%iic«a *■