Courant article 1/27/07

From courant.com
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Proposed Sex-Themed Business Gets Cease-And-Desist Order
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By VANESSA DE LA TORRE
Courant Staff Writer
January 27, 2007

BERLIN — The big sign above the store entrance shows off a blue-eyed brunette. The other sign, facing traffic, promotes these initials: VIP. Both tell motorists that the sex-themed store is “coming soon,” perplexing some residents and rankling town officials who have rejected Very Intimate Pleasures’ plans to open a business at 717 Berlin Turnpike.

The town’s chief zoning enforcement officer, Hellyn Riggins, issued a cease-and-desist order to VIP this week, saying it is using the former Huffman Koos furniture building without a certificate of zoning compliance. In September, Riggins denied VIP’s application for zoning approval on grounds that the company first needed a permit under the town’s ordinance on sexually oriented businesses.

That law forbids adult businesses from opening within 250 feet of residential property. The site proposed for VIP is within the 250-foot limit.

In November, VIP contested Riggins’ decision before the town zoning appeals board, which unanimously defended the ruling before a crowd of nearly 90 residents. Very Intimate Pleasures proposes to sell lingerie, oils, sexually explicit books and DVDs, gag gifts and “sex-positive” novelties. Management has denied it is a sex shop, preferring the label “romantic department store.”

After the second rejection, VIP filed state and federal lawsuits against the town, arguing in part that its ordinance violates the Constitution because it restricts the location of a First Amendment-protected business.

But last week, in a separate case with similar arguments, a federal judge backed the ordinance. Gold Diggers LLC had sought to overturn the town’s rejection of its plan to bring exotic dancing to the Infrared Cafe on New Britain Road . The lawyer for Gold Diggers also represents VIP.

The same morning that town officials were celebrating the court’s decision, they got news that VIP had put up signs announcing a summer opening. That was Jan. 18.

On Friday, a black Hummer with the license plate “VIP” sat in the parking lot of the proposed store.

As a reporter approached the store entrance, a man who identified himself as an employee opened the store door; he said no managers were there. As he opened the door, products and dozens of boxes could be seen inside. A short time later, a young woman wearing a “HUSTLER” sweat shirt suggested calling Gary Porter, general manager for Very Intimate Pleasures.

Reached at VIP’s Hartford store, Porter genially called the cease-and-desist order part of “the minor hurdles, the bump and grind.” He said the company closed on the property two weeks ago and has the right to go in and out of the building. As for the boxes, Porter said the merchandise is for other VIP stores.

He also said that neighbors have been “harassing” them through phone calls to the police.

“It’s utterly ridiculous,” Porter said, “but eh, that’s why we have attorneys.”

Lawyer Dan Silver could not be reached for comment Friday.

“Quite honestly, Mr. Porter has a convoluted perception of this entire process,” Mayor Adam Salina said. “Right now, they do not have a zoning permit. So they are not allowed to put up signs or conduct any business from the building.”

Salina also disagreed with Porter’s assessment that neighbors are the main folks who oppose the store, not town officials.

“Um, again, Mr. Porter lives in his own little world, and his skewed perception of the entire process and the people it affects is not representative of the real world,” Salina said.

Laura Michaud, whose house is less than 50 feet from the proposed VIP, said that a tractor-trailer pulled up last Saturday and began unloading products.

“I think it’s presumptuous of them,” Michaud said. “Our fear is that they’re going to open in complete defiance of court orders. And certainly we don’t want that to happen. Already traffic has pulled in just with the signs being put up.”

Very Intimate Pleasures has 15 days to appeal the cease-and-desist order. The company’s lawsuits against Berlin are pending in state and federal courts.

Contact Vanessa de la Torre at vdelatorre@courant.com.
Copyright 2007, Hartford Courant
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