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Neighborhood report

Bar's fate might turn on details of city code

Envy, a new business at Kennedy and Himes, has two neighborhoods complaining of raciness.

By SHERRI DAY
Published January 27, 2006

So a man walks into a bar and sees women dancing. Soon, they take off their dresses to reveal bikinis.

Is the place a strip club or a bikini bar?

The answer could determine the fate of Envy, a month-old business at Kennedy Boulevard and Himes Avenue.

City officials are investigating the club to find out whether it violates zoning codes regarding adult usage. Nearby homeowners contend there is little confusion. They say Envy is a strip club that doesn't belong in the family-oriented neighborhoods of Oakford Park and Gray Gables.

"We have hard-working families that live there and tried to establish a very safe and secure environment," said Lara J. Tibbals, a lawyer and Gray Gables resident. "It's simply not appropriate (to have) that type of adult use establishment that close to a neighborhood, especially when so many children are present."

Tibbals and several Gray Gables residents took their concerns to the City Council last week. City officials called for patience and assured the residents that they were working on the issue.

Envy, at 3447 W Kennedy Blvd., opened in late December at the longtime site of the gay nightclub Metropolis. City code enforcement officers cited Envy on Dec. 28 with illegal change of use to adult entertainment. For now, the case remains open as city officials try to determine whether the club violates zoning regulations.

The property is zoned for general commercial use, land use records show.

According to city code, "entertainment featuring the displaying or depicting of specified anatomical areas" constitutes an adult use.

Exactly what Envy's female employees wear is crucial. Pasties equal adult use, city officials said. But full bikinis are likely permissible under the site's zoning.

"We're evaluating whether or not they're complying with the various city ordinances that apply to the facility," City Attorney David Smith said.

The "Police Department is investigating the facts, and when we have the facts, we'll know whether we have an issue or not."

Eugene O'Steen, who owns the Envy building and land, said he operates a legal, upstanding business and has every right to continue.

"The girls are in bikinis," he said. "I guarantee you can go to the beach or Hooters or the Wing House and see more than you see in this club, or certainly this much. It's just totally ridiculous."

O'Steen called Envy "an upgrade to the community" and said he has been unfairly targeted. Perhaps his reputation precedes him, he said.

He owns several nightclubs in the Tampa area, including Gene's Bar, an East Tampa establishment that has been the subject of neighborhood complaints. Earlier this month, the bar was the site of a shooting that left three people injured.

Kathy Good Jenkins, past president of the Oakford Park Neighborhood Association, said she plans to keep a close watch on Envy as city agencies conduct their investigation.

"I don't mean to sound prudish, but I know what these kinds of clubs breed, and we don't need drugs and prostitution in the neighborhood," Jenkins said. "I'm afraid that a club like this would just breed that."

- Sherri Day can be reached at sday@sptimes.com or 813 226-3405.

[Last modified January 26, 2006, 08:57:08]