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Neighbors upset about nearby sex shop

Night Dreams is moving into an existing building, so the owner doesn't need the county's okay.

By CHUIN-WEI YAP
Published January 10, 2007

GOWERS CORNER - The housing boom isn't far away, but you can still find plenty of cows in this part of central Pasco. Traffic zips by on U.S. 41, but there are plenty of large oaks and pastures.

And the county jail. And now, sex shops. Neighbors are upset.

Night Dreams, a store specializing in fetish and bondage gear, is about to open barely a minute's drive south from State Road 52 along U.S. 41.

It joins Wanderlust Adult Novelties, 2 months old and 4 miles north on U.S. 41, just beyond the Saginaw Ranch. Neighbors view this as the seamy underbelly of development.

"I have a 7-year-old son," said Julie Klieves. "The next two houses have babies on the way, and they have an 8-year-old daughter. ... I don't like it at all."

There are no signs at the building at Ticino Lane, and its shades are always drawn. Night Dreams won't officially open until June, a store assistant said, but neighbors got wind of it last week.

"We're trying to find out more about it, and we're taking a petition," said Candy Lester, who has a 16-year-old daughter. "Mostly adult stores are in industrial parks, and that's okay. But not where we have kids."

But the law is not on Lester's side. Lee Millard, Pasco's assistant zoning administrator, said county law allows sexually oriented businesses to set up in a commercial zones if all they do is sell or rent videos, magazines, books or novelties. They cannot be within 1,000 feet of a school, place of worship, day care center or public park.

If the business is moving into an existing building, as is the case with Night Dreams, the owner doesn't even need a permit from the county.

If such establishments want to screen videos or stage shows, they must move into an industrial zone, Millard said.

Neighbors are complaining that school buses stop to collect and drop kids off within walking distance of Night Dreams, but the school district cannot make the business move.

"We'll have to move the bus stop," said assistant superintendent Ray Gadd. "We can't move schools, but we can move the bus stop."

Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this story. Chuin-Wei Yap covers growth and development. He can be reached at (813) 909-4613 or cyap@sptimes.com.

[Last modified January 9, 2007, 22:49:20]