Hearing set for strip club discussion

September 18, 2002|by CANDICE BOSELY

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Residents concerned about strip clubs opening in Jefferson County will be able to express their opinions at a public hearing Nov. 7 at the county courthouse.

At their meeting Tuesday night, members of the Jefferson County Planning Commission discussed, for a few minutes, where and when to hold the hearing.

After a standing-room-only crowd appeared at the Jefferson County Commission meeting last week - concerned about a rumor that a strip club may open near Shipley Elementary School - planning commission members said the large courtroom may be the best spot.

The planning commission's meeting room had 56 folding chairs set up Tuesday.

Stephen Bockmiller, chief planner for the Jefferson County Department of Planning, Zoning and Engineering, estimated that more than 100 people appeared at the county commission meeting last Thursday. "And that was during the day," he said.

Bockmiller dismissed the notion that a strip club may open on land along U.S. 340 as a rumor. And, at their meeting last week, County Commissioner Jane Tabb read a letter from the owner of the property in question, who said no plans exist to open a strip club there.

At the upcoming hearing, members of the public can add their input on whether strip clubs should be barred from opening for six months. That would be enough time to study whether changes should be made to the county's zoning and development plan.

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