GAY AND LESBIAN ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE OF WASHINGTON
Fighting for Equal Rights Since 1971
P. O. Box 75265
Washington, D.C. 20013
(202) 667-5139
GLAA Talking points on Bill 17-109,
“One-Time Relocation of Licensees Displaced by the Ballpark
and Skyland Development Project Amendment Act of 2007”
Thursday, May 31, 2007
- The city displaced the clubs by seizing their land, and is responsible for creating a remedy.
- A recent ABC Board ruling nullified a January 2001 Council compromise allowing relocation of clubs.
- GLAA sought Mayor Williams’s help in 2006 with Zoning Commission, got nowhere.
- Some of the affected businesses have been shut down for more than a year; remedy is needed now.
- The licensees found minimally intrusive locations—next to Mt. Olivet Cemetery, railroad tracks, etc.
- Jim Graham was NOT involved in choosing locations for the licensees.
- Most of the available and affordable commercial-manufacturing-zoned places are in Ward 5.
- Opponents claim associated crime without evidence, and paint with a broad, prejudicial brush.
- These are legitimate businesses; there is no lack of laws and regulations for dealing with violators.
- People who don’t like adult entertainment don’t have to patronize these clubs.
- The 600-foot separation rule prevents clustering. More than that is excessive and unwarranted.
- Crying “Not in Ward 5” amounts to saying “Nowhere in town” given zoning and economic realities.
- Some Ward 5 residents, such as Ruthanne Buck, welcome these businesses moving to Ward 5.
- There has been community discussion and a public hearing on the Graham bill; nobody was silenced.
- If licensees are barred from the primary commercial-manufacturing area, the message is “drop dead.”
- Graham bill does not eliminate roles of ABC Board or BZA. It just gives displaced licensees a chance.
- Only those displaced licensees who were property owners will receive monies from any eminent domain settlement; the licensees who were their tenants will get nothing.
