To stymie plans for a new strip club, the Pulaski County Quorum Court urged the city of Little Rock on Tuesday to maintain its zoning code that restricts sexually oriented businesses.
Skyroom, a proposed club at 4643 W. Dixon Road, lies on the east side of Arch Street, just outside city limits but in Little Rock's extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Cities oversee zoning in extraterritorial jurisdictions where the city is likely to expand.
Right now, the Dixon Road site is zoned as C-3 Commercial. Under that zoning, sexually oriented businesses and private clubs cannot be within 750 feet of residential neighborhoods, schools and churches.
The site of Skyroom, according to the county resolution, is within 300 feet of a residential neighborhood, England Acres.
The resolution takes no action against the club or its owner, Billy Pope, but encourages Little Rock officials to continue its commercial zoning designation, thereby barring the strip club's operation.
Doing so "is in the best interest of the future growth of the City of Little Rock, and the best interest of the health, safety and welfare of Pulaski County and its residents," the resolution says.
A couple of dozen neighbors and three state legislators filled chairs at the Quorum Court meeting to rally against the strip club.
"We do not want a strip club in our neighborhood. It's that simple," said Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, accompanied by Rep. Charles Blake, D-Little Rock, and Rep. Andy Mayberry, R-Hensley.
She thanked the county for highlighting that the club would violate city zoning.
"We thought we were stuck with having to picket until we put them out of business," Chesterfield said.
Pope, of Bryant, did not attend the meeting.
A man who identified himself as Pope said in a brief phone call that he "already went to court" over the business.
In May, Pope won a court battle against state Alcoholic Beverage Control, the agency that issues private-club permits.
A new permit allows bars and restaurants to stay open until 2 a.m. An old permit -- the type Pope owns -- allows businesses to close at 5 a.m.
Pope had applied to transfer his permit from a previous business to the Dixon Road address so he could open up a strip club.
In his appeal, Pope told the state agency he had years of experience working with other strip clubs, and one in Pulaski County hadn't been approved in several years.
The plan Pope presented was for an 8,500-square-foot building with a stone and stucco veneer. The parking lot could accommodate 150 to 200 cars.
He'd serve lunch, and Skyroom would be open seven days a week, according to the initial application.
The state agency denied Pope's application, but Circuit Judge Mackie Pierce ruled that the denial "was not supported by substantial evidence ... and characterized by an abuse of discretion."
Even with the permit, Pope would still have to clear several hurdles before the club could open. City and county leaders have already expressed that they're against it.
On Nov. 14, Little Rock's Planning and Development Department issued a "stop work" order because a site plan hadn't been submitted.
On Dec. 5, Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde sent the Little Rock Board of Directors and Mayor Mark Stodola a letter calling the strip club an "intrusive and incompatible land use."
On Friday, Jamie Collins, director of the city's planning department, wrote a letter to the consultant representing Pope, saying the strip club violated city zoning rules.
Controversy over the strip club is unfolding right when county and city boards across Arkansas are deciding how to handle private club applications, a task they haven't overseen before.
Act 1112 of 2017 requires private-club applicants to obtain approval from the governing body of the county or town where the club would be located.
Only then will an application be reviewed by the Alcoholic Beverage Control agency.
On Tuesday, the Quorum Court also unanimously adopted an ordinance outlining what people must present to the court when applying to run a private club.
Because Skyroom's permit transfer application was submitted before the state law changed, the strip club would be grandfathered in, meaning Pope would not have to seek approval from the Quorum Court, a county attorney said.
However, Collins' letter did not echo the same thinking. Pope will have to apply to operate as a private club through the city, the letter says.
Information for this article was contributed by Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter Chelsea Boozer.
Metro on 12/20/2017