City reaches deal on nude dancers

The city of Duluth reached a tentative settlement with NorthShor Experience on Friday that would allow the business to have nude dancers at the NorShor Theatre downtown.

Deputy City Attorney Alison Lutterman and Minneapolis attorney Randall Tigue, who represents Jim Gradishar, the president of NorthShor Experience Inc., reached the agreement before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan in Minneapolis.

In May, the state Legislature passed a law describing where adult entertainment establishments could be located, but gave local communities the option to opt out from the state statute by passing local ordinances superseding it. The city of Duluth did just that.

The state statute prevented adult establishments from being within 500 feet of a residence, 1,500 feet of another adult establishment or 2,800 feet of a school or place of worship. Also, adult establishments could operate only between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. Duluth's ordinance specified that adult establishments had to be at least 400 feet away from pedestrian plazas and 600 feet away from churches, parks, schools and residential zones.

The NorShor strip club is across the street from Lakeplace Park, a pedestrian plaza.

In July, Gradishar challenged both the state statute and the local ordinance by filing a lawsuit in federal court.

In August, U.S. District Judge Michael Davis issued a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order against the city, prohibiting it from enforcing its ordinance or the state statute, which led to the negotiations that resulted in the tentative settlement.

Lutterman said the court was of the opinion that the local opt-out ordinance was a zoning ordinance, rather than a police regulation ordinance. Therefore, the city was required to take it to the planning commission and to the City Council. Because it wasn't taken to the planning commission, the court concluded that the ordinance was "invalidly enacted."

"What we tentatively agreed to today [Friday] was, in exchange for dropping their challenge to the city's opt-out ordinance, the city would recognize the adult entertainment owned by Mr. Gradishar at the NorShor Theatre as grandfathered in because he was there at the time the ordinance was enacted," Lutterman said.

Lutterman said her office consulted with city administration and a representative of the City Council, Russ Stover, before reaching the tentative settlement, which has to be approved by the council.

"If the City Council approves settlement, he can have dancers there, but he still has to comply with the building code," Lutterman said. "He will be considered a legal nonconforming user under the zoning code."

Gradishar was pleased by the news. "It's what I expected, but it's nice to be 100 percent sure," he said.

It's not quite showtime yet, however. The imposition of state fire codes by city fire department officials have required that a $70,000 sprinkler system be installed in the 1920s-era building. Gradishar expects that work to be done by the end of the year.

"If all goes right, New Year's Eve, look out," he said. "We hope to be in operation before that, but we hope to have a big bash for New Year's."