DELRAY, FL – Adult novelty shops have been banging at the door to the city of Delray Beach for years, but now that door may have been permanently slammed shut.

Rumors that the city train station was being transformed into a strip joint coupled with inquiries about potential sex shop locations, have led city officials to take steps in deterring all forms of adult novelty establishments.

By amending the land development regulations to include adult novelty stores under the definition of adult entertainment, the city has ensured that pornography vendors of any kind, will not be permitted to open up on storefront areas in Delray.

“There was some concern that people wanted to open adult novelty stores, not calling them such, and sell paraphernalia,” said Terrill Pyburn, the assistant attorney for the city of Delray.

Pyburn and City Attorney Susan Ruby have been working to redefine adult entertainment in Delray to match South County’s policy, which already places novelty shops in the same category as strip clubs.
And Delray Mayor Jeff Perlman stands behind the proposal.

“We see ourselves as a family oriented community that has certain standards, said Mayor Perlman. “It (adult novelty) just doesn’t fit into the image we’re trying to create.”

If the proposed ordinance is passed, the novelty shops will only be permitted in the mixed industrial and commercial zoning district, located off Congress just west of I-95 between Atlantic and Lake Ida.
Although no complaints have been filed on the amendment yet, some owners of novelty stores are saying they don’t agree with the policy.
“As long as children aren’t allowed to purchase the items, there isn’t a reason that adults should not have the opportunity to buy what they need,” said Lingerie Larry, the owner of a lingerie store that also sells adult novelty items in Boca Raton. “I believe that what people do in their own homes is up to them.”

Larry also said he has seen a considerable demand for the novelty products in Boca and Delray, and that Atlantic Avenue in Delray is a street geared towards adults.

“The whole night scene in Delray is 90 percent adults that go from club to club,” he said. “They should have a place that deals with novelties.”
Though some Delray citizens say they’d agree that having sex shops closer to home would be more convenient, others say their presence would make the area appear “trashy.”

“This is such a residential community,” said one Delray citizen. “I would prefer the shops not be in this area. If you want it, go get it elsewhere.”
South County isn’t the only area where heated debates are taking place over what constitutes a sex shop and where the shops should be allowed to open. Three lawsuits have been filed by adult entertainment advocates in Texas, Kentucky and Iowa in the past week.

And they’ve got the constitution on their side. The first and 14th amendments implicitly state that there must be a designated place for the novelty shops in all cities – they’re part of the freedom of expression.