The municipality could be making changes to one of its bylaws in order to adapt to the apparent decreased demand for strip clubs in Chatham-Kent.
A report will go to council Monday night recommending that no more than one adult entertainment parlour be licensed in the municipality of Chatham-Kent to provide adult entertainment services.
Currently, the bylaw states that three adult entertainment parlours are allowed to be licenced. That's the number of strip clubs that were located in Chatham-Kent at the time of amalgamation: Spanky’s on King Street West in Chatham, JR's on Queen Street in Chatham, and Kent Tavern in Wallaceburg. However, according to the report, only one location remains (Spanky's) and it seems that interest in setting up more establishments has diminished in recent years.
"Over the years, two of the three locations have closed their doors and due to lack of community interest, no new establishments have opened at those locations," the report stated. "In fact, the Queen Street location was sold to Entegrus and the building was demolished to offer a parking lot for staff and customers. The Wallaceburg location building has also been demolished and sits as a vacant lot."
The original number of three licenced adult establishments was originally chosen to scale for the municipality's size and population. If the bylaw change is approved and anyone wishes to open up a strip club in the future, they must be able to demonstrate on reasonable grounds why there is a need for another one in Chatham-Kent.
"Any increase in the number of adult entertainment parlours providing adult entertainment services beyond one will require the approval of council," the report stated.