Marty's Adult World of Enfield, Inc. v. Town of Enfield

20 F.3d 512
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedMarch 28, 1994
DocketNo. 1141, Docket 93-7921
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 20 F.3d 512 (Marty's Adult World of Enfield, Inc. v. Town of Enfield) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Marty's Adult World of Enfield, Inc. v. Town of Enfield, 20 F.3d 512 (2d Cir. 1994).

Opinion

TIMBERS, Circuit Judge:

Marty’s Adult World of Enfield, Inc. (Marty’s) and G & S Realty, Inc. (G & S) appeal from an order entered in the District of Connecticut, Alfred V. Covello, District Judge, denying appellants’ motion for a preliminary injunction in an action seeking a declaratory judgment.

The court held that appellants were unable to demonstrate either probable success on the merits or sufficiently serious questions going to the merits to make them a fair ground for litigation on their claim that certain zoning regulations of appellee Town of Enfield infringe appellants’ right to freedom of speech guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

On appeal, appellants contend that En-field’s special use permit requirement is an [514]*514unconstitutional licensing scheme and that Enfield’s zoning regulations are void for vagueness.

We affirm.

I.

We summarize only those facts and prior proceedings believed necessary to an understanding of the issues raised on appeal.

Marty’s operates an adult bookstore in a building owned by G & S located in Enfield’s Business Local District. Marty’s and G & S are separate legal entities but are owned by the same two individuals. Marty’s has operated an adult bookstore at the same location for approximately 15 years. Enfield’s zoning regulations provide that businesses located in the Business Local District must obtain a special use permit before operating any commercial recreational use. Enfield Code § 11-1.1.1.

At some time after 1984, Marty’s added 28 to 30 video booths that exhibit sexually explicit. films. Since this addition constituted a change in use, Marty’s was required to obtain a special use permit. It never applied to Enfield’s Planning and Zoning Commission for a special use permit. The Commission did not learn of Marty’s booths until the Fall of 1991. At that time a competitor of Marty’s complained that the Commission had required the competitor, but not Marty’s, to obtain a special use permit for its viewing booths. On the basis of this complaint, zoning officials inspected Marty’s and discovered its viewing booths. Since Marty’s had carried out the construction and change in use without obtaining a special use permit, the Commission cited Marty’s for building code and zoning violations.

On October 7, 1991, the Commission ordered Marty’s to discontinue use of the viewing booths. G & S then applied to the Commission' for a special use permit. On March 26, 1992, the Commission held a public hearing concerning G & S’s application. At the close of 'the public hearing, the Commission denied the application because Marty’s lacked sufficient parking. G & S unsuccessfully appealed this order to the Connecticut Superior Court.

In April 1993, the Commission commenced an injunction action against G & S to enforce the October 7, 1991 order. Appellants then commenced this declaratory judgment action in the United States District Court. They filed a motion for a preliminary injunction challenging the constitutionality of Enfield’s zoning regulations. On August 5, 1993, the court entered an order denying appellants’ motion for a preliminary injunction. The court held that appellants were unable to demonstrate either probable success on the merits or sufficiently serious questions going to the merits to make them a fair ground for litigation.

On appeal, appellants contend (1) that En-field’s special use permit requirement is an unconstitutional licensing scheme and (2) that Enfield’s zoning regulations are void for vagueness.

II.

A party seeking a preliminary injunction must establish:

“possible irreparable injury and, either (1) probable success on the merits or (2) sufficiently serious questions going to the merits to make them a fair ground for litigation and a balance of hardships tipping decidedly toward the party requesting the preliminary relief’.

Caulfield v. Board of Education, 583 F.2d 605, 610 (2 Cir.1978).

In its comprehensive, well-reasoned opinion, the district court here held that appellants had not demonstrated either probable success on the merits or sufficiently serious questions going to the merits to make them a fair ground for litigation. On appeal, appellants challenge the court’s conclusions of law in reaching this holding. We review de novo the court’s conclusions of law in denying the preliminary injunction. Disabled American Veterans v. United States Dep’t of Veterans Affairs, 962 F.2d 136, 140 (2 Cir.1992).

(A) FIRST AMENDMENT STANDARD OF REVIEW

Appellants contend that the court erred in analyzing Enfield’s special use per[515]*515mit requirement under the deferential standard of review applicable to content-neutral time, place, and manner regulations rather than the strict scrutiny standard applicable to licensing schemes. According to appellants, the requirement that retail businesses obtain a special use permit before they may conduct a commercial recreation use is unconstitutional in that it is a licensing scheme not narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest and lacking the procedural safeguards required by Freedman v. Maryland, 380 U.S. 51, 58-59 (1965). We reject appellants’ contention.

The special use permit requirement that Marty’s challenges is a content-neutral time, place, and manner regulation, not a licensing scheme. The special use permit requirement applies to a change in use from retail to entertainment regardless of the content of the films in Marty’s booths. It therefore is content-neutral. The special use permit requirement also is a timé, place, and manner regulation, since Marty’s could operate elsewhere in Enfield without obtaining a special use permit. City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc., 475 U.S. 41, 46 (1986) (where a zoning ordinance does not ban an activity altogether, it should be analyzed as a time, place, and manner regulation); Schad v. Borough of Mount Ephraim, 452 U.S. 61, 75-76 (1981).

Appellants also contend that the court erred in holding that Enfield’s zoning regulations enable Marty’s to conduct its viewing booth business in Enfield’s Business Regional District without a special use permit. Appellants point out that “[a]ll uses within the Business Regional District require review and approval by the Enfield Planning and Zoning Commission”. Enfield Code § 11-5.1. Appellants assert that, since they are required to obtain discretionary zoning approval in all of Enfield’s zoning districts, the special use permit requirement is not a time, place, and manner restriction. We disagree.

The court correctly held that Marty’s is permitted to conduct its viewing booth business in Enfield’s Business Regional District without obtaining a special use permit. Section 11-5.1 must be read together with §§ 11-5.2, et seq.,

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20 F.3d 512, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martys-adult-world-of-enfield-inc-v-town-of-enfield-ca2-1994.