The current location of Romantix in Fargo is on NP Avenue.
FARGO (KFGO) – On Monday, the Fargo City Commission approved a motion to consider changes to the municipal code, as proposed by the Planning Commission, relating to terminology and definitions relating to adult establishments.
The move came as the city is involved in a legal battle with Romantix, an adult entertainment company that wants to open a new store downtown. Much of the case hinges on city code’s current definitions.
Commssioner John Strand was the lone “no” vote to consider amending the code. He said the city should delay the move, saying the timing between the changes being made and the Romantix lawsuit are connected.
“What would be wrong with waiting for the court to resolve this and to give us their interpretation? And then we can act on that information as well rather than proactively modifying our laws so that no matter what happens we will win,” Strand said.
The following day, Tuesday, Romantix countered – filing an emergency motion in federal district court asking it to issue a temporary restraining order by December 19 to allow the company to open its business at 74 Broadway N. by December 27, when a second reading and final vote on the code change is expected.
The motion claims that if Romantix is not granted the requested relief and the city finalizes the amendments as expected by December 27, that action will permanently bar Romantix from operating in the location, even as it pursues legal recourse against the city’s code in its current form.
A brief in support of the motion claims that the city’s new move to amend the code to more fully capture Romantix among the prohibited businesses downtown is “targeted destruction” and “underhanded abuse of government authority.”
Romantix sued the city in October after the city said the adult entertainment company’s planned store didn’t meet the zoning requirements and denied a permit allowing it to open. The city has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit.
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