The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling that the Kokomo board of zoning appeals overstepped its bounds when it ruled a strip club had illegally expanded.
The court Wednesday upheld Howard County Superior Court Judge William Menges’ decision to dismiss the city’s petition for an injunction against the Tease strip club, 107 E. Markland Ave.
The Tease, which was called The Body Shop under previous owners, became a strip club just prior to the city’s 2006 passage of new zoning rules restricting the location of adult-oriented businesses.
Because the strip club existed prior to the new law, it could continue operating.
However, city code dictates the club could lose its status as an adult-oriented business if the owners tried to expand beyond a set limit.
City officials claimed the owners illegally expanded the club’s square footage in 2012 by taking out an interior wall which had separated the club from a former photography business.
In its decision, the court of appeals called the board of zoning appeals’ ruling “arbitrary and an abuse of discretion.”
“That’s just what we thought all along about the BZA’s decision,” said Brian Oaks, the attorney representing the owners of the Tease.
The city now has the option to petition the Indiana Supreme Court to seek transfer of the appeals court’s decision.