Despite residents’ protests, a proposed establishment offering topless entertainment on Lapeer Road will have the same chance as any other business to prove itself to the Orion Township Board of Trustees, provided the club can meet the requirements of local ordinances.
The facility, dubbed The Golden Door Gentleman’s Club, would offer upscale dining and topless entertainment at a location on the east side of Lapeer Road, just south of Silverbell. The club is the idea of Brad Vannatter, an Independence Township resident with a Waterford-based business.
Orion Township Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk said he first learned of the club proposal a few months ago, when he was contacted by Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. Patterson saw a notice in an area business magazine advertising for investors in an Northern Oakland County gentleman’s club, with Vannater’s email address.
“He sent out notices to all the local governments in Northern Oakland County, to be aware of it and make sure all their ordinances were up to date and in order,” said Dywasuk. “We haven’t heard anything (from Vannatter) officially.”
Vannatter has yet to file an official application for a site plan, and has only spoken with Orion Township Building Department officials about the application process. Vannatter was to have been on the board of trustees meeting agenda for Aug. 4, regarding a liquor license application, but asked to be removed just prior to the meeting.
“The initial issue is they are asking for a liquor license,” said Dywasuk. “We had four (licenses) for 2004…the first one was for Ruby Tuesday, and the second one went to the Palazzo de Bocce (to be located near the proposed Golden Door establishment).”
Dywasuk said even if the board denies Vannatter a liquor license, he can always import one of his own to the township from another one of his establishments.
“He can bring his own,” Dywasuk said. “But as far as the zoning (in that area), they just don’t fit. It’s not like we’re picking on this guy…we said no to Carrie Lee’s when they asked for a liquor license. We’re not treating him any differently from anyone else.”
The challenge for Vannatter could be meeting the conditions of the township’s ordinance regarding special land uses, which states that restaurants serving food and beverages, permitted as special land uses in the Limited Industrial 2 District (where the club would be located) must meet several conditions, including proposing a location that is not within a 1,000-yard radius, as measured from the nearest property line to nearest property line, from another restaurant.
In the case of The Golden Door, Dywasuk said it would exceed that limit if it is constructed at the proposed site, due to the Palazzo de Bocce already being approved in the neighboring location and set to begin construction later this fall.
“Mr. Battaglia (owner of Palazzo de Bocce) is really upset,” said Dywasuk. “Kay Automotive (on Lapeer Road) was upset. They just don’t want it in their neighborhood.”
An adult club falls under the township’s special land use classification. According to the township’s ordinance regarding adult entertainment, the club could not be in or within 750 feet of any residential zoning district, school property, church, public park, child care facility, nursery, pre-school or lot or parcel in residential use or other use which is primarily oriented to youth (less than 18 years of age) activities.
“We would have a public hearing,” said Orion Township Zoning and Planning Administrator Beth Brock. “We notify residents within 300 feet.
“We don’t have a site plan in, so we can’t really verify anything,” she added.
Dywasuk said despite the lack of a formal proposal, the township has already received numerous emails and phone calls from concerned residents.
“Most of it has been ‘What can I do’ or ‘Do what you can,'” he said. “I think we’ve done everything appropriately. Our attorney has warned us not to overreact.
“The ball is really in (Vannatter’s) court to come back to the township if he so wishes,” Dywasuk continued. “I’ve met with Brooks Patterson…he had about eight people in the room and I was the only one who wasn’t an attorney.”
Dywasuk said the township has gone over their ordinances to make sure they aren’t being “unduly restrictive.”
“We try to ensure we’re consistent,” he said. “The board is a reflection of the community…we live here. We have the same concerns as the residents do.”
“We can’t stop him from submitting an application, but we can use the criteria in our ordinances to evaluate it and possibly deny it,” said Brock.
Vannatter did not return phone calls made to his office seeking his input for this article.