The City of Plymouth has ordered a swingers membership within the Terryville part of city to shut, citing zoning laws.
“Wicked Fun Club” opened in November on Important Avenue in Terryville. It’s positioned in a constructing together with a health care provider’s workplace that sits beside Riverside Baptist Church.
The cease-and-desist order was despatched to proprietor Steve Gagne final Friday and acknowledged that the membership falls beneath the “adult use” part of the city’s zoning laws.
“No approval for the Club has been obtained from the Planning & Zoning Commission,” the letter learn, and “the club violates specific distance requirements. As an Adult Use, the Club cannot abut in whole or in part a residential zone — [and] must also be 1,000 feet from a church.”
Gagne stated they’ve performed nothing incorrect. He disagrees that the membership must be thought-about grownup use.
“We fall in line as a private members-only social club by the state of Connecticut. So, we’re no different than a chess club, book club, any other private club,” Gagne stated. “What happens behind closed doors is our business and nobody else’s business because we’re not harming anybody. We’re not bringing attention to ourselves. We’re just having a good time.”
The membership has greater than 200 members, however anyplace from 16 to 40 members attend in-person without delay, Gagne stated.
“Real estate agents, lawyers, doctors, we’ve had politicians, we’ve had prosecutors that are still members of the club come out here and enjoy themselves. What goes on in here I really can’t talk about other than the fact that people come and socialize. We are not a nightclub. We don’t have dance floor, we don’t have a bar,” he stated.
Gagne stated this all began when his neighbors on the church made a grievance.
“The town getting involved with the cease and desist seemed like, ‘Hey, not in my backyard,’ because it’s more of an opinion or their own morality being forced on us,” Gagne stated. “Friday and Saturday nights, between 9 and 2 a.m. That’s it. So we’re not here when [parishioners] are here, and they’re not here when we’re here. So, we don’t get in anyone’s way.”
“I saw cars coming in and was wondering what this was. There’s only one business I can think of that meets on weekends from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. with people formally dressed and going in,” stated Rev. David Townsley, of Riverside Baptist Church. “This type of business is supposed to be away from churches, schools, daycares, that kind of thing, and they’re obviously not.”
Townsley stated he simply needs the membership to observe the zoning guidelines.
“The big thing is they need to follow the rules like everyone else,” the pastor stated. “The zoning seems very clear to me that they do fall under the club, under the adult-oriented business, and that there’s already guidelines in zoning for it, and they’re in the wrong part of town for that to fit the zoning requirements.”
Gagne stated he plans to enchantment this resolution and can go in entrance of the zoning board of appeals later this month.
“Right now we’re in the appeal process. We are not closed down, we are still legally able to operate through the appeals process,” Gagne stated. “We don’t know if we’re gonna win or not, it’s up in the air. But if we do not win, then we’re gonna take it to court and let a judge decide.”
Townsley stated he’s reaching out to his state representatives to make a change within the legal guidelines.
“I’m gonna be talking to our state officials to have the General Assembly try to pass another license requirement covering adult-oriented businesses so that there’s some oversight,” the pastor added. “Cause currently — the state has no oversight on this type of business and I think there’s common sense safeguards we need to put in place to make sure everything is safe.”
