EIC'S RESEARCH:
EIC volunteers believe incorporation is the right choice for Edgemont, and these discussions are the results of our research and analysis. We encourage you to read our analyses of the issues, conduct your own research, contribute to the conversation, and make your own decision. See links below for Terms of Use.
Incorporation will afford Edgemont several options in zoning and planning, one of which is the regulation of adult bookstores and related businesses. Given First Amendment limitations, municipalities may not outlaw such businesses altogether. From our research, there are predominantly three options:
Designate a specified area for such businesses. This is what the unincorporated Town of Greenburgh has done in section 285-36(R) of its zoning law.
Do not designate a specified area, yet require a special permit. This is the approach taken by the Greenburgh villages of Ardsley, Hastings, Dobbs Ferry, Elmsford, and Irvington, each of which have adopted provisions specifically to "prevent a concentration of these uses in any one area and to specifically reduce their potential accessibility to children."
Do not address the matter directly (Village of Scarsdale), which nonetheless has no such establishments within its borders.
The result is that only one such business in all of Greenburgh and Scarsdale combined (see below).
The demand for commercial real estate by adult content-related stores is in decline due to the rise of the freely available internet content, piracy, and anonymous online sales.