Neighbors want Priscilla's moved

     By Damon Hodge
     View staff writer
      The Plumbs are moving out of their house, and they might even relocate their business -- and a not-so-sexually oriented shop named Priscilla's is the culprit.
      "I don't know what we're going to do with the business," said Elizabeth Plumb, whose husband Robert runs the Southern Nevada Bookkeeping & Tax Service at 702 N. Rainbow Blvd. "Moving could hurt us so much financially.
      "The business next door should help your business, not hurt your business."
      That business next door is Priscilla's, which opened May 20, ending a legal haggle with the city over its commercial composition. The city denied its original application, but a subsequent city audit determined it isn't a sexually oriented business.
      Jim DiFiore, manager for the city's business service division, said Priscilla's is licensed as a clothing store.
      "We did an extensive audit of the inventory and we will continue to audit the inventory to determine the retail value of the products and whether it meets the criteria for an adult business," DiFiore said.
      Elizabeth Plumb, who'd organized a massive petition drive to thwart the Kansas City-based franchise's attempts to the locate in the busy commercial center, said clothing stores aren't open until midnight and don't prohibit shoppers younger than 18.
      "I'm so frustrated with the city's decision," she said. "We might picket the store."
      Plumb said Priscilla's doesn't fit in a commercial center with Subway and TCBY franchises, both popular hangouts for students.
      She said she and other business owners were told the 2,000-square-foot parcel would be used to sell women's apparel. They contend Priscilla's violates a tenant clause prohibiting the "premises to be used by any improper, immoral, unlawful or objectionable purpose."
      A call to the landlord, Clark County Management and Pine Development, wasn't returned.
      Plumb said businesses can rework their inventory to meet the city-mandated 51-percent gross revenue threshold used to determine if a store is sexually oriented.
      On May 19, Pornography Only In Zones, a 2-year-old nonprofit group scrutinizing zoning for sexually oriented businesses, filed amendments to city codes. The group wants "more than an incidental percentage" to replace the 51 percent, or have novelties added to the threshold. Changes to the zoning code were also proposed.
      Group member Mae Clark said the amendments could help clarify current code and zoning questions. The group needs approximately 7,800 signatures to make changes. Those interested in signing the petition can call 877-2438.
      "Explicit material is lying along ... in the pathways of our elementary students and middle school students, even being blown into our faces," according to a release from the group. "These illegal businesses are `in the face' of all drivers, bus riders, pedestrians, skate boarders, cyclists and nearby shoppers. Customers, employees and owners of these illegitimate pornographic/obscene material/paraphernalia shops are poisoning our neighborhoods and designated safe routes to school." The statement went on to say that "licensing and zoning laws are discussed, but not enforced."
      Clark said the group isn't against pornography. "We're just against it in illegitimate zones," she said.
      Neither the store manager nor corporate headquarters in Kansas City would comment on the issue. Priscilla's is owned by Las Vegas Gifts One Inc., according to the Nevada business registration form.
      Plumb said the city ducked its responsibility to neighborhoods. The city denied comment.
      The city denied Priscilla's first application, prompting a lawsuit seeking an injunction.
      "We used their duck theory -- if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck ..." Plumb said of the city. "It's obvious that at this point, the city is not going to protect my family or any other family."
      Therefore, Plumb said her Northwest-area house was going up for sale this week.
      "We're definitely looking to move, possibly into Summerlin," she said. "A planned community would not allow a sex shop next to a TCBY."
      Plumb expects a proliferation of Priscilla's stores in the future; there are at least 11 franchises -- seven in Kansas and four in Missouri.
      "If they have that many in Kansas City, they will go all over Las Vegas," she said.700 N. Rainbow Blvd., just off U.S. Highway 95,