Strip club expansion uncertain, but it certainly doesn’t fit in
MIKE HENDRICKS COMMENTARY

Will the Crossroads district become home to yet another strip club?

Or are the folks who run the “Totally Nude” juice bar, aka Temptations, toying with City Hall by putting up a sign on the vacant building next door that seems to promise another sexually oriented business on Grand Boulevard?

No answers so far, as the lawyer representing the business — or businesses — hasn’t made it clear to city officials — or returned reporters’ phone calls.

But say this for that bright yellow awning at 1515 Grand Blvd.: You can’t miss it.

Not with “Barely Legal” in big, black letters just a block or so from the Sprint Center.

“When you put up a sign like that, it raises eyebrows,” said inspector Derrick Lloyd in the city’s Planning and Development Department.

Eyebrows and hackles both.

“It’s absolutely frustrating to the (neighboring) property owners,” said David Morris, president of the Crossroads Merchants Association.

From the parks board to the Regulated Industries Division, there’s no lack of interest at City Hall.

“So far, no one has applied for a license to operate any kind of a business there,” said regulated industries chief Gary Majors.

But concerns about the sign — and what it might portend — have city lawyers mining the municipal code for answers to whether the “Barely Legal” sign is itself legal.

“We don’t think it is,” said Denise Phillips at the Department of Parks and Recreation, which regulates the city’s boulevard system.

As the awning juts into the public right of way, it might be in violation of the city code governing boulevards, she said.

Or not, depending on whether the awning was there before Grand became part of the boulevard system in 1988.

Meanwhile, city lawyers are trying to determine how the sign ordinance applies while Lloyd and his crew keep an eye out for permit violations.

“We’ve been by there every day,” he said.

Of course, none of this would be at issue had the City Council done the smart thing in 2008 and allowed Temptations to expand into the building next door.

Class the place up a bit — that was the idea. Get a liquor license, which would mean no more nude entertainment. Dancers would have to wear pasties at the very least.

Therefore, Crossroads merchants might have said goodbye forever to the “Totally Nude” sign, which is not at all in keeping with the area’s ever-so-trendy image. In September, an international TV audience will be watching as some of the top bicycle racers in the world zip past in the Tour of Missouri.

But no. The council caved to pressure from prudes who felt the expansion would lead to more sexually oriented businesses.

Yeah, well, that sure worked out swell now, didn’t it?

“I was for it,” Morris said. “It was certainly better than what we’ve got now.”

Which is barely legal — or not.

To reach Mike Hendricks, call 816-234-7708 or send e-mail to mhendricks@kcstar.com.