A ruling against Dreamers Cabaret should ‘blunt some

accusations’ against the city, says City Administrator Jerre

Bryant.

WESTBROOK – The lawyer representing Dreamers Cabaret said he and the strip club’s owners are not giving up after a judge ruled against allowing Dreamers to reopen.

Judge D. Brock Hornby denied a motion to reinstate Dreamers’ occupancy permit following a hearing in U.S. District Court in Portland on Tuesday.

Westbrook City Administrator Jerre Bryant said the judge’s decision indicates the city appropriately enforced its building and life safety codes in revoking the club’s permit of occupancy on Sept. 20.

Dreamers, a strip club located on Warren Avenue, opened on Sept. 17 and was shut down by the city a day later. City officials cited code violations, including an inadequate fire alarm system and sprinkler system deficiencies, as reasons for the shutdown.

The owner of Dreamers is the Ferrante Group. Its lawyer, Thomas Hallett, had filed a lawsuit against the city asking the court for a restraining order that would have restored the club’s operating permit.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Hallett and two other attorneys, including Luke Lirot, a First Amendment lawyer from Florida, argued for Dreamers’ right to operate a strip club.

“We argued nude dancing is a protected form of free expression,” Hallett said.

City officials have said the conflict is not about allowing stripping, but rather is due to the code violations and allegations the Ferrante Group was not entirely honest about what type of business it wanted to operate.

According to Bryant, club owner Lawrence Ferrante verbally stated intentions to open a pool hall/arcade business. Officials did not know Ferrante intended to open a nude dancing establishment, he said.

“The city’s understanding of use changed dramatically” when Dreamers opened its doors, he said, adding a desired occupancy of 360 patrons caused the various building codes to come into effect.

Hallett has claimed the city used code violations as a pretext to close the business because officials realized belatedly there were no city ordinances regulating nude dancing establishments in the city.

“He (Ferrante) never did make those statements” about wanting to open a pool hall, Hallett said, adding city code enforcement officers should have realized as much when Ferrante never sought permits for billiards.

Bryant said shortly after the judge rendered his decision Tuesday that there are other questions that may still be argued in court, but Tuesday’s result should “blunt some of the accusations” of the Ferrante Group.

Hallett said he now has to decide how to proceed. He said they will work with the city on finding an amicable solution. He said the club is now in compliance with fire code, but there is still an outstanding issue with plumbing that must be rectified before the club can obtain an occupancy permit.

“It’s certainly not a simple issue. Can it be rectified? Yes it can,” Hallett said.

However, with winter coming soon, he wondered whether the plumbing could be brought up to code in the near future. He said Dreamers had asked for a delay, allowing them to have an occupancy permit while working on the issues, but the city denied it.

Another potential route for Dreamers is to seek a preliminary injunction through the court, Hallett said.

“We need to discuss our options. I’m leaving the option open to seek a preliminary injunction,” he said.

According to Bryant, Hornby treated his decision as a denial of the request for a preliminary injunction, as well, meaning Dreamers may appeal to the First Circuit but will have to do so based on the record presented for the temporary restraining order.

While he disagreed with the judge’s decision, Hallett said, he could understand it. He said the judge essentially had to make a credibility determination, which was difficult given the information he had before him.

The court found it could not determine which side presented the correct version of events, and therefore Dreamers did not meet the burden that its version is more credible, Bryant said.

The issue has led to discussions about implementing an ordinance that would restrict, but not ban, nude dancing establishments in the city.

If passed, a proposed ordinance would put limitations on nude entertainment businesses, such as restricting them to the industrial zone, banning alcohol and requiring dancers to cover their genitals.

City officials have said the ordinance would retroactively apply to Dreamers Cabaret, an issue Hallett said he also would oppose.

“We certainly would not agree that we’re not grandfathered,” he said. “That battle was not fought today (Tuesday).”

Bryant said the Committee of the Whole is scheduled for a meeting on Monday, Oct. 18, at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the ordinance. The committee could at that time refer the ordinance to the City Council for a first reading. The City Council meets at 7 p.m. Monday.