Page 34 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch August 16, 2013 3 BEDROOMS, 3 FULL BATHS, DEN, 3 CAR GARAGE 2 Story California Style Home Ocean Pines in Salt Grass • Very well landscaped private yard • 1st floor owner suite has walk-in closet, double vanity, large tub with jets, and walkout to screened porch with hot tub • Living room has large wood burning fireplace Adult Store Ignores Salisbury Sign Law By SHAWN J. SOPER NEWS EDITOR ✎✔✗✡✔✗¤ Offered By ✜¤✣✕✕ ✤ ✮✔✒✜ ED SMITH REAL ESTATE MLS # 484834 410-251-3266 SALISBURY – The battle over a “questionable” business and associated sign in Salisbury intensified this week after the owners of the adult-themed Red Light District store on Route 13 erected a sign on Monday without the requisite permits and approvals. In July, Salisbury officials said they were not prepared to issue the permit for the sign for the new Red Light District adult-themed store on Business Route 13. The city’s Buildings, Permits and Inspections Department would not issue the sign until it was satisfied with the intended use of the establishment. The proprietors, B&Z Investments, would not be granted a permit for the sign until the city had determined whether the establishment was intended to be an adult retail store. According to the code, the city had 90 days to make a determination on the sign permit and the proprietors were required to provide information and documentation necessary to establish the intended use of the building. However, B&Z Investments on Monday essentially thumbed its nose at the city and erected the sign anyway, without the requisite permit and approvals from Salisbury. In addition, the Red Light District also has an Over-18 policy and was allegedly in plain violation of that policy when a child in a stroller was reportedly seen inside the establishment this week. As a result, city officials this week evoked a clause in the code that provides for penalties against an establishment erecting a sign and operating a business without the requisite approvals. The provision allows for a $250 fine on the first day and a $500 fine for each day the sign remains in place and the business remains open without the required permits. In July, Mayor Jim Ireton Jr. said the store and its requested signage did not fit comfortably in the fabric of the existing community and called for a careful review before any permits were granted. “The use of the building has a huge impact on the quality of life on the Route 13 commercial corridor, the surrounding neighborhoods and places of worship,” Ireton said. “City officials have a long way to go before determining the use of this building and granting a sign request.” When B&Z Investments erected the sign anyway this week, Ireton was livid. “Today, we are in constant contact with City Solicitor Mark Tilghman,” he said. “This is an egregious violation of the law. The city knows it, our citizens know it and the Red Light people know it. The illegal sign and the questionable business are an example of the attitude of B&Z Investments. The sign and the store are in bad taste and are bad for business in Salisbury.”