How do you protect a swingers club from a bullying neighbor and a hostile zoning board? Turn it into a church.
That was the innovative legal tactic devised by Nashville Attorney Larry Roberts, whose client purchased a property for $750,000 last November with the intention of making it home to the Social Club, an "equal opportunity lifestyle organization" that aims to help its members find other that share the "same interest and desires."
Enter the Goodpasture Christian School, which his located nearby. Principal Ricky Perry complained that the organization would "pollute" the minds of his children with "ungodly activity." The local zoning board agreed, passing an emergency zoning resolution in March that blocked Robert's client from building on the site.
So the swingers club found religion. When asked if rebranding the club as a church was intended to skirt the zoning resolution, Roberts smiled. "Let's just say it's opening up to give people guidance."
No sexual activity will be allowed on the premise, but there will be socializing and dancing. "It will have the same rules that many churches observe," says Roberts, "such as do not steal, do not lie, do not cheat, do not harm others, and do not kill." There is one difference: Adultery is OK, as long as your spouse knows all about it.
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