Voters in Eliot, Maine, have approved three new town ordinances aimed at preventing a strip club from opening in town. More than 200 residents attended a special town meeting and voted on Saturday, June 18. 

The ordinances establish licensing requirements and rules of conduct at any “sexually oriented business” in town. One ordinance stipulates that any employee of such a business must not “appear in a state of nudity or engage in a specified sexual activity.” Employees are allowed to appear in a “semi-nude condition,” but must remain at least six feet from all patrons on a stage at least 18 inches from the floor. Semi-nude employees are not allowed to touch customers.

The ordinance also bans the sale of alcohol at sexually oriented businesses and prohibits them from remaining open between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m.

Officials in Eliot have been scrambling to prevent the 403 Gentleman’s Club from opening on Route 103. The town issued a moratorium on nude entertainment, but an attorney for the proposed club filed a lawsuit to stop the moratorium. Under the new ordinances, however, the moratorium is no longer necessary.