The Pink Pony strip club will be able to continue providing nude dancers and alcohol.
The city of Brookhaven announced an agreement Wednesday that allows the club to pay a $225,000 annual fee as it moves toward compliance with city ordinances. The Brookhaven City Council approved the agreement, which would last for six years, on a 3-1 vote Tuesday.
The deal comes after the Georgia Supreme Court ruled last month that Brookhaven has the right to regulate sexually oriented businesses. Brookhaven’s ordinance dictates that sexually oriented businesses can’t sell alcohol and that dancers can’t remove all their clothes.
Brookhaven Councilwoman Rebecca Chase Williams has said that the agreement amounted to a "bribe" in exchange for the Pink Pony not having to comply with city rules.
But a statement from the city said the Pink Pony has been operating for more than 20 years, long before the city of Brookhaven was formed in 2012, and the transition agreement will give the club time to obey the city’s ordinance.
The agreement settles legal claims pending between the Pink Pony and the city, and it calls for the club to pay $283,000 worth of legal fees.
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