A dispute over a Littleton adult store is finally over after six years of charges, lawsuits and rulings that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
City Attorney Larry Berkowitz said Wednesday that Littleton’s Christal’s has closed.
If only it had been that easy.
“It’s been dragged out over years and years,” Berkowitz said. “And it could have been dragged out more.”
The dispute began in 1999 when Christal’s – a shop with three other metro locations that sell adult videos, lingerie and novelty sex items – opened in a part of town where the city prohibits adult stores. The city and the shop’s neighbors said the South Broadway and Arapahoe Road location was uncomfortably close to a day-care center.
But Christal’s owners argued that they should not be required to get an adult license because less than half of the store was devoted to adult-oriented sales.
The nation’s highest court used the case to settle whether businesses can remain open while they appeal a city’s denial of their license. The justices ruled with Littleton in 2004, but Christal’s vowed to continue the fight.
All the while, charges for operating without a license kept piling up against Christal’s.
Berkowitz said Wednesday the numerous fines led to Christal’s closing.
“I think they saw some pretty serious handwriting on the wall,” he said. “There are almost 1,000 charges pending against this business for operating without a sales-tax license. … Each charge carried a potential for a $1,000 fine and possible jail time.”
Christal’s owners and their attorney could not be reached Wednesday night.
Kristin Habicht, who runs the nearby day care, South Fellowship Learning Center, said she was thrilled.
“I think what it means is that our community and the children are safer and in a more family-friendly environment,” she said.
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 720-929-0893 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
