Judge OKs injunction over dance shows
D’Ottavio’s owner agrees to comply with zoning that bars adult cabaret performances
HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Hollidaysburg business has agreed to continue compliance with the borough’s zoning ordinance prohibiting adult cabaret performances at its downtown location.
But an attorney for D’Ottavio’s Italian House/Gran Sasso at 306 Allegheny St. said he may return to court in the future to challenge the borough’s zoning ordinance that he says infringes on First Amendment rights.
“There are some serious constitutional issues with the ordinance,” attorney Timothy S. Burns told Senior Judge Pamela Ruest, who presided in Blair County court on Wednesday, where she issued a permanent injunction at the request of Hollidaysburg borough and with Burns’ concurrence.
In December, Ruest granted a temporary injunction the borough sought to halt D’Ottavio’s from hosting Bodies in Motion, a Portage-based traveling dance company — or any similar company — from performances that the borough restricts to an area zoned for sexually oriented businesses.
Under the borough’s zoning ordinance, sexually oriented businesses — including ones offering cabaret performances with nudity, sex acts and simulated sex acts — are restricted to the borough’s I-2 or general industrial zone. D’Ottavio’s is located in a C-2 or business district zone.
After Ruest granted the temporary injunction, Burns said his client would comply. He also said D’Ottavio’s could host the Bodies in Motion dancers, as long as they avoided cabaret performances.
Outside court Wednesday, Burns said his client wasn’t in a position to challenge the borough’s zoning ordinance in its present form. But he said he reserves the right to do so later.
Borough Solicitor Nathan Karn told Ruest that in light of Burns’ concurrence with the request for the permanent injunction, there would be no action requested on the prior citations.
But D’Ottavio’s will be monitored for future compliance, Karn and other borough leaders said after court concluded. And if there are violations, Karn said the borough will be in a position to file a contempt petition and seek sanctions.
“It’s not like we’re a second-class township without zoning,” the solicitor said.
During the December court hearing, it was reported that D’Ottavio’s hosted the dance company several times in 2024, as reflected in online advertisements showing women in lingerie and bikinis and suggesting nudity.
The borough, in response, issued three citations indicating that the business was in violation of the zoning ordinance.
When no appeals were filed and the shows continued to be scheduled, the borough sought a court injunction.
Karn said he disagreed with Burns’ description of the borough’s zoning ordinance, which he considered to be “pretty clear” and without violating constitutional rights.
It doesn’t prohibit any conduct, but restricts it as allowed by zoning, the solicitor said.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.