Metro

Federal District Judge Cathy Bissoon ruled Thursday that the owner of an adult cabaret show does not have standing to challenge a provision in Hollidaysburg’s zoning ordinance that bars exotic dancing in a downtown restaurant.

But the owner of Bodies in Motion, Gary E. Vaughn Jr., of Portage, said he will seek to reopen the case by adding Paolo D’Ottavio, the owner of D’Ottavio’s Italian House/Gran Sasso on Allegheny Street, as a plaintiff.

Vaughn admitted he made a mistake filing a federal civil rights lawsuit that challenged the ordinance, passed in 1997, knowing that he does not own property in the borough.

“She’s right. I don’t disagree,” he stated when asked his reaction to Bissoon’s order that dismissed his lawsuit.

Bissoon, the chief judge of the Western District Court of Pennsylvania, noted that Vaughn “does not own property in the Borough of Hollidaysburg, but he periodically has booked events at a bar/restaurant there, D’Ottavio’s Italian House.”

She explained that those dance shows began in December 2023 and continued until June 2024.

At that point, borough officials, including the manager and council, started to enforce the zoning ordinance that limited sexually oriented businesses to an I-2 District zone along Scotch Valley Road (set aside for general manufacturing).

In state court hearings, Senior Judge Pamela Reust of Centre County upheld the Zoning Ordinance and that brought an end to the shows.

Fifteen months ago, Vaughn filed a federal civil rights petition contending that the ordinance violated the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to freedom of expression.

He charged the ordinance was “overbroad, discriminatory and vague,” and noted it also violated the Equal Protection Clause.

The Hollidaysburg ordinance, he stated, discriminated against his sexually oriented business, but permitted a nude modeling agency to operate as a sexually oriented business in the downtown area.

He concluded his list of charges by stating, “The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that nude performance dancing is a form of expression that, when restricted, requires First Amendment review.”

In her opinion, Bissoon stated that the borough ordered Vaughn and his dancers to no longer hold events at D’Ottavio’s.

Authorities argued that Vaughn lacked standing to challenge the ordinance.

“Plaintiff has no legally recognized property right in Hollidaysburg,”

Bissoon agreed. “His past, and intended future, business at D’Ottavio’s, by invitation of the owner, does not qualify.”

The judge cited precedential cases from the Third Circuit, Sixth Circuit and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeal in support of her finding.

The judge pointed out that D’Ottavio’s did respond during the state court hearing held in the Blair County Courthouse, and Bissoon stated, “The Borough prevailed, and (Vaughn) lacks standing to achieve a different result.”

She emphasized he does have an alternative: “Pursue business opportunities in the Borough’s I-2 zoning district.”

Vaughn said for now he will seek court permission to reopen the case by adding the business owner as a plaintiff.

“I should have done that in the first place,” he responded.

Vaughn emphasized he is serving as his own lawyer.

He also explained that his dancers perform in other locations in Blair County. They make three or four visits a year to Funky Claud’s in Altoona and appear monthly at Dilly’s Bar & Grill in Claysburg.