Catonsville residents are hopeful their campaign against a swinger?s club in their neighborhood ? where patrons reportedly have sex in basement bedrooms ? has hit home with the club?s property owner.
Meir Duke, who owns the property behind a Chinese restaurant near the corner of Rolling Road and Route 40, said he will not renew his tenant?s lease after members of the Westview Park Improvement and Civic Association went public with their opposition to the Tabu Social Club, according to the association?s president, Steve Whisler.
“We are very encouraged,” said Whisler. “When I disclosed the things that were going on there, and the things on their Web site, Mr. Duke was shocked.”
Until recently, the club?s Web site promoted VIP bedrooms in the basement, and message boards described group sex and the availability of condoms. A statement forbidding on-site sexual activity, which was posted soon after Whisler began talking to the media, has been removed.
Residents said they worry the club will damage property values and attract unsavory characters to their neighborhood. The club?s owners have asked the Baltimore-based National Coalition for Sexual Freedom to speak on their behalf. Representatives did not return phone calls by press time.
Baltimore County officials said the club is compliant with codes, something Whisler is asking them to re-evaluate. The county regulates sexual activity in massage parlors and other adult entertainment venues, and restricts erotic video stores to manufacturing zones.
“We?re still trying to decide: Is this something that should be legislated?” said Council Member Sam Moxley, D-District 1.
The discreet club, which opened last spring and is identifiable only by a “T” on the front awning, attracts prominent community members, according to manager Rick Gonzalez in an e-mail to Whisler.
“Let me assure you that the average demographic of our membership base far surpasses that of the community at large,” Gonzalez wrote. “They come into the area quietly and leave quietly.”
