The web site which was located in the Tampa suburb of Wellswood, had on its premises, 5 to 6 women residing together, billed as college students, under the surveilance of 30 Internet cameras located in various rooms, including bedrooms and bathrooms. For a fee, Internet viewers were able to monitor the activities of the women in the different rooms.

It was not disputed that the web site was an adult entertainment business. At issue was whether the use of the premises satisfied the definition of an adult-use under the City's zoning ordinance. The Court held, "There is no language in the City Code that expressly states a requirement that members of the paying public be on the premises... The plain language ...includes any premises on which is offered to members of the public or any persons, for a consideration, entertainment featuring or in any way including specified sexual activities..."

Voyeur Dorm is an adult-use under the ordinance.

As a matter of general zoning law, the District Court acknowledged that a City is entitled to "protect and improve the quality of residential neighborhoods."

The Court also gave deference to the determinations by the Zoning Coordinator, Variance Review Board and the City Council, all of which determined that the use was an adult-use under the Code. The Court stated, "A reviewing court may not overturn an agency's interpretation of a statute that is charged with administrating a statute unless the agency's interpretation is clearly erroneous."

The Court also held that even though the studies relied upon did not evaluate the secondary effects of Internet-based 'e-commerce' adult entertainment businesses, the studies did evaluate secondary effects that are similar to adult entertainment businesses connected to its customers via the Internet. Accordingly, "The City need not prove that plaintiff's business would likely have the exact same adverse effects on its surroundings as the adult businesses previously studied. So long as the adult use ordinance affects only categories of businesses reasonably believed to produce at least some of the unwanted secondary effects, the City must be allowed a reasonable opportunity to experiment with solutions to admittedly serious problems."

Voyeur Dorm Atorney Luke Lirot is expected to file an appeal to the Eleventh Circuit in January 2001.