Screenshot of the Platinum Plus fire from the Columbia Fire Department's Twitter.
An arrangement between Richland County and a strip club that allows the business to exist in violation of zoning laws is in question after a recent fire.
Platinum Plus suffered serious damage after catching fire Jan. 17.
Kevin Ford, director of operations at Platinum Plus, a strip club off Greystone Boulevard, declined to offer details on whether the business plans to reopen or relocate.
Miranda Spivey, division manager of Richland County’s Fire Marshal's Office, said a cause of the fire has yet to be determined and that an investigation is underway.
But the fire may put in jeopardy an agreement Platinum has with Richland County to remain open at the club’s current location.
Platinum Plus was the last technically legally operating strip club in Richland County, though illegal operations have cropped up in recent years.
The county passed new rules governing sexually oriented business like strip clubs and porn shops in 2008. Under those rules, a strip club cannot be within a 1,000 feet of a church. Platinum Plus is in eyeshot of Young’s Chapel Baptist Church. So between 2008 and 2012, the county allowed the strip club to look for a new location. Platinum’s owners found one — right near Williams-Brice Stadium — and bought it. To avoid disrupting the puritanical experience of Gamecock football, the county struck a deal with Platinum in November 2012 that allowed the club to remain open at its current location despite being at odds with county ordinance. At the time, Free Times reported extensively on the agreement, which was brokered in closed-door session and approved by an 8-2 vote of Council.
“This seems to be the option Council felt most comfortable with,” said Councilman Greg Pearce at the time the deal was struck.
Council members continue to refer to the legal agreement between Platinum and the county, as Councilman Seth Rose did in a recent Free Times interview.
“I voted against the legal settlement that grandfathered in this location as a sexually oriented business against county zoning laws for a variety of reasons,” said Rose, whose district includes Platinum Plus. “I am interested to see the language of the agreement and whether the fire destruction could impact that legal settlement.”
But a county spokesperson now says that no document exists between Platinum and Richland County.
“There’s no document that ‘grandfathers’ Platinum Plus, as that is constitutionally illegal,” says Beverly Harris, director of public information for Richland County. “All businesses in Richland County are expected to comply, per the county administrator, with all applicable rules and regulations.”
But whether the county is simply objecting to the term “grandfather” or if they no longer acknowledge the deal with Platinum is unclear.
Free Times has filed a Freedom of Information request with the county to see any documents pertaining to an agreement between Platinum and the county.
Free Times asked County Administrator Gerald Seals via email if he knows about the deal with Platinum and whether he would recognize it. Free Times has yet to receive an answer. Seals generally does not respond to questions from the press.
Meanwhile, with the extensive damage to Platinum Plus, if they were to try and reopen at their current location, they’d likely have to rebuild — and the county could deny them a building permit.
The site near Williams-Brice Stadium owned by Platinum is under deed restriction preventing a sexually oriented business from occupying the property as part of the 2012 deal.
Ford, who runs the club, was unable to comment on his thoughts on the county possibly undoing their agreement, saying he would have to speak with Platinum’s lawyer first.
“It’s an odd situation with that club,” Councilman Pearce said of Platinum. “No one’s really mentioned it. I don’t know what’s going happen to it.”
