The appellants challenged a municipal by-law amending the designated area for adult entertainment parlours, arguing that the amendment was unlawful because the substituted area was not zoned to permit the use.
The court held that while the municipality could amend its licensing by-law to abrogate existing rights, it could not do so in a manner that effectively prohibited the licensed activity throughout the municipality.
The court rejected the argument that adult entertainment was an accessory use to a restaurant and held that the availability of rezoning, or the fact that another property had been rezoned, did not cure an otherwise prohibitory by-law.
The appeal was allowed, the injunction was set aside, and the by-law was declared void to the extent it changed area designations in a prohibitory manner.
No costs were awarded here or below.
