The Houston County Commission is considering legislation that would prevent any new topless dancing establishments from opening in Houston County including inside Dothan city limits.

Chairman Mark Culver said the measure is to prevent the growth of the exotic dance industry in downtown Dothan as well as near future developments at Country Crossing.

The piece of legislation would be introduced at a special session in September.

If passed, current business will not be affected unless they attempt to change locations or owners.

Chairman Culver said of the legislation, “Our thoughts were that no matter what your job is the economy is tough right now and we don't want to be in the position to put anybody out of work. What it does do though is if any establishment has a change in ownership a change in licensing or building any change in their business then they will fall under this act. Ultimately I think this will end the problem altogether, but as it is right now we want to draw a line in the sand and say no more of these.”

One loophole in the legislation is an establishment can have exotic dancers, as long as they do not serve alcohol. However, Chairman Culver says the chances of that business model are slim.