As a local resident, I don't think I would like strip clubs in close proximity to my home. I'm not a small business owner, but if I were, I would also not take kindly to the government forcing me to relocate. Here in lies the conundrum of the Ward 5 Strip Club proposal. Club owners were required to move in order to make way for the baseball stadium. But now, citizens elsewhere are rising up to keep them out of their neighborhoods.

It is policy situations such as these that make governing so difficult. Both sides are right. Residents moved to a certain community to maintain a certain quality of life. Businesses operate under the assumption that they will not be pushed around. Who is more important? Local residents or local businesses? Whether one supports strip clubs is really a values argument, but we cannot argue that these clubs are not legitimate businesses. They operate within the law and pay taxes.

Ultimately, the clubs will end up locating somewhere in DC, or the government will be on the losing end of a very large lawsuit. A reasonable solution will depend on skillful negotiations and the active civic engagement of all concerned.