Rejected: Common Council votes down Silk Exotic's request to open club in downtown Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Common Council on Tuesday, September 22nd voted down Silk Exotic's request to open a new gentleman's club in downtown Milwaukee.

Last week, a committee rejected Silk officials' plan to open a club in a four-story office building near Milwaukee and Wells -- just west of Cathedral Square. City records show a liquor license was granted in late July.

Silk officials have been trying to open a club in downtown Milwaukee for several years -- and they've taken the city to court over the issue twice.

In February, Silk's owner Joe Ferraro told FOX6 News he's been trying for eight years to build a gentleman's club in downtown Milwaukee.

A federal jury awarded Silk about $435,000 on a Silk lawsuit that sought damages for revenue lost because the city wouldn't grant a license to open a club downtown.

The judgement was reached after a two-day trial. Silk had argued that the ordinances used to reject their license were unconstitutional, and a jury agreed.

Milwaukee's Licensing Committee last said "no" to Silk Exotic back in December of 2014. This, after Silk officials chose two potential sites in the Walker's Point neighborhood.

The full Common Council had the final say in this case.

Alderman Bob Bauman said the biggest concern is the size of the proposed club. It would be twice as large as the "Ladybug Club" and Bauman says that venue has already proven problematic.

"The form of entertainment is not the issue for most of these objectors. It is the size, scale, and location of a very large entertainment venue that involves the sale of alcohol," Bauman said.