The Town of Plymouth has ordered a swingers club in the Terryville section of town to close, citing zoning regulations.
‘Wicked Fun Club’ opened in November on Main Street in Terryville. It’s located in a building along with a doctor’s office that sits beside Riverside Baptist Church.
The cease-and-desist order was sent to owner Steve Gagne last Friday and stated that the club falls under the ‘adult use’ section of the town’s zoning regulations.
“No approval for the Club has been obtained from the Planning & Zoning Commission,” the letter read, and “the club violates specific distance requirements. As an Adult Use, the Club cannot abut in whole or in part a residential zone -- [and] must also be 1,000 feet from a church.”
Gagne said they’ve done nothing wrong. He disagrees that the club should be considered adult use.
“We fall in line as a private members-only social club by the state of Connecticut. So, we’re no different than a chess club, book club, any other private club,” Gagne said. “What happens behind closed doors is our business and nobody else’s business because we’re not harming anybody. We’re not bringing attention to ourselves. We’re just having a good time.”
The club has over 200 members, but anywhere from 16-40 members attend in-person at once, Gagne said.
Trump administration 2 hours ago
New Haven 2 hours ago
“Real estate agents, lawyers, doctors, we’ve had politicians, we’ve had prosecutors that are still members of the club come out here and enjoy themselves. What goes on in here I really can't talk about other than the fact that people come and socialize. We are not a nightclub. We don’t have dance floor, we don’t have a bar,” he said.
Gagne said this all started when his neighbors at the church made a complaint.
“The town getting involved with the cease and desist seemed like, 'hey, not in my backyard,' because it’s more of an opinion or their own morality being forced on us,” Gagne said. “Friday and Saturday nights, between 9 and 2 a.m. That’s it. So we’re not here when [parishioners] are here, and they’re not here when we’re here. So, we don’t get in anyone’s way.”
“I saw cars coming in and was wondering what this was. There’s only one business I can think of that meets on weekends from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. with people formally dressed and going in,” said Rev. David Townsley, of Riverside Baptist Church. “This type of business is supposed to be away from churches, schools, daycares, that kind of thing, and they’re obviously not.”
Townsley said he just wants the club to follow the zoning rules.
“The big thing is they need to follow the rules like everyone else,” the pastor said. “The zoning seems very clear to me that they do fall under the club, under the adult-oriented business, and that there’s already guidelines in zoning for it, and they’re in the wrong part of town for that to fit the zoning requirements.”
Gagne said he plans to appeal this decision and will go in front of the zoning board of appeals later this month.
“Right now we’re in the appeal process. We are not closed down, we are still legally able to operate through the appeals process,” Gagne said. “We don’t know if we’re gonna win or not, it’s up in the air. But if we do not win, then we’re gonna take it to court and let a judge decide.”
Townsley said he’s reaching out to his state representatives to make a change in the laws.
“I’m gonna be talking to our state officials to have the General Assembly try to pass another license requirement covering adult-oriented businesses so that there’s some oversight,” the pastor added. “Cause currently -- the state has no oversight on this type of business and I think there’s common sense safeguards we need to put in place to make sure everything is safe.”