MONCTON, NB – The mayor of Sussex says a dispute involving a newly opened exotic boutique in his town could have been avoided had the owner just gone through the proper channels.

Marc Thorne is defending the town’s move to issue a cease and desist order against the owner of a lingere shop called “Intimate Desires by Crystal”.

The owner, Crystal Henderson says her business is a tasteful establishment and she feels she’s being unfairly singled out due to the nature of her merchandise.

Thorne says the town wants to determine whether the business falls into the category of adult retail which is not allowed under their municipal plan.

He says it’s unfortunate that the owner chose to work against the town instead of with them…

“She could have done a presentation for council, displayed some of her products and talked about the tasteful nature of her business and we would have advised her to apply for planning ammendment and if we feel the same way… We’ll get this all pushed though for you.”  says Thorne.

Thorne says a lot of headaches could have been avoided if Henderson had of met with development officers prior to opening….

“When someone comes to town, opens up a store and completely circumvents the community planning act and doesn’t seek clarification on anything whatsoever — the town has a responsibility to defend the plan and seek clarification on their own.”  says Thorne.

Thorne is concerned this matter will give the town a black eye and he hopes this incident doesn’t paint the town as being closed to new business….

“It’s really more of a technical thing… She would have discovered that if she came to see us at town hall and she might be open today with the proper permits.” says Thorne.