Adam Knoetgen, a teacher from Virginia Beach, walked along Atlantic Avenue in the city’s resort area with his wife and their young sons after church on a recent Sunday.
Carrying one of his children, he paused at a storefront displaying t-shirts. Some were patriotic or decorated with waves. Others were crude.
Overall, the family enjoys the Oceanfront, but, Knoetgen said, “I guess I would prefer my kids not to see certain things.”
The City Council is taking aim at the conflict between the tourist town’s image and what visitors and locals sometimes see in shop windows.
On Tuesday, the council will consider a resolution to ask retailers to voluntarily remove “indecent” or “vulgar” clothing and displays from their storefronts.
It may apply to five to 10 retail spots, said City Councilmember Worth Remick, whose district includes part of the resort.
“There’s a fine line between being funny and being vulgar,” Remick said. “You know it when you see it.”
He hopes a little “peer pressure” can tackle a longstanding challenge.
In 1996, the City Council passed an ordinance requiring merchants to keep offensive items out of sight of children. Efforts to get retailers to voluntarily move materials hadn’t worked, The Virginian-Pilot reported at the time. The ordinance remains on the books.
The new resolution isn’t intended to enforce obscenity standards, which can be tough to prove. It asks the Atlantic Avenue Association and the Resort Advisory Commission to encourage retailers to keep items that may give offense inside their shops.
“We know it has to be voluntary, but we’re a family-friendly resort, and we want to portray it that way,” said Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson, whose district also includes part of the resort.
Deepak Nachnani, president of the Atlantic Avenue Association, said the group is working on the issue, and one major retailer recently pledged to keep items out of storefronts.
“We’re not telling store owners not to carry the shirts,” Nachnani said. “We’re just telling them to not put them in the store windows or on the mannequins at the front of the store.”
He said a family-friendly resort benefits businesses, guests and the community.
Councilmember Joash Schulman said he was disappointed to talk to his children about the inappropriate items on Atlantic Avenue and why they’re out in plain view.
“That hurts us,” Schulman said. “Maybe this provokes a conversation. Maybe this causes a little bit of ownership.”
Governments have limited ability to rein in speech or commerce, Councilmember Michael Berlucchi added, but he hopes this will help.
“Kids don’t need to be reading that stuff,” he said.
Avinash Basnet, owner of The T-Shirt Factory at the resort, said what the City Council seeks is reasonable, but he said change needs to be equally applied.
“I’m willing to do that,” he said. “I’m willing to commit to that, but it has to be for everybody.”
On Sunday, storefronts along Atlantic Avenue displayed shirts and apparel that used profanity. One shirt showed an image suggesting oral sex. Others made light of prostitution and recommended where upon the human body one might roll a joint.
Kecia Magnus and her family stood near a window displaying clothing at another business. The New Jersey family was in town visiting friends and took a walk at the resort.
They encountered displays along Atlantic Avenue with inappropriate messages, including crude slang for a part of a woman’s body.
“They’re just shoving this in kids’ faces,” Magnus said.
Neve Magnus, 13, saw clothing she didn’t want her sister or cousins to notice.
“I saw it, and I knew I should let my mom know about it,” she said, adding that encountering that sort of thing leads to parents having to explain.
That aside, it was an enjoyable visit.
“Yeah,” Neve Magnus said. “The place is fun.”