The first steps toward restricting the location of juice bars was approved by the Ames City Council at its meeting Tuesday night.

The council, with a unanimous vote, passed an amendment to include juice bars when defining “adult entertainment.”

The decision comes in the wake of a proposed juice bar in Campustown. While those plans fell through, council members wanted to take a proactive measure.

At least one council member expressed surprise that no citizens were present to speak about the issue.

“I was surprised that nobody was here to discuss this tonight,” said council member Judie Hoffman. “I hope that’s an indication that people are supportive of what we are doing.”

Adult entertainment businesses must not be located closer than 1,000 feet from schools, public parks and churches. Also, these businesses are not permitted within 200 feet of the public right-of-way from arterial streets in Ames.

Placing more restrictions on billboards around the city was also discussed. The informal consensus among council members was to make billboards smaller and to limit billboard locations.

Council member Ann Campbell said aesthetics is the key to attracting people, and big billboards do not enhance the city.

“I guess the notion I would like to give would be the most restrictive possible,” Campbell said.

Ames Mayor Larry Curtis told the council the most realistic approach should be reducing both size and height.

Currently, billboards must not be more than 50 feet high, with a maximum area of 300 square feet. Also, no billboards may be placed in medical and residential zones.

The council asked the city staff to give a visual report at the next meeting to help them make a decision on future billboard limitations.