This article is enacted pursuant to MGL c. 40A, and pursuant to the Town of Agawam's authority under the Home Rule Amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution to serve the compelling Town interests of limiting the location of and preventing the clustering and concentration of certain adult entertainment uses, as defined and designated herein, in response to studies demonstrating their deleterious effects.

It is the purpose of this adult entertainment article to address and mitigate the secondary effects of the adult entertainment establishments and sexually oriented businesses that are referenced and defined herein. Secondary effects have been shown to include increased crime, adverse impacts on public health, adverse impacts on the business climate of the Town of Agawam, adverse impacts on the property values of residential and commercial properties and adverse impacts on the quality of life in the town. All of said secondary impacts are adverse to the health, safety and general welfare of the Town of Agawam and its inhabitants. The provisions of this article have neither the purpose nor intent of imposing a limitation on the content of any communicative matter or materials, including sexually oriented matter or materials. Similarly, it is not the purpose or intent of this article to restrict or deny access by adults to adult entertainment establishments or to sexually oriented matter or materials that are protected by the Constitutions of the United States or of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, nor to restrict or deny rights that distributors or exhibitors of such matter or materials may have to sell, rent, distribute or exhibit such matter or materials. Neither is it the purpose or intent of this article to legalize the sale, rental, distribution or exhibition of obscene or other illegal matter or materials.

As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

Adult entertainment uses shall be prohibited in all zoning districts except as otherwise permitted in this article and may be permitted only upon the grant of a special permit by the Board of Appeals. An adult entertainment use special permit shall not be granted unless each of the following standards has been met.

The special permit granting authority may impose reasonable conditions, safeguards and limitations on time or use of any special permit granted and shall require that any such special permit granted shall be personal to the applicant, shall not run with land and shall expire upon expiration of the applicant's lease or upon sale or transfer of the subject property.

The special permit granting authority may suspend or revoke a special permit granted hereunder for any violation of the special permit, for any violation of the Town of Agawam ordinances and/or for any violation of state or federal law.

A special permit to conduct an adult entertainment use shall expire after a period of one calendar year from its date of issuance and shall automatically be renewable for a successive one-year period thereafter, provided that a written request for such renewal is made to the special permit granting authority prior to said expiration and that no objection to said renewal is made and sustained by the special permit granting authority based upon the public safety factors applied at the time that the original special permit was granted.

The provisions of this article are severable, and, in the event that any provision of this article is determined to be invalid for any reason, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.