Littleton City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXII
Adult Uses
[Added 9-22-1997 STM, Art. 9]
§ 173-141 Purpose.
The purpose of the bylaw is to regulate the location of adult use establishments to prevent the associated secondary effects of these establishments, and to protect and promote the quality of the Town of Littleton's neighborhoods, commercial and business districts, and the general welfare, health and safety of the citizens of Littleton.
§ 173-142 Adult use business regulations and standards.
A.
Special permit required. A Special Permit from the Planning Board and site plan review shall be required for any adult bookstore, adult live entertainment establishment, adult motion picture or mini motion-picture theater, or adult video store, or any other form of adult business as described in G.L. c.40A, § 9A. All of the standards in § 173-7 of this bylaw must be met.
B.
Special permit applications. The application for a Special Permit for an adult use establishment shall comply with the rules for such applications adopted by the Planning Board and filed with the Town Clerk. In addition, the application for such Special Permit for an adult use establishment must include the following information:
(1)
Name and address of the legal owner of the establishment;
(2)
Name and address of all persons having lawful, equity, or security interests in the establishment;
(3)
Name and address of the manager;
(4)
Proof that any of the persons identified in Subsections B(1), B(2), and B(3) have not been convicted of violating G.L. c. 272, § 28 or G.L. c. 119, § 63;
(5)
The number of employees;
(6)
Proposed security precautions; and
(7)
The physical layout of the premises.
C.
Location.
(1)
The property for the proposed use shall be located within 1,000 feet of a divided highway and within the Industrial A district, but may not be located within or within 1,000 feet of the nearest lot lines of any of the following:
(a)
Other adult use establishment;
(b)
Establishment licensed under the provisions of G.L. c.138, § 12;
(c)
Residential district or residential use;
(d)
Church or other religious facility or institution;
(e)
Public or private school, day-care center, or nursery school;
(f)
Nursing home, senior center, or elderly housing;
(g)
Public playgrounds, parks, conservation areas.
(2)
The proposed use and all associated advertising must be set back a minimum of 200 feet from all property lines.
D.
Performance standards. No special permit may be granted for any adult use unless each of the following conditions are fully satisfied:
(1)
A thirty-foot wide landscaped buffer along the side and rear property lines, consisting of evergreen shrubs at a minimum height of five feet, shall be required for all adult use establishments. The operator of said establishment shall replace any dead shrubs within six months.
(2)
All building openings and entries shall be screened in such a manner as to prevent visual access of the public to the interior of the establishment. All windows shall be opaque.
(3)
All parking areas for adult use establishments shall be in the side or rear yards and shall otherwise conform to the requirements of § 173-32.
(4)
No adult entertainment establishment shall be allowed within a building containing other retail, consumer, or residential uses.
(5)
No adult entertainment establishments shall be located within 50 feet of a public or private way and must be set back a minimum of 200 feet from all property lines.
(6)
A material condition to every special permit issued with respect to any adult entertainment establishment shall be that such establishment must cease its business operations between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. each day.
E.
Adult use signs. No special permit may be granted for any adult use advertisement signs unless each of the following conditions are fully satisfied:
(1)
All signs will be nonilluminated.
(2)
Freestanding signs are not permitted.
(3)
An adult use advertisement sign may only be located on a building in which there is operating an adult use pursuant to a special permit issued by the Planning Board.
(4)
The size of the on-premise sign is limited to 32 square feet.
(5)
There shall be no temporary signs and no window signs.
(6)
The sign complies with all other applicable provisions of the sign bylaw, § 173-34 to 173-41.
§ 173-143 Lapsing of special permit.
If substantial use or construction has not commenced without good cause within one year after the issuance of a special permit, the special permit shall lapse.