Pursuant to the authority granted in the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq., to promote and secure the health, cleanliness, comfort and safety of the citizens, to regulate places of public entertainment, amusement and recreation, and to prevent and prohibit public nuisances due to adverse secondary effects, the Borough of Mars (hereinafter "Borough") enacts this article to minimize and control the adverse secondary effects of sexually oriented businesses and thereby protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens, protect the citizens' property values and character of surrounding neighborhoods, and deter the spread of blight.

The Borough of Mars Council has determined that zoning regulation and permitting is a legitimate and reasonable means of accountability to insure that operators of sexually oriented businesses comply with reasonable regulations and to insure that operators do not knowingly allow their establishments to be used as places of illegal sexual activity or solicitation.

The Borough does not intend this article to suppress any speech activities protected by the First Amendment, but enacts a content-neutral ordinance which addresses the secondary effects of sexually oriented businesses. It is not the intent of the Borough in enacting this legislation to deny any person rights of speech protected by the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of Pennsylvania, or both, nor is it the intent of the Borough to impose by this article any additional limitations or restrictions on the contents of any communicative materials, including sexually oriented films, videotapes, books and other materials. Further, by enacting this legislation, the Borough does not intend to deny or restrict the rights of any adult to obtain or view, or both, any sexually oriented materials or conduct protected by the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of Pennsylvania, or both, nor does it intend to restrict or deny any constitutionally protected rights that distributors or exhibitors of sexually oriented materials may have to sell, distribute, or exhibit these materials.

Law enforcement personnel have determined, and statistics and studies performed in a substantial number of communities in this Commonwealth and in the United States indicate, that sexually oriented businesses have adverse secondary effects, including those specified and recognized at 68 Pa.C.S.A. § 5501(a), which secondary effects should be regulated to protect the public health, safety and welfare. These secondary effects include, but are not limited to, the spread of communicable diseases, performance of sexual acts in public places, presence of discarded sexually oriented materials on public and private property, sexual harassment, obscenity, prostitution and other illegal sexual activities, crime and neighborhood deterioration.

Based on evidence concerning the adverse secondary effects of adult uses on the community presented in depositions and hearings conducted by the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Case No. 3:CV99-1801 (Judge Munley); and by the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Case No. 98-1140 (Judge Lancaster); and in reports made available to the Borough and on findings incorporated in the cases of City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc., 475 U.S. 41 (1986), Young v. American Mini Theatres, 426 U.S. 50 (1976), and Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc., 501 U.S. 560 (1991); and on studies in other communities, including, but not limited to, Phoenix, Arizona; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Houston, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; Amarillo, Texas; Biloxi, Mississippi; Seattle, Washington; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Cleveland, Ohio; and Beaumont, Texas; and also on findings from the Report of the Attorney General's Working Group on the Regulation of Sexually Oriented Businesses (June 6, 1989, State of Minnesota), the Borough finds:

Sexually oriented businesses have adverse secondary effects in the nature of a public nuisance, which secondary effects should be regulated to protect the public health, safety and welfare.

Sexually oriented businesses have operational characteristics, which should be reasonably regulated in order to protect those substantial governmental concerns.

A reasonable zoning regulation and permitting procedure is an appropriate mechanism to place the burden of that reasonable regulation on the owners and the operators of the sexually oriented business. Further, such a regulatory procedure will place a heretofore nonexistent incentive on the operators to see that the sexually oriented business is run in a manner consistent with the health, safety and welfare of its patrons and employees, as well as the citizens of the Borough. It is appropriate to require reasonable assurances that the licensee is the actual operator of the sexually oriented business, fully in possession and control of the premises and activities occurring therein.

Removal of doors on adult booths and requiring sufficient lighting on premises with adult booths advances a substantial governmental interest in curbing the illegal and unsanitary sexual activity occurring in adult theaters and bookstore.

Requiring licensees of sexually oriented businesses to keep information regarding current employees and certain past employees will help reduce the incidence of certain types of criminal behavior by facilitating the identification of potential witnesses or suspects and by preventing minors from working in such establishments.

The disclosure of certain information by those persons ultimately responsible for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the sexually oriented business, where such information is substantially related to the significant governmental interest in the operation of such uses, will aid in preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

It is desirable in the prevention of the spread of communicable diseases to obtain a limited amount of information regarding certain employees who may engage in the conduct which this article is designed to prevent or who are likely to be witnesses to such activity.

The fact that an applicant for an adult or sexually oriented use license has been convicted of a sexually related crime leads to the rational assumption that the applicant is likely to engage in that conduct in contravention of this article.

The barring of such individuals from the management of sexually oriented uses for a period of years serves as a deterrent to and prevents conduct which leads to the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.

The general welfare, health and safety of the citizens of the Borough will be promoted by the enactment of this article.

The limitation of operating hours of sexually oriented businesses from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, and closure of such businesses on Sundays and Christmas reduces the adverse secondary effects of such businesses, including, particularly, but not limited to, late-night noise levels, crime and sexually offensive materials and activities in public areas, and promotes the public health, safety and welfare.

The reasonable regulation and supervision of sexually oriented businesses tends to discourage sexual acts and prostitution and thereby promotes the health, safety and welfare of patrons, clients and customers of these businesses.

The continued unregulated operation of such sexually oriented businesses would be detrimental to the general health, safety and welfare of citizens of the Borough of Mars.

An applicant is under 18 years of age.

An applicant or an applicant's spouse is overdue in his payment to the municipality of taxes, fees, fines, or penalties assessed against him or imposed upon him in relation to a sexually oriented business.

An applicant has failed to provide all information required for issuance of the permit or has falsely answered a question or request for information on the application form.

An applicant is residing with a person who has been denied a permit by the municipality to operate a sexually oriented business within the preceding 12 months or residing with a person whose license to operate a sexually oriented business has been revoked within the preceding 12 months.

The premises to be used for the sexually oriented business have been reviewed and have been disapproved by either the Zoning Officer or the Fire Marshal as not being in compliance with applicable laws and ordinances.

The permit fee required by this article has not been paid.

An applicant of the proposed establishment is in violation of or is not in compliance with any of the provisions of this article.

An individual applicant or any individual holding a direct or indirect interest of more than 10% of a corporate applicant, or any of the officers and directors of a corporate applicant, if the applicant is a corporation, or any of the partners, including limited partners, if the applicant is a partnership, or the manager or other person in charge of the operation of the applicant's business has or have been convicted of an offense involving sexual misconduct within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including, but not limited to, prostitution, obscenity and possession of child pornography, or convicted of any offense in any jurisdiction other than the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that would have constituted an offense involving sexual misconduct if committed within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In order for approval to be denied pursuant to this subsection, the person's conviction or release in connection with the sexual misconduct offense must have occurred within two years of the date of application in the event of a misdemeanor and within five years of the date of application in the event of a felony.

A church.

A public or private pre-elementary, elementary, or secondary school.

A public library.

A child-care facility or nursery school.

A child-oriented business.

Which has no sign visible from the exterior of the structure and no other advertising that indicates a nude person is available for viewing;

Where, in order to participate in a class, a student must enroll at least three days in advance of the class; and

Where no more than one nude model is on the premises at any one time.