It is recognized that buildings and establishments operated as sexually oriented businesses have serious objectionable characteristics. In order to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the Village of Massena, County of St. Lawrence and State of New York, it is necessary to establish reasonable and uniform regulations for sexually oriented businesses within the Village of Massena.

The regulation of sexually oriented businesses is necessary to prevent deterioration and degradation of the vitality of the Village of Massena, New York before a problem develops, rather than in a response to an existing problem. It is recognized that some uses, which because of their nature, have serious objectionable operational characteristics when several of them are concentrated under certain circumstances, which produce a deleterious effect upon adjacent areas, special regulation of the uses is necessary to ensure that adverse effects will not contribute to the blighting or downgrading of the surrounding neighborhoods. The primary reason for regulation is to prevent concentration of these uses in any one area which could create adverse neighborhood affects.

It is not the intent nor affect of this chapter to restrict or deny access by adults to sexually oriented materials protested by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, or to deny access by distributors and exhibitors of sexually oriented entertainment to their intended market, nor is it the intent or affect of this chapter to condone or legitimize the distribution of obscene materials.

Sexually oriented businesses shall be permitted in the Planned Industrial Development District, subject to a special permit and subject to site plan review in accordance with the Zoning Chapter.

Sexually oriented businesses shall be further subject to the following requirements in addition to any other requirements of this chapter.

The distances herein above shall be measured by following a straight line, without regard to intervening buildings, from the nearest point of the property parcel upon which the adult business is to be located to the nearest point of the parcel of property or the land use district boundary line from which the sexually oriented business is to be separated.