The Common Council finds that adult-oriented establishments, as defined and otherwise regulated by the City in Chapter 124 of the City Code, require special zoning in order to protect and preserve the health, safety, and welfare of the City.

Based on its review of studies conducted in Phoenix AZ, Garden Grove CA, Los Angeles CA, Whittier CA, Indianapolis IN, Minneapolis MN, St. Paul MN, Cleveland OH, Oklahoma City OK, Amarillo TX, Austin TX, Beaumont TX, Houston TX, and Seattle WA, and the findings incorporated in City of Renton v. Playtime Theaters, Inc., 475 U.S. 41 (1986), and Coleman A. Young v. American Mini-Theaters, Inc., 427 U.S. 50 (1976), the Common Council finds that there is convincing evidence that the secondary effects of adult-oriented establishments include an increased risk of prostitution, high-risk sexual behavior, crime, and other deleterious effects upon existing businesses and surrounding residential areas and decreased property values.

The Common Council intends to control the impact of these secondary effects in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizenry; protect the citizens from increased crime; preserve the quality of life; and preserve the property values and character of surrounding neighborhoods and areas.

It is not the intent of the Common Council to suppress any speech activities protected by the First Amendment but to enact a content-neutral ordinance which addresses the secondary effects of adult-oriented establishments while providing an outlet for First Amendment protected activities.

In order to minimize and control the secondary effects of adult-oriented establishments upon the City, it is the intent of the Common Council to prevent the concentration of adult-oriented establishments within a certain distance of each other and within a certain distance of other specified locations which are incompatible with and would suffer from the secondary effects of adult-oriented establishments.

Based upon its review of materials linking alcohol consumption and high-risk sexual behavior and materials linking alcohol consumption and crimes such as sexual assault, the Common Council finds that a geographic separation of adult-oriented establishments from alcohol beverage licensed premises is warranted.

The First Amendment and other provisions of the United States Constitution, as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court and other courts, require that adult-oriented establishments, as defined and otherwise regulated by the City, are entitled to certain protections, including the opportunity to locate in the City. Therefore, if an adult-oriented establishment license has been granted by the City, and if all the requirements of this section of the Zoning Code are met, an adult-oriented establishment shall be an allowed use in the M-1 and M-2 Zoning Districts and shall be a prohibited use in any other zoning district. No other requirements of the Zoning Code need be satisfied, but for those required in order to obtain an adult-oriented establishment license from the City.[1]

Adult-oriented establishments shall be located at least 1,000 feet from:

Distance requirements are to be measured in a straight line in any direction, regardless of intervening structures, from the structure housing the adult-oriented establishment to the above residential district boundary lines, to the lot line of any lot used for a park or playground, or the lot line of any structure listed in Subsection B(2), (3) or (4).

The measurements from a structure shall be taken from the farthest point a structure extends in the direction of the measurement, including overhanging roofs or similar projections.

For adult-oriented establishments located in conjunction with other buildings and clearly separate from other establishments, such as in a shopping center, measurements shall be taken from the boundaries of the space occupied by the adult-oriented establishment.

For any adult-oriented establishment located above ground level in a multistory structure and clearly separate from other establishments within the structure, the distance measurements shall be taken from the ground floor public entrance/exit nearest the adult-oriented establishment (excluding emergency exits).

A licensed adult-oriented establishment is not disqualified from holding an adult-oriented establishment license by the location subsequent to the grant or renewal of its license of any of the establishments described in Subsection B(2) within 1,000 feet of the licensed premises. This provision applies only to the renewal of an existing license and does not apply when an application for a license is submitted after a license for that location has not been renewed or has been revoked.