It is the intent and purpose of this bylaw to regulate adult entertainment establishments to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of Salisbury.

It is also the purpose and intent of this bylaw to address and mitigate the secondary effects of the adult entertainment establishments and sexually oriented businesses referenced and defined herein. Such secondary effects have been shown to include increased crime, adverse impacts on public health, adverse impacts on the business climate of the Town, adverse impacts on the property values of residential and commercial properties, and adverse impacts on the quality of life in the Town, all of which secondary impacts are adverse to the health, safety, and general welfare of the Town of Salisbury and its inhabitants.

The provisions of this bylaw have neither the purpose nor intent of imposing a limitation or restriction 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 bylaw to restrict or deny access by adults to adult entertainment establishments and to sexually oriented matter or materials protected by the Constitutions of the United States of America and 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 bylaw to legalize the sale, rental, distribution, or exhibition of obscene or other illegal matter or materials.

Adult video and bookstore: An establishment having more than 15% of its stock-in-trade as printed matter, books, magazines, picture periodicals, motion-picture films, videocassettes and other matter which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis depicting, describing or relating to sexual conduct or sexual excitement as defined in MGL c. 272, § 31.

Adult motion-picture theater: An enclosed building or drive-in theater used for presenting motion pictures, slides, photo displays, videos, or other material for viewing distinguished by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing, or relating to sexual conduct or sexual excitement as defined in MGL c. 272, § 31.

Adult paraphernalia store: An establishment having more than 15% of its business inventory or stock-in-trade as devices, objects, tools, or toys for sale, rental or display at any point in time which are distinguished or characterized by their association with sexual activity, including sexual conduct or sexual excitement as defined in MGL c. 272, § 31.

Live adult entertainment: Establishments which feature persons, entertainers, or employees, who appear or work in a state of nudity, which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis depicting, describing, or relating to sexual conduct or sexual excitement as defined in MGL c. 272, § 31.

All adult entertainment establishments proposed to be located in the Light Industrial District, the Commercial 2 District, or the Beach Commercial District must meet the following distance requirements from:

Adult entertainment establishments proposed in the Light Industrial District and the Commercial 2 District must also meet the following distance requirement from:

Adult entertainment establishments shall be located in standalone facilities and shall not be allowed within a building containing other retail, consumer, residential uses, etc.

Only one adult entertainment establishment may be located within a building.

A material condition to any adult entertainment establishment shall be that such establishment must cease its operations between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. each day.

Each applicant for an adult entertainment establishment must provide a plan, submitted with its application, showing the required parking on the same lot as said establishment.

The applicant must present a plan to the Planning Board to be reviewed under site plan review. Planning Board approval of the site plan must be obtained before a special permit may be granted.

All signs for any adult use must meet the requirements of the Salisbury Sign Bylaw.[1] In addition, no advertisement, display or other promotional material which contains sexually explicit graphics or sexually explicit text shall be visible to the public from any public way, including but not limited to sidewalks, pedestrian walkways, highways, or railways, or from abutting private property. All proposed permanent signage for the adult entertainment establishments shall be presented for review.

No applicant may be issued a special permit if he, or any members of the board of directors or investors of a corporation, partnership, etc., have been convicted of violating the provisions of MGL c. 119, § 63 or MGL c. 272, § 28.

A special permit for an adult entertainment use shall lapse within one year if substantial use thereof has not sooner commenced except for good cause or, in the case of a permit for construction, if construction has not begun by such date except for good cause, excepting only any time required to pursue or await the determination of an appeal from the grant thereof.

A special permit for an adult use shall lapse within one year from the time in which it is discontinued, abandoned, or not used.