A.

Purpose.

1.

The purpose of this chapter is to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the City of Salisbury through the establishment of reasonable and uniform regulations to prevent the deleterious location and concentration of adult entertainment businesses within the City of Salisbury.

2.

The intent of this section is to create a content-neutral mechanism to minimize the harmful secondary effects of adult entertainment businesses; it is not the intent of this section to suppress any speech protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article 40 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights or otherwise infringe on any constitutionally protected rights.

3.

It is neither the purpose nor the effect of this section to impose a limitation or restriction on the content of any communicative materials, including sexually oriented materials. It is neither the intent nor the effect of this section to restrict or deny access by adults to sexually oriented materials protected by the First Amendment, or to deny access by the distributors and exhibitors of sexually oriented entertainment to their intended market.

4.

It is neither the purpose nor the effect of this section to condone or legitimize the distribution of obscene materials.

(Ord. 2048 § 3 (part), 2008)

A.

No adult entertainment business may operate within the City of Salisbury unless and until said business has obtained an adult entertainment permit from the city in accordance with this chapter. Permits shall be renewed on an annual basis on or before March 1st of each year.

B.

Permit applications shall be provided by the director of the department of infrastructure and development. The permit application shall include the street address of the proposed adult entertainment business, the names and addresses of all owners, as hereinafter described, and any other information deemed necessary by the director.

1.

If the owner is a corporation, the permit application shall provide the names and residence addresses of all officers of the corporation, and names and residence addresses of all shareholders or members with an interest of ten percent or greater;

2.

If the owner is a partnership, the permit application shall provide the names and residence addresses of all partners with an interest of ten percent or greater;

3.

If the owner is any other form of unincorporated association, the permit application shall provide the names and residence addresses of all principals with an interest of ten percent or greater;

4.

If the owner is an individual person, the permit application shall provide the name and address of that individual person;

5.

If none of the persons listed in subsections (B)(1) through (B)(4) hereinabove has an address in this state, the permit application also shall provide the name and address of a person who resides within the state and who is authorized to accept service of process on behalf of the owner(s) and who shall be designated as a responsible, local party or agent, both for purposes of notification in the event of an emergency affecting the public health, safety or welfare and as herein authorized and in connection herewith.

C.

Each application for an adult entertainment permit shall also include the following:

1.

A certification by a licensed surveyor or licensed engineer showing distances from the nearest portion of the structure to be used for an adult entertainment business to the nearest property line of the premises of a church, school, park, day care center, residential zoning district or other residential use, or another adult entertainment business, as those terms are defined in Title 17 of this code.

D.

Permit Fees. The application fee for an adult entertainment permit shall be one hundred dollars ($100.00).

E.

Processing a Permit Application for an Adult Entertainment Business.

1.

The adult entertainment permit shall be approved or denied in writing within ten working days after the application is filed and determined to be complete, unless additional time is needed to review structural issues unrelated to the use of the adult entertainment business, in which case the generally applicable time period relating to issuance of a building permit shall apply.

2.

If the adult entertainment permit is not approved or denied within the time period established in this section, the application shall be deemed approved.

3.

In order to guarantee prompt judicial review of any adult entertainment application, and in recognition of the restrictions on the City of Salisbury's authority to require courts in Maryland or the federal circuits to take action within any given time period, a temporary zoning certificate shall be issued if:

a.

The adult entertainment permit is denied,

b.

The applicant brings a timely action for administrative review by the Board of Appeals and/or judicial review, as defined in the rules of procedure for the court in which the application is brought, and

c.

The proposed adult entertainment business is not located in a residential zoning district.

4.

A temporary adult entertainment permit issued pursuant to this section expires when a final judicial determination is made relating to the application. If the applicant prevails, and the city does not seek additional review, then a permanent adult entertainment permit shall be issued within five working days after the applicant notifies the director of the department of infrastructure and development of the reviewing body's decision; if the applicant does not prevail, the temporary adult entertainment permit becomes null and void, and the applicant shall bring the premises into compliance with this code within ten working days after the final judicial decision is rendered.

(Ord. 2048 § 3 (part), 2008)

(Ord. No. 2459, 10-9-2017; Ord. No. 2769, § 1, 2-13-2023)

A.

An adult entertainment business may not be operated within:

1.

One thousand (1,000) feet of a church or place of religious assembly;

2.

One thousand (1,000) feet of a public or private school, college or university;

3.

One thousand (1,000) feet of a public park;

4.

One thousand (1,000) feet of a day care center or hospital;

5.

One thousand (1,000) feet of a residential zoning district, a residential use located in any other zoning district or the residential component of a mixed use project in any zoning district; or

6.

One thousand (1,000) feet of another adult entertainment business.

B.

An adult entertainment business may not be operated in the same building, structure, or portion thereof containing another adult entertainment business.

C.

For the purpose of this section, measurement shall be made in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the nearest portion of the building or structure used as a part of the premises where an adult entertainment business is conducted, to the nearest property line of the premises of a church or school, or to the nearest boundary of an affected public park with active recreation uses, a residential zoning district or component as further described in this section, or a child day care center.

D.

For purposes of this section, the distance between any two adult entertainment businesses shall be measured in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the closest exterior wall of the structure in which each business is located.

(Ord. 2048 § 3 (part), 2008)

A.

Any adult entertainment business lawfully operating in violation of the locational requirements set forth in Section 17.166.030 is a nonconforming use and may continue to operate as such only until [two years after the effective date of the ordinance from which this section is derived]. On or after that date, all such businesses shall comply with chapter 17.166. If two or more adult entertainment businesses are located within one thousand (1,000) feet of one another and otherwise in permissible locations, the adult entertainment business that was first established and continually operated at a particular location is the conforming use and any later established adult entertainment business is nonconforming.

B.

An adult entertainment business is not rendered nonconforming by the later establishment of any of the uses set forth in Section 17.166.030.A.

(Ord. 2048 § 3 (part), 2008; Ord. No. 2320, 4-27-2015)

A.

Applicability. The Board of Appeals may authorize variances to the provisions of Section 17.166.030 of this chapter in accordance with the criteria set forth in subsection B of this section. The granting of a variance does not exempt the applicant from any provisions of this section other than modifying the locational restrictions set forth in Section 17.166.030.

B.

Decision-making Criteria, Variances for Adult Entertainment Businesses. The board may authorize a variance only upon specific findings that:

1.

A sufficient physical barrier separates the adult entertainment business from any of the protected uses set forth in Section 17.166.030, so as to substantially fulfill the purpose of the distance requirement. Such physical barriers may include, but are not limited to, limited access streets or highways, walls, and natural or man-made waterways;

2.

The strict application of the provisions of these regulations will create an undue hardship unique to the applicant for a particular location; and

3.

All other applicable provisions of this chapter will be observed.

(Ord. 2048 § 3 (part), 2008)

(Ord. No. 2769, § 1, 2-13-2023)

A.

An owner or operator of an adult entertainment business shall not allow the merchandise or activities of the establishment to be visible from a point outside the establishment.

B.

An owner or operator of an adult entertainment business shall not allow the exterior portion of the adult entertainment business to have flashing lights, or any drawing, photograph, phrase or other matter considered obscene as that term is defined in the Criminal Law Article of the Maryland Annotated Code.

C.

An owner or operator of an adult entertainment business shall not allow exterior portions of the establishment to be painted any color other than a single achromatic color. This provision shall not apply to an adult entertainment business if the following conditions are met:

1.

The establishment is a part of a commercial multi-unit center; and

2.

The exterior portions of each individual unit in the commercial multi-unit center, including the exterior portions of the business, are painted the same color as one another or are painted in such a way as to be a component of the overall architectural style or pattern of the commercial multi-unit center.

D.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the painting of an otherwise unpainted exterior portion of an adult entertainment business.

E.

Notwithstanding any other city ordinance, code or regulation to the contrary, no person may erect, construct or maintain for any adult entertainment business any sign containing any drawing, photograph, phrase or other matter considered obscene as that term is defined in the Criminal Law Article of the Maryland Annotated Code.

(Ord. 2048 § 3 (part), 2008)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, movies rated G, PG, PG-13, or R by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), or live theatrical performances with serious artistic, social, or political value that depict or describe specified anatomical areas or specified sexual activities, are expressly exempted from regulation under this section.

(Ord. 2048 § 3 (part), 2008)

A.

Any person found in violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a municipal infraction and shall be subject to a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) per violation. Each day a violation remains uncorrected is a separate violation subject to an additional citation and fine.

B.

Any adult entertainment business at, in, or on which any violation of this chapter or chapter 5.08 have occurred on five different days within any twelve (12) month period shall be deemed to be a public nuisance and the adult entertainment permit of such adult entertainment business may be revoked by the department of infrastructure and development.

(Ord. 2048 § 3 (part), 2008)

(Ord. No. 2459, 10-9-2017)

After the city receives a complaint about a business alleged to be in violation of the code regarding adult entertainment business, the city may inspect the place of business and financial records of such business. Inspections may also be initiated as a result of the observations of city inspectors or as a result of a routine audit. The inspection shall occur after notice has been furnished to the owner and occupants of the place of business.

The notice shall be sent by mail or by affixing the notice to the place of business in a conspicuous location. If the city's inspector shall be denied access to the financial records or place of business or any part thereof that is appropriate for inspection, the inspector may obtain an administrative search warrant to gain access.

(Ord. No. 2320, 4-27-2015)

A.

An inspector authorized by the city to inspect any place of business or financial records may apply to a judge of the District Court of Maryland or the Wicomico County Circuit Court for an administrative search warrant to enter and inspect such premises and records. The application shall be in writing, signed and sworn to by the inspector, and shall state or identify: (i) the business location to be inspected by street address and general description, (ii) the nature, scope and purpose of the inspection (i.e. business premises and/or records), and (iii) one or more dates and approximate times when the inspector proposes to conduct the inspection. In addition, the application shall specify the statutory authority for such inspection and the effort of the inspector to schedule or conduct the inspection and/or to locate the owner(s), tenant(s), or other person(s) in charge of the business and any other grounds for issuance of the search warrant.

B.

A judge of a court referred to in this section shall issue the search warrant upon finding that:

1.

The inspector is authorized to make the inspection,

2.

A reasonable effort has been made to obtain access to the business to make the inspection,

3.

The owner(s), tenant(s) or other person(s) in charge of the business have denied or otherwise failed or refused to furnish access to the business premises and/or records at a reasonable time or for a reasonable period to conduct the inspection, or the inspector (or others) have been unable to locate any such person(s) after making a reasonable effort to do so, and

4.

If conducted in a reasonable manner, the inspection will not intrude unnecessarily on the operation of such business.

C.

An administrative search warrant issued under this section shall be executed and returned to the issuing judge or, in his or her absence, to the clerk of the issuing court within:

1.

The time specified in the warrant, not to exceed thirty (30) days, or

2.

If no time is specified therein, fifteen (15) days from its date of issuance.

D.

This section shall not preclude or affect the power to make prompt inspection without a warrant in emergency situations.

(Ord. No. 2320, 4-27-2015)