Shaler Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE X
Sexually Oriented Businesses
§ 225-144 Classification of businesses.
Sexually oriented businesses are classified as follows:
§ 225-145 Permit required.
A.
No person shall operate a sexually oriented business without a valid permit.
B.
An application for a permit to operate a sexually oriented business must be made on a form provided by the Township. The application must be accompanied by a sketch or diagram showing the floor plan and plot plan configuration of the premises, including a statement of the total floor space occupied by the business. The sketch or diagram need not be professionally prepared but must be drawn to a designated scale or drawn with marked dimensions of the interior of the premises to an accuracy of plus or minus six inches. Parking facilities must be specifically identified and shall meet all Zoning Ordinance requirements. Nonconforming structures and those structures not having the required parking sites shall not be issued permits unless the sexually oriented business was in existence as a lawful use prior to the date of this article.
C.
The applicant must be qualified according to the provisions of this article, and the premises must be inspected and found to be in compliance with the law by the Zoning Officer/Building Inspector and the Fire Marshal.
D.
If a person who wishes to operate a sexually oriented business is an individual, he must sign the application for a permit as applicant. If a person who wishes to operate a sexually oriented business is other than an individual, each individual who has a ten-percent or greater interest in the business must sign the application for a permit as applicant. If a corporation is listed as owner of a sexually oriented business or as the entity which wishes to operate such a business, each individual having a direct or indirect interest of ten-percent or greater in the corporation must sign the application for a permit as applicant.
E.
The fact that a person possesses other types of Township permits does not exempt the person from the requirement of obtaining a sexually oriented business permit.
§ 225-146 Special exception and issuance of permit.
A.
The Zoning Hearing Board of the Township of Shaler shall hear and decide requests for a special exception to operate a sexually oriented business and shall approve the issuance of a permit to an applicant within 30 days after receipt of an application and permit fee, unless it finds one or more of the following to be true:
(1)
An applicant is under 18 years of age.
(2)
An applicant or an applicant's spouse is overdue in his payment to the Township of taxes, fees, fines or penalties assessed against him or imposed upon him in relation to a sexually oriented business.
(3)
An applicant has failed to provide information reasonably necessary for issuance of the special exception and permit or has falsely answered a question or request for information on the application form.
(4)
An applicant is residing with a person who has been denied a permit by the Township 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.
(5)
The premises to be used for the sexually oriented business have been reviewed and have been disapproved by either the Zoning Officer/Building Inspector or the Fire Marshal as not being in compliance with applicable laws and ordinances and the Zoning Hearing Board affirms such determination.
(6)
The permit fee required by this article has not been paid.
(7)
An applicant of the proposed establishment is in violation of, or is not in compliance with, any of the provisions of this article.
(8)
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 or persons' 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.
B.
If the special exception is granted, the permit shall state on its face the name of the person or persons to whom it is granted, the expiration date, and the address of the sexually oriented business. The permit shall be posted in a conspicuous place at or near the entrance to the sexually oriented business so that it may be easily read at any time.
§ 225-147 Fees.
The Township will establish an annual fee for an occupancy permit for a sexually oriented business.
§ 225-148 Inspection of premises.
A.
An applicant or permittee shall permit representatives of the Police Department, Fire Marshal, the Zoning Officer/Building Inspector, or other Township departments or agencies to inspect the premises of a sexually oriented business for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the law at any time that the sexually oriented business is occupied or open for business.
B.
A person who operates a sexually oriented business or his agent or employee violates this Zoning Chapter of the Township if he refuses to permit such lawful inspection of the premises at any time it is occupied or open for business.
§ 225-149 Expiration of permit.
Each permit shall expire one year from the date of issuance and may be renewed only by making application to the Zoning Officer. Applications for renewal should be made at least 30 days before the expiration date and, when made fewer than 30 days before the expiration date, the pendency of the application will not prevent the expiration of the permit.
§ 225-150 Suspension of permit.
The Zoning Officer/Building Inspector or an inspector shall suspend a permit for a period not to exceed 30 days if he determines that a permittee or an employee of a permittee has:
A.
Violated or is not in compliance with any section of this article;
B.
Engaged in excessive use of alcoholic beverages while on the sexually oriented business premises;
C.
Refused to allow an inspection of the sexually oriented business premises as authorized by this article;
D.
Knowingly permitted gambling by any person on the sexually oriented business premises; or
E.
Failed to man managers' stations and/or maintain viewing rooms.
§ 225-151 Revocation of permit.
A.
The Zoning Officer or Building Inspector shall revoke a permit if a cause of suspension set forth in this section occurs and the permit has been suspended within the preceding 12 months.
B.
The Zoning Officer or Building Inspector shall revoke a permit if he determines that:
(1)
A permittee, or any of the persons specified in § 225-146A(8), is or has been convicted of the offenses specified in § 225-146A(8);
(2)
A permittee gave false or misleading information in the material submitted to the Township or the Zoning Hearing Board during the application process;
(3)
A permittee or an employee of a permittee has knowingly allowed possession, use or sale of controlled substances on the premises;
(4)
A permittee or an employee of a permittee has knowingly allowed prostitution on the premises;
(5)
A permittee or an employee of a permittee knowingly operated the sexually oriented business during a period of time when the permittee's permit was suspended;
(6)
A permittee or an employee of a permittee has knowingly allowed any act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, masturbation or other explicit sexual conduct to occur in or on the permitted premises; or
(7)
A permittee is delinquent in payment to the Township or state of any taxes or fees relating to sexually oriented businesses.
C.
When the Zoning Officer or Building Inspector revokes a permit, the revocation shall continue for one year, and the permittee shall not be issued a sexually oriented business permit for one year from the date revocation became effective, except that, if the revocation is pursuant to Subsection B(1) above, the revocation shall be effective for two years in the event of a misdemeanor or five years in the case of a felony.
D.
After denial of an application, or denial of a renewal of an application, or suspension or revocation of a permit, the applicant or licensee or permittee shall have the right to appeal said action and to seek prompt judicial review of such administrative action in any court of competent jurisdiction.
§ 225-152 Transfer of permit.
A permittee shall not transfer his permit to another person. A permittee shall not operate a sexually oriented business under the authority of a permit at any place other than the address designated in the application.
§ 225-153 Location.
A.
A person is guilty of a violation of this chapter if he operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business in any location in which a sexually oriented business is not a permitted use. No sexually oriented businesses shall be located outside a location in which a sexually oriented business is a permitted use. Sexually oriented businesses, as defined herein, shall be permitted only as a special exception in an I Industrial District.
B.
A person is guilty of a violation of this chapter if he operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business within the below-listed distances of the following institutions or residences, and a special exception shall not be granted and no permit will be issued for any such sexually oriented business which intends to be located within the below-listed distances of such institutions or residences:
(1)
A church: 500 feet.
(2)
A public or private pre-elementary, elementary, or secondary school: 1,000 feet.
(3)
A public library: 500 feet.
(4)
A child-care facility or nursery school: 500 feet.
(5)
A public park adjacent to any residential district: 1,000 feet.
(6)
A child-oriented business: 500 feet.
(7)
A residence: 200 feet.
C.
A person is guilty of a violation of the chapter if he causes or permits the operation, establishment, substantial enlargement, or transfer of ownership of control of a sexually oriented business, and no special exception shall be granted and no permit shall be issued for any such sexually oriented business intended to be located within 750 feet of another sexually oriented business.
D.
A person is guilty of a violation of the chapter if he causes or permits the operation, establishment or maintenance of more than one sexually oriented business in the same building, structure or portion thereof; or the increase of floor areas of any sexually oriented business in any building, structure or portion thereof containing another sexually oriented business.
E.
For the purpose of this article, 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 a sexually oriented business is conducted to the nearest property line of the premises of a church, public or private pre-elementary, elementary or secondary school, public library, child-care facility or nursery school, or to the nearest boundary of an affected public park or residence.
F.
For purposes of Subsection C of this section, the distance between any two sexually oriented 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.
G.
Any sexually oriented business lawfully operating on date of enactment of this article that is in violation of Subsections A through F of this section shall be deemed a nonconforming use. Such nonconforming uses shall not be increased, enlarged, extended or altered, except that the use may be changed to a conforming use. In the event that two or more sexually oriented businesses are within 750 feet of one another and otherwise in a permissible location, the sexually oriented business which was first established and continually operating at a particular location is the conforming use and the later-established business is nonconforming.
H.
A sexually oriented business lawfully operating as a conforming use is not rendered a nonconforming use by the location, subsequent to the grant or renewal of the sexually oriented business permit, of a church, public or private pre-elementary, elementary or secondary school, public library, child-care facility, nursery school, public park or residence within those distances set forth in this section of the sexually oriented business. This provision applies only to the renewal of a valid permit and does not apply when an application for a special exception and a permit is submitted after a permit has expired or has been revoked.
§ 225-154 Exhibition of sexually explicit films or videos.
A.
A person who operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business, other than an adult motel, which exhibits on the premises in a viewing room of less than 150 square feet of floor space a film or videocassette or other video or other image-production or reproduction which depicts specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas shall comply with the following requirements:
(1)
The application for a permit to operate a sexually oriented business shall be accompanied by a floor plan and plot plan diagram of the premises showing a plan thereof specifying the location of one or more manager's stations, the location of all viewing rooms, partitions and doors and the location of all overhead lighting fixtures and designating any portion of the premises in which patrons will not be permitted. A manager's station may not exceed 32 square feet of floor area. The diagram shall also designate the place at which the permit will be conspicuously posted, if granted. A professionally prepared diagram in the nature of an engineer's or architect's blueprint shall not be required; however, each diagram should be oriented to the north or to some designated street or object and should be drawn to a designated scale or with marked dimensions sufficient to show the various internal dimensions of all areas of the interior of the premises to an accuracy of plus or minus six inches. The Zoning Officer may waive the foregoing diagram for renewal applications if the applicant adopts a diagram that was previously submitted and certifies that the configuration of the premises has not been altered since it was prepared.
(2)
The application shall be sworn to be true and correct by the applicant.
(3)
No alteration in the configuration or location of a manager's station may be made without the prior approval of the Zoning Officer.
(4)
It is the duty of the owners and operators of the premises to ensure that at least one employee is on duty and situated in each manager's station at all times that any patron is present inside the premises.
(5)
The interior of the premises shall be configured in such a manner that there is an unobstructed view from a manager's station of every area of the premises to which any patron is permitted access for any purpose, excluding rest rooms. Rest rooms may not contain video reproduction or viewing equipment. If the premises has two or more manager's stations designated, then the interior of the premises shall be configured in such a manner that there is an unobstructed view of each area of the premises to which any patron is permitted access for any purpose from at least one of the manager's stations. The view required in this subsection must be by direct line of sight from the manager's station.
(6)
It shall be the duty of the owners and operators, and it shall also be the duty of any agents and employees present on the premises, to ensure that the view area specified in Subsection A(5) remains unobstructed by any doors, walls, merchandise, display racks or other materials at all times and to ensure that no patron is permitted access to any area of the premises which has been designated as an area in which patrons will not be permitted in the application filed pursuant to Subsection A(1) of this section.
(7)
No viewing room may be occupied by more than one person at any time. No connections or openings to an adjoining viewing room shall be permitted.
(8)
The premises shall be equipped with overhead lighting fixtures of sufficient intensity to illuminate every place to which patrons are permitted access at an illumination of not less than one footcandle as measured at the floor level.
(9)
It shall be the duty of the owners and operators, and it shall also be the duty of any agents and employees present in the premises, to ensure that the illumination described above is maintained at all times that any patron is present in the premises.
B.
No sexually oriented business, other than an adult motel, shall open to do business before 10:00 a.m., Monday through Saturday, prevailing time; and no sexually oriented business, other than an adult motel, shall remain open after 10:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, prevailing time. No sexually oriented business, other than an adult motel, shall be open for business on any Sunday or on a legal holiday as set forth in the Act of May 31, 1893, P.L. 188, § 1, as amended, 44 P.S. § 11.
§ 225-155 Exemptions.
It is a defense to prosecution under this section that a person appearing in a state of nudity did so in a modeling class operated:
A.
By a proprietary school, licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or a college, junior college or university supported entirely or partly by taxation;
B.
By a private college or university which maintains and operates educational programs in which credits are transferable to a college, junior college or university supported entirely or partly by taxation; or
C.
In a structure:
(1)
Which has no sign visible from the exterior of the structure and no other advertising that indicates a nude person is available for viewing; and
(2)
Where, in order to participate in a class, a student must enroll at least three days in advance of the class; and
(3)
Where no more than one nude model is on the premises at any one time.
§ 225-156 Injunction.
A person who operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business without a valid permit or in violation of this article is subject to an action in equity or a suit for injunction as well as citations for violations of the Zoning Ordinance.
§ 225-157 Conflict and repealer of other ordinances.
Township of Shaler Ordinance No. 1714 and all other ordinances or parts of ordinances are repealed insofar as they conflict with the provisions of this article; however, such repeal shall not affect any act done or any liability accrued under any such prior ordinance herein repealed or superseded, and all such liabilities or violations shall continue and may be enforced in the same manner as if such repeal or supersession had not been made; and any offense or violation committed and any penalty or forfeiture incurred under any such ordinance herein repealed or superseded may be prosecuted in the same manner as if this article had not been approved.