Union Beach City Zoning Code
§ 13-5.30
Prohibitions on Adult Movies and Bookstores, Obscene Video Games, Computer Games and Coin Operated Games; Required Visibility in Picture Arcades.
[Ord. No. 95-741]
a.
Adult Movies and Bookstores Prohibited.
1.
Purpose and Intent: In accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-2 it is declared to be the purpose and intent of this subsection to protect the public health, safety, welfare and morals of the Borough of Union Beach, to promote the stability of property values, and impose restrictions upon those activities which pander to gross sexuality in a manner that would detract from the neighborhood, adversely affect the property values, increase crime and violence, and be repugnant to the morals of the community. In recognition of the protections afforded to the citizens under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, it is not the intent of this subsection to inhibit freedom of speech or the press, but rather to deter those of low morals from imposing their lack of morals upon the rest of the community; and further recognizing that those parts of a community, which become centers of loose moral conduct, frequently become places of rowdiness, criminality, and indecent behavior. It is further the belief that just as advertising is designed to stimulate one's appetite for desiring goods or a service, an over-abundance of preoccupation with sexual displays or material arouses the appetites of those so preoccupied and encourages violations of the criminal statutes involving sexual offenses and is contrary to the health, safety and welfare of the community.
b.
c.
Adult Movies, Cabarets, and Bookstores Prohibited.
1.
Book Sales. No person, firm or corporation shall sell or offer for sale any book, magazine or other periodical such is distinguished or characterized by emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas."
2.
Mini Motion Picture Displays. No person, firm or corporation shall offer for viewing either free of charge or through coin-operated motion picture devices or any other movie or form of display; which has significant displays of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
3.
Cabarets. No person, firm or corporation shall feature or permit dancers, or other persons to be engaged in specified sexual activities.
d.
Obscene Video Games, Computer Games and Coin Operated Games. It shall be unlawful for any person to own, lease, operate or offer for the use of the public within the Borough of Union Beach any coin-operated amusement devices, video games, computer games or viewing machines which depict material which is obscene if considered as a whole, applying community standards, its predominate appeal is to prurient interests, that is, a shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sex or excretion, and utterly without redeeming social value and if, in addition, it goes substantially beyond customary limits of candor in describing or representing such matters. This prohibition also applies to the free of charge showing and/or allowing the viewing in total or part of any of said obscene games or devices, etc., which are otherwise offered for sale for either on or offsite viewing.
e.
Visibility - Required in Picture Arcades.
1.
Findings and Purpose. Enclosed or concealed booths and unlit or dimly lit areas within picture arcades greatly increase the potential for misuses of the premises, including unlawful conduct of a type which facilitates transmission of disease. The provisions of this subsection are necessary in order to reduce the opportunity for, and therefore the incidence of, illegal conduct within picture arcades, and to facilitate the inspection of conduct within picture arcades by law enforcement personnel and authorized borough inspectors.
2.
Picture Arcade. Any room to which the public can gain admittance where one or more coin or slug-operated or electrically, electronically or mechanically controlled still or motion picture machines or projectors or video monitors are designed, operated or maintained to show still or motion pictures or videos to five or fewer persons per machine, projector or monitor at any one time.
3.
Visibility of Interior. It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, corporation or other entity to own, operate, maintain or manage a picture arcade, unless the complete interior of the portion of the premises where the pictures can be viewed is continuously open and fully visible. Booths within picture arcades where still or motion pictures are viewed are prohibited.
4.
Minimum Lighting Requirements. A level of illumination established by the chief of police, based upon generally accepted lighting standards, and published in a list of rules and regulations governing picture arcades shall be maintained during hours of operation in all parts of any picture arcade which are open to the public. The list of rules and regulations shall be available upon request to the police department.
5.
Existing Picture Arcades. Any picture arcade lawfully in existence on the effective date of this subsection shall be made to conform to the provisions of this subsection by January 1, 1996.
f.
Nuisance Injunction. Any violation of this subsection 13-5.30 is hereby declared to be a nuisance. In addition to any other relief provided by this subsection, the borough attorney may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for an injunction to prohibit the continuation of any violation of this subsection. Such application for relief may include seeking a temporary restraining order, temporary injunction or permanent injunction.
g.
Penalty. Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this subsection 13-5.30 shall be fined or imprisoned pursuant to the general penalty provision provided by section 3-1 et seq. of the "Revised General Ordinances of the Borough of Union Beach 1980" for each offense, and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.