(A) Minnesota State Attorney General’s Office and the Cities of St. Paul, Minnesota; Indianapolis, Indiana; Phoenix, Arizona; Seattle, Washington; Houston, Texas; and Los Angeles, California, have conducted studies of the impact of adult establishments on their respective communities. Based on these studies and the study done by the Apple Valley Urban Affairs Committee, the Apple Valley City Council finds:
(1) Residential neighborhoods located within close proximity to adult theaters, bookstores and other adult establishments experience increased crime rates (sex-related crimes in particular), lowered property values, increased transiency, neighborhood blight and potential health risks;
(2) Adult establishments can have an adverse impact on adjacent commercial uses;
(3) The adverse impacts which adult establishments have on surrounding areas diminish as the distance from the adult establishments increases;
(4) Many members of the public perceive areas within which adult establishments are located as less safe than other areas which do not have such uses;
(5) Adult establishments can exert a dehumanizing influence on persons attending nearby places of worship, children attending family day care homes, group family day care homes and child care centers, students attending schools and people using parks;
(6) The concentration of adult establishments in one area can have a substantially detrimental effect on the area in which the businesses are concentrated and on the overall quality of urban life. A cycle of decay can result from the concentration of adult establishments. The presence of the businesses is perceived by others as an indication that the area is deteriorating which can cause other businesses and residents to move out of the vicinity. Declining real estate values, which can result from the concentration of the businesses, erode the city’s tax base and contribute to a feeling that that section of the city is depressed; and
(7) Adult establishments can increase the risk of exposure to communicable diseases. Experiences of other cities indicate that the businesses can facilitate the spread of communicable diseases by virtue of the design and use of the premises, thereby endangering not only the patrons of the establishments but also the general public.
(B) In order to minimize the detrimental effect adult establishments have on adjacent land uses, and to promote the public health, safety and general welfare of the city, the City Council adopts the following licensing regulations, recognizing that it has a great interest in the present and future character of the city’s residential and commercial neighborhoods. Adoption of these regulations is not intended to unreasonably restrict the opportunity of adult establishments to locate in the city.
(‘81 Code, § 4-30) (Ord. 619, passed 9-26-96)