(a) Purpose. It is the purpose of this Chapter to regulate adult entertainment businesses in order to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the City of Berea, and to establish reasonable and uniform regulations to prevent the deleterious location and concentration of adult entertainment businesses within the City of Berea. The provisions of this Chapter do not have the purpose or effect of imposing a limitation or restriction on the content of any communicative materials, including sexually-oriented materials. Further, it is not the intent of this Chapter 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 of their intended market. Neither is the intent nor effect of this Chapter to condone or legitimize the distribution of obscene material.
(b) Findings. The Berea City Council has received substantial evidence concerning the adverse secondary effects of adult uses on a community in findings incorporated in the cases of City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc. (1986), 475 U.S. 41; Young v. American Mini Theatres (1976) 426 U.S. 50; and Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc (1991) 501 U.S. 560, and on studies in other communities including but not limited to: Seattle, Washington; Phoenix, Arizona; St. Paul, Minnesota; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Tucson, Arizona; Indianapolis, Indiana; Beaumont, Texas; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Houston, Texas; Brook Park, Ohio and Strongsville, Ohio. The Council finds:
(1) Adult Entertainment Businesses in the City lend themselves to ancillary unlawful and unhealthy activities that are presently uncontrolled by the operators of the establishments. Further, there is presently no mechanism to make the owners of these establishments responsible for the activities that occur on their premises.
(2) Certain employees of adult entertainment businesses defined in this chapter engage in higher incident of certain types of sexually-oriented behavior at these businesses than employees of other establishments.
(3) Sexual acts, including masturbation, oral and anal sex, occur at adult entertainment businesses.
(4) Persons frequent certain adult entertainment businesses for the purpose of engaging in sex on the premises of such businesses.
(5) At least 50 communicable diseases may be spread by activities occurring in adult entertainment businesses, including, but not limited to: syphilis, gonorrhea, human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV), genital herpes, hepatitis B, Non A, Non B amebiasis, salmonella infections and shigella infections.
(6) Since 1981 and to the present, there has been an increasing, cumulative number of reported cases of AIDS caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States – 600 in 1982; 2,200 in 1983; 4,600 in 1984; 8,555 in 1985; and 253,448 through December 31, 1992.
(7) The number of cases of early (less than one year) syphilis in the United States reported annually has risen with 33,613 cases reported in 1982 and 45,200 through November of 1990.
(8) The number of cases of gonorrhea in the United States reported annually remains at a high level, with over one-half million cases being reported in 1990.
(9) The surgeon general of the United States, in his report of October 22, 1986, has advised the American public that AIDS and HIV infection may be transmitted through sexual contact, intravenous drug abuse, exposure to infected blood and blood components and from an infected mother to her newborn.
(10) According to the best scientific evidence, AIDS and HIV infection, as well as syphilis and gonorrhea, are principally transmitted by sexual acts.
(11) Sanitary conditions in some adult entertainment businesses are unhealthy in part because the activities conducted there are unhealthy, and in part because of the unregulated nature of the activities and the failure of the owners and the operators of such business to self-regulate the activities and maintain the facilities.
(12) The findings noted in paragraphs (b)(1) through (11) raise substantial government concerns.
(13) Adult entertainment businesses have operational characteristics which should be reasonably regulated in order to protect those substantial government concerns.
(14) A reasonable licensing procedure is an appropriate mechanism to place the burden of that reasonable regulation on the owners and the operators of the adult entertainment business. Further, such a licensing procedure will place a heretofore nonexistent incentive on the operators to see that the adult entertainment business is run in a manner which is consistent with the health, safety and welfare of its patrons and employees, as well as the citizens of the City. It is appropriate to require reasonable assurances that the licensee is the actual operator of the adult entertainment business and fully in possession and control of the premises and activities occurring therein.
(15) Requiring licensees of adult entertainment businesses to keep information regarding current employees and certain past employees will help reduce the incidence of certain types of criminal behavior by facilitating the identification of potential witnesses or suspects and by preventing minors from working in such establishments.
(16) The disclosure of certain information by those persons ultimately responsible for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the adult entertainment business where such information is substantially related to the significant governmental interest in the operation of such uses, will aid in preventing the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases.
(17) It is desirable in the prevention of the spread of communicable diseases to obtain a limited amount of information regarding certain employees who may engage in the conduct which this chapter is designed to prevent or who are likely to be witnesses to such activity.
(18) The fact that an applicant for an adult entertainment business license has been convicted of a sexually-related crime leads to the rational assumption that the applicant is likely to engage in that conduct in contravention of this chapter.
(19) The barring of such individuals from the management of adult entertainment businesses in the City for a period of years serves as a deterrent to and prevents conduct which leads to the transmission of sexually-transmitted diseases.
(20) The general welfare, health and safety of the citizens of Berea will be promoted by the enactment of this chapter.
(Ord. 2010-26. Passed 4-5-10.)