The City Council makes the following findings regarding the effect sexually-oriented businesses have on the character of the city’s neighborhoods. In making the findings, the City Council accepts the recommendations of a staff committee that has studied the experiences of other urban areas in the nation where sexually-oriented businesses have located.
(a) Sexually-oriented businesses can exert a dehumanizing influence on persons attending places of assembly for worship; children attending state-licensed family day care homes, state-licensed group family day care homes and state-licensed child care centers; students attending
schools
; and people using public parks and libraries.
(b) Sexually-oriented businesses can contribute to an increase in criminal activity in the area in which such businesses are located, taxing city crime-prevention programs and law-enforcement services.
(c) Sexually-oriented businesses can significantly contribute to the deterioration of residential neighborhoods and can impair the character and quality of the residential housing in the area in which such businesses are located, thereby exacerbating the shortage of affordable and habitable housing for city residents.
(d) The concentration of sexually-oriented businesses in one area can have a substantially detrimental effect on the area in which such businesses are concentrated and on the overall quality of urban life. A cycle of decay can result from the influx and concentration of sexually-oriented businesses. The presence of such businesses is perceived by others as an indication that the area is deteriorating and the result can be devastating. Other businesses move out of the vicinity and residents flee from the area. Declining real estate values, which can result from the concentration of such businesses, erode the city’s tax base and contribute to overall urban blight.
(Ord. 92-13, passed 3-2-1992; Ord. 94-44, passed 8-15-1994; Ord. 2009-36, passed 11-16-2009)