(A) Purpose for regulation of sexually oriented business.
(1) Additional regulations are imposed upon sexually-oriented businesses to: protect juveniles from harm or exposure to sexually-oriented materials; prevent the spread of communicable or sexually transmitted diseases; reduce and eliminate the negative impact that adult uses may have on property values and the character and quality of residential neighborhoods; prevent sexually-oriented businesses from diminishing or destroying the use of public facilities, particularly facilities expected to be used by children or used for religious purposes, and the like. These regulations are not adopted for the purpose of restricting or prohibiting any protected speech associated with sexually oriented business land uses. The Supreme Court and lower federal courts have recognized a number of possible secondary effects of sexually oriented businesses, including:
(a) Decline of character of a community’s neighborhoods and quality of life;
(b) Increase of crime (e.g., prostitution, drug sales);
(c) Spread of disease, particularly sexually transmitted diseases;
(d) Degeneration of the social and moral order; and
(e) Harm to children.
(B) Given the documented harmful secondary effects of sexually oriented businesses on adjacent neighborhoods and specific land uses, the following specific, reasonable and uniform regulations have been developed to protect the public health and safety of the residents of the city.
(C) A sexually oriented business use may not be an accessory use. No two sexually oriented business uses may be located in the same premises or on the same lot.
(D) The following establishments or accessory uses of an establishment shall be prohibited within the city:
(1) Nude model studios;
(2) Sexual encounter centers;
(3) Sexually oriented escort agencies;
(4) Sexually oriented spas; or
(5) Sexually oriented viewing booth or arcade booth facilities, each more specifically defined by this regulation.
(E) The following are prohibited activities in a sexually oriented business establishment:
(1) No employee, patron, or any other person at a sexually oriented business establishment shall perform or conduct any specified sexual activity with or for any other employee, patron, or any other person on the premises;
(2) No sexually oriented business establishment games, machines, tables, or implements shall be used for gambling; and
(3) No sexually oriented business establishment employee or other person shall accept any form of a tip or gratuity offered directly or personally by a patron or other person for entertainment performances. Any such tips or gratuities must be placed into a receptacle provided by management for receipt of such tips and gratuities or shall be placed on the stage on which the employee or other person is performing.
(4) No sexually oriented materials, or displays, promotions, or advertisement which display specified sexual anatomical areas or specified sexual activities, shall be displayed, distributed, or exhibited so as to be visible from the public right-of-way, or from any adjacent public or privately owned property, or by juveniles permitted within the establishment.
(5) All building openings, entries, windows, and doors of sexually oriented businesses shall be located, covered, or serviced in such a manner as to prevent a view into the interior from the public right-of-way, or from adjacent public or privately owned property. For new construction, the building shall be oriented so as to minimize any possibility of viewing from any public right-of-way or any public or private property.
(6) No screens, loudspeakers, or sound equipment used in sexually oriented motion picture theaters (enclosed or drive-in) or other sexually oriented businesses shall be operated in such a manner as to be seen or discerned from the public right-of-way or any public or privately owned property.
(F) No animals, except service animals required to assist those that are differently abled, shall be permitted at any time or in any sexually oriented business establishment.
(G) All restrooms in a sexually oriented business establishment shall be equipped with standard toilets, sinks, and other customary lavatory facilities. No sexually oriented materials or live performances shall be provided or allowed at any time in the restrooms of a sexually oriented business establishment. Separate male and female restrooms shall be provided for and used by sexually oriented business establishment employees and patrons.
(H) No person shall engage in a live performance of sexually oriented material except upon a stage elevated at least 18 inches above floor level.
(I) All parts of the stage, or a clearly designated area thereof within which a person engages in a live performance of sexually oriented material, shall be a distance of at least six feet from all parts of a clearly designated area in which patrons may be present.
(J) The stage or designated area thereof shall be separated from the area in which patrons may be located by a barrier or railing the top of which is at least three feet above floor level.
(K) No person engaging in such live performances or patron may extend any part of their body over or beyond the barrier or railing. This requirement shall be noted in a sign affixed to the stage, barrier, or railing in such a manner to be easily visible and legible to patrons.
(L) Age of employees and patrons.
(1) No person under the age of 18 years shall be admitted to or employed by a sexually oriented cabaret or theatre;
(2) No person under the age of 18 years shall be allowed or permitted to purchase or receive, whether for consideration or not, any sexually oriented material or other goods or services at or from any sexually oriented business establishment; and
(3) No person under the age of 21 years shall be permitted to a sexually oriented business establishment that serves or otherwise provides alcoholic liquor pursuant to a liquor license.
(M) Sexually oriented uses shall not be located in any of the following locations:
(1) Within 1,000 feet of any land zoned or used for primarily residential purposes (specifically the R-1, R-2, and R-3 Zones and the PR and UR Districts), libraries, educational institutions, training facilities for persons with mental or physical disabilities, museums, religious places of worship, child day care facilities, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, pool and billiard halls, video arcades, pinball arcades, or other public gathering places, family-oriented uses, or recreational uses established for the activities of juveniles; and
(2) Within 1,000 feet of any other sexually oriented business, or within 1,000 feet of any bar, tavern, or other establishment regulated by the Ohio Division of Liquor Control offering the sale of beer or intoxicating liquor for consumption on the premises in combination with live entertainment.
(3) For the purpose of this section, measurement shall be made in a straight line without regard to the intervening structures or objects, from the nearest point of the property line of a sexually oriented business, to the nearest property line of the protected district or premise listed above. The presence of a municipal, county, or other political subdivision boundary shall be irrelevant for the purpose of calculating and applying the distance requirements of this section.
(N) Exterior identification signage of sexually oriented businesses is permitted subject to the other applicable provisions of these regulations. However, no exterior signage shall include verbal or written messages, graphics, drawings, or other illustrations which publicly display specified sexual anatomical areas or specified sexual activities.
(O) The city shall reserve the right to review facilities established under this section after it has been in operation for a period of one year.
(Ord. 9098, passed 6-12-2023)