(A) Investigation. Upon receipt of an application properly filed with the town and upon payment of the non-refundable application fee, the Clerk-Treasurer shall immediately stamp the application as received and shall immediately thereafter send photocopies of the application to the Police Department and any other town agencies responsible for the enforcement of health, fire and building codes and laws. Each department or agency shall promptly conduct an investigation of the applicant, application and the proposed sexually oriented business in accordance with its responsibilities under law and as set forth in this chapter. Said investigation shall be completed within 20 days of receipt of the application by the Clerk-Treasurer. At the conclusion of its investigation, each department or agency shall indicate on the photocopy of the application its approval or disapproval of the application, date it, sign it and, in the event it disapproves, state the reasons. The Police Department shall only be required to certify the NCIC records request check mentioned at § 113.03 of this chapter. The Police Department shall not be required to approve or disapprove applications.
(B) Grant of application for permit.
(1) The Town Council or its designee shall grant the application unless one or more of the criteria set forth in division (C) below is present.
(2) The permit, if granted, shall state on its face the name of the person or persons to whom it is granted, the expiration date and the address of the sexually oriented business. The permit shall also indicate that the sexually oriented business shall be subject to prohibitions against public nudity and indecency pursuant to the state’s Penal Code, I.C. 35-45-4-1. The permit shall be posted in a conspicuous place at or near the entrance to the sexually oriented business so that it can be read easily at any time.
(C) Denial of application for permit.
(1) The Town Council or its designee shall deny the application for any of the following reasons:
(a) An applicant is under 18 years of age;
(b) An applicant or an applicant’s spouse is overdue on his or her payment to the town of taxes, fees, fines or penalties assessed against him or her or imposed upon him or her in relation to a sexually oriented business;
(c) An applicant is residing with a person who has been denied a permit by the town’s Board of Public Works and Safety to operate a sexually oriented business within the preceding 12 months, or residing with a person whose permit to operate a sexually oriented business has been revoked within the preceding 12 months;
(d) An applicant has failed to provide information required by this section or a permit application for the issuance of the permit or has falsely answered a question or request for information on the application form;
(e) The premises to be used for the sexually oriented business has not been approved as being in compliance with health, fire and building codes by the department or agency responsible under law for investigating said compliance;
(f) The application or permit fees required by this chapter have not been paid;
(g) An applicant of the proposed business is in violation of, or is not in compliance with, any of the provisions of this chapter or the town’s Zoning Code;
(h) The granting of the application would violate a statute, ordinance or court order;
(i) The applicant has a permit under this chapter that has been suspended or revoked;
(j) An applicant has been convicted of a specified criminal act for which:
1. Less than two years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement, whichever is the later date, if the conviction is of a misdemeanor offense for the specified criminal acts, which are sexual crimes against children, sexual abuse, rape or crimes connected with another sexually oriented business, including, but not limited to, the distribution of obscenity or material harmful to minors, prostitution, pandering or tax violations;
2. Less than five years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement, whichever is the later date, if the conviction is of a felony offense for the specified criminal acts, which are sexual crimes against children, sexual abuse, rape or crimes connected with another sexually oriented business, including, but not limited to, the distribution of obscenity or material harmful to minors, prostitution or tax violations;
3. Less than five years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement, whichever is the later date, if the convictions are of two or more misdemeanor offenses for specified criminal acts, which are sexual crimes against children, sexual abuse, rape or crimes connected with another sexually oriented business, including, but not limited to, the distribution of obscenity or materials harmful to minors, prostitution, pandering or tax violations, offenses occurring with any 24-month period;
4. The fact that a conviction is being appealed shall have no effect on disqualification of the applicant; and
5. An applicant who has been convicted of the above-described specified criminal acts may qualify for a sexually oriented business permit only when the time period required above in this division (C)(1)(j) has elapsed.
(k) An applicant knowingly has in his or her employ an employee who does not have a valid license as required in § 113.13 of this chapter.
(2) If the Town Council or its designee denies the application, it shall notify the applicant of the denial and state the reason(s) for the denial.
(3) If a person applies for a permit for a particular location within a period of 12 months from the date of denial of a previous application for a permit at the location and there has not been an intervening change in the circumstances which could reasonably be expected to lead to a different decision regarding the former reasons for denial, the application shall be denied.
(Prior Code, § 50.04) (Ord. 2-2001, passed 5-23-2001)