(1) Business license. Upon the filing of a completed application for a sexually oriented business license, the city clerk shall immediately issue a temporary license to the applicant if the completed application is from a preexisting sexually oriented business that is lawfully operating in the city and the completed application, on its face, indicates that the applicant is entitled to an annual sexually oriented business license. The temporary license shall expire upon the final decision of the city to deny or grant an annual license. Within twenty (20) days of the filing of a completed sexually oriented business license application, the city clerk shall either issue a license to the applicant or issue a written notice of intent to deny a license to the applicant. The city clerk shall issue a license unless:
(a) An applicant is less than eighteen (18) years of age.
(b) An applicant has failed to provide information required by this chapter for issuance of a license or has falsely answered a question or request for information on the application form.
(c) The license application fee required by this chapter has not been paid.
(d) The sexually oriented business, as defined herein, is not in compliance with the interior configuration requirements of this chapter or is not in compliance with the location requirements of the Cookeville Municipal Code, Cookeville Zoning Code, or Tennessee state law.
(e) Any sexually oriented business in which an applicant has had an influential interest, has, in the previous five (5) years (and at a time during which the applicant had the influential interest):
(i) Been declared by a court of law to be a nuisance; or
(ii) Been subject to an order of closure or padlocking.
(f) An applicant has been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to a specified criminal activity, as defined in this chapter.
(2) Employee license. Upon the filing of a completed application for a sexually oriented business employee license, the city clerk shall immediately issue a temporary license to the applicant if the applicant seeks licensure to work in a licensed sexually oriented business and the completed application, on its face, indicates that the applicant is entitled to an annual sexually oriented business employee license. The temporary license shall expire upon the final decision of the city to deny or grant an annual license. Within twenty (20) days of the filing of a completed sexually oriented business employee license application, the city clerk shall either issue a license to the applicant or issue a written notice of intent to deny a license to the applicant. The city clerk shall issue a license unless:
(a) The applicant is less than eighteen (18) years of age.
(b) The applicant has failed to provide information as required by this chapter for issuance of a license or has falsely answered a question or request for information on the application form.
(c) The license application fee required by this chapter has not been paid.
(d) Any sexually oriented business in which the applicant has had an influential interest, has, in the previous five (5) years (and at a time during which the applicant had the influential interest):
(i) Been declared by a court of law to be a nuisance; or
(ii) Been subject to an order of closure or padlocking.
(e) The applicant has been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to a specified criminal activity, as defined in this chapter.
(3) The license, if granted, shall state on its face the name of the person or persons to whom it is granted, the number of the license issued to the licensee(s), the expiration date, and, if the license is for a sexually oriented business, the address of the sexually oriented business. The sexually oriented business license shall be posted in a conspicuous place at or near the entrance to the sexually oriented business so that it may be read at any time that the business is occupied by patrons or is open to the public. A sexually oriented business employee shall keep the employee's license on his or her person or on the premises where the licensee is then working or performing.
(Ord. #096-10-24, Oct. 1996, as replaced by Ord. #010-01-01, Feb. 2010)