(A) The Fiscal Court of Kenton County, after consultation among the mayors, councils, commissioners and staffs of the municipalities and the county within the County, found that a substantial need exists to revise significantly the ordinances regarding sexually oriented businesses within Kenton County.
(B) The Fiscal Court, in association with the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission and the Fiscal Court of adjacent Campbell County its cities in the Northern Kentucky Community, retained Duncan Associates to conduct a study of existing sexually oriented uses and related businesses in Kenton and Campbell Counties, which is part of a single, larger community.
(C) Duncan Associates assigned two nationally-known planners, Eric Damian Kelly, FAICP and Connie B. Cooper, FAICP, to conduct that study.
(D) Kelly and Cooper have completed that study, including the following elements:
(1) Field study, involving visits to all identified existing sexually oriented businesses in Kenton and Campbell Counties;
(2) Meetings with stakeholder groups involved in these businesses;
(3) Consultation with the Kenton County, Campbell County Attorney, and the city attorneys for certain cities, and the community at large on this issue;
(4) Consultation with the professional staff of the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission on this issue;
(5) Review of studies and litigation concerning sexually oriented businesses in other communities;
(6) Investigation of regulatory approaches massage therapy;
(7) Review of existing ordinances in Kenton and Campbell Counties;
(8) Review of similar ordinances in a number of communities outside the Commonwealth of Kentucky;
(9) Review of Kentucky statutes related to regulating sexually oriented businesses.
(E) Duncan Associates has summarized this work and presented recommendations to the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission and Kenton and Campbell Counties and their cities in an August 2003 report entitled "Site Visit Analysis: Sexually Oriented and Related Businesses in Kenton and Campbell Counties" (hereinafter called simply the "Kelly and Cooper Study").
(F) That study has also been made available to the legislative bodies of Kenton and Campbell Counties for their consideration and use.
(G) That study has been accepted and used by the Fiscal Court of Kenton County in adopting the countywide licensing ordinance, Kenton County Ordinance No. 451.9, as amended, establishing licensing requirements for sexually oriented businesses and service oriented escort bureaus in 2004.
(H) The United States Supreme Court in City of Renton v. Playtime Theater, Inc., 475 U.S. 41 (1986), held that local governments may rely upon the experiences of other cities as well as on its own studies in enacting local legislation to regulate sexually oriented businesses;
(I) The United States Supreme Court in Renton and other cases has held that a local government may regulate such uses through content-neutral, time, place, and manner restrictions, so long as said regulations are designed to serve the government interest and do not unreasonably omit avenues of communication, and are aimed not at the content of protected speech within said establishments but rather at the secondary effects of said establishments on the surrounding communities.
(J) The study by Kelly and Cooper found extensive physical interaction between patrons and dancers at many of the establishments in both Kenton and Campbell Counties.
(K) Covington, the only municipality in Kenton County that has had sexually oriented businesses within its border, from January 1, 2002, to February 11, 2004, the police made a total of 469 calls to sexually oriented businesses in the city. The crimes committed at these establishments during this time period included robbery, assault, fraud, malicious mischief, public intoxication, and possession of illegal drugs. In addition, on June 13, 2003, Covington police arrested three individuals for prostitution-related charges at Liberty's Show Lounge, a sexually oriented cabaret in the city.
(L) As the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals noted in a decision addressing issues related to the Adult Entertainment ordinance in the City of Newport (Campbell County), there is a long history underlying efforts to regulate sex businesses in Northern Kentucky:
(1) Defendant City of Newport ("City" or "Newport") long ago gained a reputation as home to a veritable smorgasbord of vice, attracting patrons from across the nation. For decades, the small city was considered the Midwest's answer to Las Vegas, and leaders of organized crime were said to operate its gambling casinos and nightclubs.
(2) In the 1960's, public pressure began to demand that Newport be cleaned up. This pressure has continued until the present, with varying degrees of success.
(3) A 1986 report generated by the Newport Alcoholic Beverage Control Administrator indicated that of 28 adult bars opened since 1978 (including successive bars at the same site), 21 had had at least one prostitution-related conviction, and 18 had had multiple convictions. Def. Ex. K, p. 2. The report explained that "all of the prostitution in businesses with adult entertainment involved an alcoholic beverage as the median [sic] of exchange and the solicitation of such drinks by 'mixers.'" Id. In all, 98% of prostitution arrests in Newport occurred in the vicinity of these bars. Id. Adult entertainment establishments, which constituted 12% of all businesses serving alcohol, accounted for 17% of all police runs. Def. Ex. K, p. 21.
(4) A later review, conducted in 1990 by the Newport License Inspector, documented the continued prostitution arrests occurring at several adult dancing establishments. Def. Ex. G. Moreover, the City determined that over $70,000 was expended in 1990 to target, patrol and prosecute the illicit behavior occurring in and around the bars. Def. Ex. H.
(5) Several of Newport's citizens, merchants and church groups also opposed the presence of the semi-nude dancing clubs. These groups generally believed that the adult entertainment clubs were "clouds over [the] neighborhood that keep [it] from growing in the [right] direction." See Def. Ex. I (letter to Mayor from Taylors Landing Business District). Complaints commonly expressed were that the seamy establishments deterred other merchants from locating in Newport's business district, deterred shoppers, served a poor example for the City's youth, and generally tarnished the City's image. Id. Bright Lights, Inc., v. City of Newport, 830 F. Supp. 378, 380-81 (E. D. Ky. 1993).
(6) Based on those findings, the court went on to hold in relevant part:
(a) Having considered the matter carefully, the court concludes that some leeway must be afforded the reform efforts of the City Council of Newport. This body has been elected by the citizens to attempt to "clean up the image" of the City.
(b) To do this, it must overcome the sleazy impression of Newport and Northern Kentucky that survives from "the heyday" when things ran wide open; reform candidates were literally drugged and framed for morals offenses by public officials and police officers; the members of reform citizens groups were vilified and harassed; and a "liberal" in local parlance was a person favoring the continued open and notorious violation of the gambling and morals laws.
(c) To illustrate that the Council's perception of a need to clean up the image of the City is not paranoid, the court notes the following statements in a national magazine's satirical Chapter on Newport's big sister, the City of Cincinnati.
"The city's streets fairly shine; the odd titterer draws a scornful stare. Wide avenues, bosky side streets, the most inviting of thoroughfares. And clean. So clean. No X-rated movie theaters, no adult-book stores, no bare-breasted night joints soil these streets, all of them long ago jettisoned over to the Kentucky side of the river." (Peter Richmond, "Town Without Pity," Gentlemen's Quarterly, July 1993, at 102, 104.)
(7) This court holds that the City of Newport has the right to secede as Cincinnati's combat zone.
(8) The court holds that the City has "an important and substantial governmental interest" in advancing these reform goals, which interest is furthered by the ordinances in question. Barnes, 111 S. Ct. at 2461. The court further finds and holds that in the case of the City of Newport, given its unique history, the ordinances' "incidental restriction on alleged First Amendment freedoms is no greater than is essential to the furtherance of that interest." Id. (quoting O'Brien, 391 U.S. at 376-77, 88 S. Ct. at 1678-79).
(9) Newport's image affects that of all of Northern Kentucky, a community of nearly 300,000 people. That City and its community have the right to project a progressive and decent image. The nudity ordinances contribute to the enhancement of this interest and will be upheld. 830 F.Supp. at 384;
(M) The Supreme Court had earlier noted in upholding another regulation in Newport, "it is plain that, as in Bellanca, the interest in maintaining order outweighs the interest in free expression by dancing nude." Newport v. Iacobucci, 479 U.S. 92, 97, 93 L. Ed. 2d 334, 340, 107 S. Ct. 383, 386 (1986). Although the significance of the opinion itself is now questionable (see J&B Social Club # 1 v. City of Mobile, 966 F. Supp. 1131, 1135 (S.D. Ala. 1996)), the quoted part of the opinion stands unchallenged.
(N) The cities of Covington and Newport continue their efforts to improve their image. Since 1985 Covington has redeveloped its riverfront, creating several new office towers, high-end condominiums, hotels, and a convention center. In Newport, in conjunction with private development and Southbank Partners, Inc., the City has built a major entertainment center along the river. This initiative has promoted improved pedestrian and transit connections in Northern Kentucky's river cities to and from the stadiums and other attractions along the Cincinnati riverfront.
(O) Despite these efforts, the areas of downtown Covington and Newport away from the riverfront continue to suffer in many ways. The study by Kelly and Cooper found in the area near to existing sexually oriented uses a number of building vacancies and building maintenance falling far short of that found in the revitalized areas near the river.
(P) The City Council respects the Constitutional rights of its citizens, including the right to present certain types of entertainment that may not appeal to the entire population. Through this ordinance, it is the desire of the City Council to balance the Constitutional rights of businesses that present sexually oriented entertainment with the City Council interests in ensuring that this community not suffer from the same sorts of adverse effects that Covington and Newport have long suffered.
(Q) From long experience in Covington and Newport, as well as from the following studies and others not listed, the City Council also finds that such businesses may have primary and secondary effects involving crimes related to the activities in the establishments, of which prostitution and crimes of violence are those of greatest concern. See for example:
(1) "Final Report to the City of Garden Grove: The Relationship between Crime and Adult Business Operations on Garden Grove Boulevard," Richard W. McCleary, Ph.D., James W. Meeker, J.D., Ph.D., October 23, 1991.
(2) "Survey of Appraisers: Fort Worth and Dallas — Effects of Land Uses on Surrounding Property Values," Duncan Associates, Eric Damian Kelly, FAICP, and Connie B. Cooper, FAICP, September 2004.
(3) "Adult Entertainment Businesses in Indianapolis, An Analysis," 1984.
(4) "Adult Business Study," by City of Phoenix Planning Department, May 25, 1979.
(5) "Effects on Surrounding Area of Adult Entertainment Businesses in Saint Paul," June 1978, City of Saint Paul Division of Planning, Department of Planning and Management; and Community Crime Prevention Project, Minnesota Crime Control Planning Board.
(6) "Staff Report, Whittier City Planning Commission; Subject: Adult Business Regulations," July 11, 1994.
(7) "Adult Entertainment Study," Department of City Planning, City of New York, Second Printing, November 1994.
(8) "Adult Use Study," Newport News Department of Planning and Development, March 1996.
(9) "A Report on the Secondary Impact of Adult Use Businesses in the City of Denver," prepared by multiple city departments for Denver City Council, January 1998.
(10) "Survey of Appraisers in Monroe County, New York," Summer 2000. For detailed results of the survey, see Kelly and Cooper, Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Regulating Sex Businesses, Planning Advisory Service Report No. 495-96. Chicago: American Planning Association, 2000; pages 51-57.
(11) The Tucson "study" consisting of two memos: one from the Citizens Advisory Planning Committee, addressed to the Mayor and City Council, and dated May 14, 1990; and the other from an Assistant Chief of Police to the City Prosecutor, regarding "Adult Entertainment Ordinance," dated May 1, 1990.
(R) The City Council recognizes that some of the cited studies included bars without sexually oriented entertainment among the businesses studied; the City Council finds, nevertheless, that addressing the establishments that have live, sexually oriented entertainment is a more critical local issue than that of bars without such entertainment, for three reasons:
(1) Bars in Kentucky are already regulated by the Commonwealth, and those state regulations directly address many of the concerns that arise with the service of alcohol;
(2) The local history of prostitution and sex-related crimes has largely been related to businesses with live, sexually oriented entertainment, and not with other establishments that serve alcohol; and
(3) The interaction between dancers who are paid to work with very limited clothing and the customers who pay to see them work in the establishments with live entertainment creates a sexually charged environment and the opportunity to negotiate for the provision of additional services that do not involve dancing or other protected expression and that are simply unacceptable under the standards of the County and its citizens.
(S) As noted earlier in these findings, there is a long local history of prostitution and sex-related crimes at or incident to the operation of establishments with live, sexually oriented entertainment. Further, the studies shown herein provide further evidence of the potential crime-related secondary effects from such businesses. Although the methodologies and quality of these studies vary somewhat local experience has demonstrated to the City Council that the relationship between crime and such establishments is a fact in Northern Kentucky and not just a theory published in a study.
(T) The City Council has reviewed evidence and testimony presented at public meetings before the County, and information based on the past experiences of the Kenton and Campbell Counties and the cities of Covington and Newport, the experiences of the County Attorneys' offices prosecuting numerous and varied offenses that have occurred in and around the sexually oriented entertainment establishments, and based upon the documented experiences of other governmental units within Kentucky and elsewhere in dealing with the impact of sexually oriented entertainment, that such businesses can, if not properly regulated, be deleterious to said community.
(U) The City Council finds that the countywide licensing ordinance related to sexually oriented businesses and service oriented escort bureaus adopted by the Fiscal Court of Kenton County is an effective tool for addressing the many operational issues that can arise with such businesses.
(V) The City Council finds that amendments to the city’s Zoning Ordinance regarding the location and design of such businesses are important variables in the nature and extent of adverse secondary effects of sexually oriented businesses on the community, and further finds that location and design are among the types of issues that are typically addressed through zoning.
(W) Based on the recommendations of Kelly and Cooper, which are based on their experience in other communities and their review of the studies cited above and other local efforts to address such secondary effects the City Council finds that the following principles are essential to effective zoning controls of sexually oriented businesses:
(1) Sexually oriented businesses should, to the maximum extent practicable, be separated from one another by a distance that is greater than a convenient walking distance, because experience elsewhere has shown that the location of such businesses near one another may increase the adverse secondary effects, particularly those related to crime, by a greater than arithmetic factor;
(2) Although there are currently several such businesses located near one another in Covington's downtown area, the Covington City Commission has determined that the city will not attempt to require these existing businesses be relocated;
(3) Sexually oriented businesses have the greatest adverse effect on residential neighborhoods and should thus be separated to the maximum extent practicable from residential neighborhoods;
(4) Sexually oriented businesses are likely to attract criminal elements that prey on "soft targets," including children, and it is thus important to separate sexually oriented businesses from schools, parks, recreation centers, and religious institutions, all of which are places where children are likely to congregate, often without parental protection;
(5) Also because of the tendency of sexually oriented businesses to attract criminal elements that prey on soft targets, it is important to seek locations for such businesses that are not located along pedestrian routes, where young people, old people and others who are vulnerable, are likely to walk in going about their day-to-day business. Thus, locations to which the primary access is by automobile minimize the risk of persons going about their daily business encountering persons who are visiting or even loitering around the sexually oriented business;
(6) Experiences in other communities show that private booths, back rooms, "VIP" rooms and other small and private spaces in sexually oriented businesses create the opportunity for casual sexual activity and create logistical difficulties and risks of physical endangerment for police officers responsible for dealing with such activities. For that reason, it is essential that movies, performances and other activities at sexually oriented businesses should be permitted only in large rooms that are open and visible to management, other patrons and code and police officers who may visit the establishment during operating hours.
(X) Findings. The facts and other matters set forth in divisions (A) through (W) that form the preamble to this chapter are hereby adopted as findings of fact in support of the legislative action of the City Council in adopting this amendment to the Zoning Ordinance. Upon adoption of this zoning amendment, these shall be incorporated into the Zoning Code by reference as if fully set forth therein to the adopting Resolution.
(Ord. 1560-2006, passed 9-12-06)