(a) Business requirements for posting sign concerning intent to locate sexually oriented businesses.
(1) An applicant for a specialized certificate of occupancy for a location for which a specialized certificate of occupancy has not previously been issued shall post an outdoor sign at the location in compliance with Tex. Local Government Code § 243.0075, as amended, not later than the sixtieth day before submitting the application for a specialized certificate of occupancy to the planning and development department.
(2) The sign shall comply with the following requirements:
a. The sign must be at least 24 by 36 inches in size;
b. All letters must be at least two inches in height and one and one-half inches in width for each letter on the sign;
c. The sign shall state that a sexually oriented business is intended to be located on the premises;
d. The sign shall provide the name and business address of the owner and operator;
e. All required information must be presented in both English and Spanish;
f. All required information must read horizontally from left to right; and
g. The sign shall be prominently posted such that it is clearly legible from the public right-of-way.
(3) The operator of a proposed sexually oriented business shall notify the development services director, by certified mail or hand delivery, when a sign is posted at the intended location of the business in compliance with Tex. Local Government Code § 243.0075, as amended. The notification must be in the form of a sworn statement indicating the location of the sign and the date it was posted and must be received by the development services director within five days after the posting of the sign. If the development services director receives the notification within five days after the sign was posted, the 60-day posting period required by § 243.0075 shall be deemed to begin on the posting date. If the notification is received by the development services director more than five days after the sign was posted, the 60-day posting requirement shall be deemed to begin on the date the development services director verifies the sign has been posted.
(4) When a sign is posted at an intended location of a sexually oriented business and the intended location is not in violation of the distance requirements set out in this article on the posting date, the sexually oriented business will qualify as a conforming use with regard to the distance requirements and will not be rendered nonconforming by any location, subsequent to the posting of the sign, of a religious institution, school, public park or residential district within 1,000 feet of the posted location.
(5) Subsection (a)(4) above does not apply if:
a. A completed application for a specialized certificate of occupancy for a proposed sexually oriented business is not filed with the planning and development department within 20 days after the expiration of the 60-day posting requirement under Tex. Local Government Code § 243.0075, as amended;
b. The application for a specialized certificate of occupancy is withdrawn or denied; or
c. The notification requirements of subsection (a)(2) above are not met.
(b) Signs at each public entrance.
(1) The operator shall maintain at least one conspicuous permanently mounted sign, presented in both English and Spanish, at each public entrance, in accordance with the city’s sign codes, of a size of at least 18 inches in height and 24 inches in width, easily visible and legible to all persons prior to entry into the establishment, with all letters at least one-half inch in height and three-quarters of an inch in width for each letter on the sign which contains a statement to the effect:
“THIS IS A SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENT WHICH REGULARLY FEATURES [description of the type of activity or merchandise as permitted herein]. IF NUDITY OR ACTIVITY OF A SEXUAL NATURE OFFENDS YOU, DO NOT COME IN. NO PERSON UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE ALLOWED ENTRY”
[If alcoholic beverages are sold or consumed on the premises] - “NO PERSON UNDER 21 YEARS OF AGE ALLOWED ENTRY”
(c) Exterior signs.
(1) Notwithstanding any provision of the City of Fort Worth code or any other city ordinance, code or regulation to the contrary, the owner or operator of any sexually oriented business or any other person commits an offense if he or she erects, constructs or maintains any on-premises sign for the establishment other than one primary sign and one secondary sign as provided in this section.
(2) A primary sign may have no more than two display surfaces. Each display must:
a. Not contain any flashing lights;
b. Be a flat plane, excluding the lettering; and
c. Be rectangular in shape.
(3) A secondary sign may have only one display surface. The display surface must:
a. Not contain any flashing lights;
b. Be a flat plane, excluding the lettering;
c. Be rectangular in shape; and
d. Be affixed or attached to a wall or door of the establishment.
(4) A primary or secondary sign must contain no photographs, silhouettes, drawings or pictorial representations or any manner, and may contain only the name of the establishment; and/or one or more of the following phrases:
a. “Adult arcade;”
b. “Adult bookstore or adult video store;”
c. “Adult cabaret;”
d. “Adult motel;”
e. “Adult motion picture theater;”
f. “Escort agency;”
g. “Adult model studio;” and/or
h. “Sexual encounter center.”
(5) A primary sign for an adult motion picture theater may contain the phrase, “movie titles posted on premises,” in addition to the phrases listed in subsection (d)(4) above.
(6) Each letter forming a word on a primary or secondary sign must be of a solid color, and each letter must be the same print-type, size and color. The background behind the lettering on the display surface of a primary or secondary sign must be of a uniform and solid color.
(7) Notwithstanding the sign requirements of this article and signs lawfully operating sexually oriented business on September 27, 2004 may continue to be maintained on the premises, until:
a. The sign is intentionally removed or destroyed by the owner or operator of the sexually oriented business or abandoned by the owner or operator of the sexually oriented business; or
b. The city requires removal, relocation or reconstruction of the sign in accordance with state law.
(8) Any sign located on the premises of a commercial multi-unit center containing an enterprise that displays the name or any portion of the name of the enterprise, any name under which any enterprise was formerly operated on the premises, or that contains any of the terms set for the in subsection (c)(4) of this section or any other terminology that is commonly used to identify, or is associated with the presence of a sexually oriented business, shall comply with all restrictions of this section. The intent of this subsection (c)(8) is to prevent the use of signage identifying the commercial multi-tenant center itself from being used as a subterfuge to evade the restrictions on sexually oriented business signs set forth in this section.
(Ord. 16118, § 1, passed 9-14-2004; Ord. 17522, §§ 5, 6, passed 4-24-2007; Ord. 24030-02-2020, § 22, passed 2-4-2020)