(A) This chapter is intended to regulate “adult uses”, those premises, enterprises, establishments, businesses or places open to some or all members of the public, at or in which there is an emphasis on the presentation, display, depiction or description of “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas”, which are capable of being seen by members of the public.
(B) The nature of adult uses is such that they are recognized as having adverse secondary impacts, based upon studies of the impacts that adult establishments have on their surrounding communities. These studies have been conducted by the state’s Attorney General, the county and cities such as St. Paul and Alexandria, Minnesota.
(C) (1) The adverse secondary impacts found in the studies include increased crime rates, decreased property values, increased transiency, neighborhood blight and potential health risks. These impacts are particularly apparent when they are accessible to minors and located near residential properties or residential uses such as schools, day care centers, libraries or parks. The nature of the adult uses require that they not be allowed within certain zoning districts, or set back a minimum distance from each other, or other residential uses.
(2) Special regulation of these uses is necessary to ensure that the adverse secondary effects would not contribute or enhance criminal activity in the area of the uses, nor will it contribute to the blighting or downgrading of the surrounding property and lessening of its value.
(D) (1) The standards in this chapter reflect the prevailing community standards in the city.
(2) This chapter is intended to prevent harm stemming from the physical immediacy and combination of alcohol, nudity and sex. The City Council also desires to prevent any subliminal endorsement of sexual harassment or activities likely to lead to the possibility of various acts of criminal conduct such as prostitution, sexual assault and disorderly conduct.
(2001 Code, § 10.02)