(A) Authority. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that sexually-explicit speech, including nude dancing, is entitled to some level of protection under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. As a result, municipalities may not ban adult establishments. However, the Supreme Court has ruled that cities may adopt content-neutral zoning and licensing provisions to regulate and control the adverse secondary effects of adult establishments on the community.
(B) Findings of the City Council. The Minnesota Attorney General's Office and the cities of St. Paul, Alexandria, and Rochester, Minnesota, as well as Indianapolis, Indiana; Phoenix, Arizona; Los Angeles, California; Seattle, Washington, St. Croix County, Wisconsin; and Adams County, Colorado; have conducted studies of the impact of adult establishments on their respective communities. These studies have concluded that adult establishments have an adverse impact on the surrounding neighborhoods. Those impacts include increased crime rates, lower property values, increased transiency, neighborhood blight, and potential health risks. The City Council is relying on the studies, many of which were conducted in larger cities, recognizing that the same or similar adverse impacts could occur in a small city such as the City of Mora. The findings are based upon the experiences of other cities where such businesses have located. Based on these studies, the City Council makes the following findings regarding the need to regulate adult establishments:
(1) Adult establishments have adverse secondary impacts of the types set forth above.
(2) The adverse impacts caused by adult establishments tend to diminish if adult establishments are governed by location and licensing requirements.
(3) The city may adopt regulations to promote the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare.
(4) The public health, safety, morals, and general welfare will be promoted by regulations governing adult establishments.
(5) Adult establishments can contribute to increased criminal activity and police calls in the area in which they are located, taxing law enforcement services.
(6) Adult establishments can be used as fronts for prostitution and other criminal activity. The experience of other cities indicates that the proper management and operation of such businesses can, however, minimize this risk.
(7) Adult establishments can cause or contribute to public health problems by the presence of live adult entertainment in conjunction with food and/or drink on the same premises.
(8) Many members of the public perceive areas within which adult establishments are located as less safe than other areas that do not have such uses.
(9) The adverse impact that adult establishments have on the surrounding area diminishes as the distance from the adult establishments increases.
(10) A reasonable licensing procedure is an appropriate mechanism to place the burden of reasonable regulation on the owners and the operators of the adult establishment. A licensing procedure will place an incentive on the operators to see that the adult establishment is run in a manner consistent with the health, safety, and welfare of its patrons and employees, as well as the citizens of the city. It is appropriate to require reasonable assurances that the licensee is the actual operator of the sexually-oriented business, fully in possession and control of the premises and activities occurring therein.
(11) The fact that an applicant for an adult use license has been convicted of a sexually-related crime leads to the rational assumption that the applicant may engage in that conduct in contravention of this chapter.
(12) The barring of individuals with sexually-related criminal convictions from the management of adult establishments for a period of years serves as a deterrent to and prevents conduct which may lead to the transmission of sexually-transmitted diseases.
(13) The general health, safety, and welfare of the community is promoted by prohibiting nudity in adult establishments. This prohibition is based on concerns of potential adverse effects such as prostitution, the transmission of sexually-transmitted diseases, exposure to minors, obscenity, and unsanitary conditions in public places.
(14) Small cities experience many of the same adverse impacts of adult establishments present in larger communities.
(C) Purpose. It is the purpose of this chapter to regulate adult establishments to promote the health, safety, morals, and general welfare of the citizens of the city and to establish reasonable and uniform regulations to:
(1) Prevent criminal activity within the city;
(2) To allow for efficient and effective law enforcement services in the city;
(3) Prevent deterioration of neighborhoods and its consequent adverse effect on real estate values of properties within the neighborhood;
(4) To locate adult establishments away from residential areas, schools, parks and places of worship;
(5) To provide a content-neutral, objective, licensing scheme that allows the city to monitor adult establishments for violations of building and health codes; and
(6) Prevent ownership of adult establishments by persons with prior, relevant criminal convictions.
(D) Reasonable opportunity. The provisions of this chapter do not prohibit adult establishments from having a reasonable opportunity to locate in the city. This chapter is not for the purpose of, nor is it intended to, impose a limitation or restriction on the content of any communicative materials, including adult-oriented materials. Similarly, it is neither the intent nor effect of this chapter to restrict or deny access by adults to adult-oriented materials protected by the first amendment or to deny access by distributors and exhibitors of adult-oriented entertainment to their intended market.