(a) Nothing contained in this chapter is intended, or shall be construed, to permit or authorize activities which are unlawful under state law or Council Ordinance. It is unlawful and a violation of this chapter for an operator to knowingly or intentionally violate the provisions of this chapter or to allow, either knowingly or intentionally, an employee or a patron to violate the provisions of this chapter. It shall be a defense to prosecution that the person prosecuted was powerless to prevent the violation.
(b) No person shall knowingly or intentionally, in a sexually oriented business, appear before a patron or patrons in a state of nudity, regardless of whether such public nudity is expressive in nature.
(c) No employee shall knowingly or intentionally, in a sexually oriented business, appear within view of any patron in a semi-nude condition unless the employee, while semi-nude, shall be and remain at least five (5) feet from all patrons and on a fixed stage at least twenty (20) inches from the floor and at least thirty (30) inches from all parts of a clearly designated area in which patrons will be present.
(d) The interior of the premises shall be configured in such a manner that there is an unobstructed view from an operator's station of every area of the premises, including the interior of each viewing room but excluding restrooms, to which any patron is permitted access for any purpose. If the premises has two (2) or more operator's stations designated, then the interior of the premises shall be configured in such a manner that there is an unobstructed view of each area of the premises to which any patron is permitted access for any purpose from at least one (1) of the operator's stations. The view required in this paragraph must be by direct line of sight from the operator's station. It is the duty of the operator to ensure that at least one (1) employee is on duty and situated in an operator's station at all times that any patron is on the portion of the premises monitored by that operator station. It shall be the duty of the operator, and it shall also be the duty of any employees present on the premises, to ensure that the view area specified in this paragraph remains unobstructed by any doors, curtains, walls, merchandise, display racks or other materials or enclosures at all times that any patron is present on the premises.
(e) Sexually oriented businesses that do not have stages or interior configurations which meet at least the minimum requirements of this section shall be given one hundred eighty (180) days from the effective date of this section to comply with the stage and building requirements of this section. During said one hundred eighty (180) days, any employee who appears within view of any patron in a semi-nude condition shall nevertheless remain, while semi-nude, at least five (5) feet from all patrons.
(f) No patron who is not a member of the employee's immediate family shall knowingly touch an employee while that employee is nude or seminude or touch the clothing of any employee while that employee is nude or semi-nude.
(g) No employee who regularly appears nude or seminude on the premises of a sexually oriented business and while nude or seminude, shall knowingly touch a patron who is not a member of the employee's immediate family or another employee who is not a member of the employee's immediate family or the clothing of a patron who is not a member of the employee's immediate family or another employee who is not a member of the employee's immediate family or allow the patron who is not a member of the employee's immediate family or another employee who is not a member of the employee's immediate family to touch the employee or the clothing of the employee.
(h) Minors Prohibited. No person under the age of 18 years shall be permitted on the premises of a sexually oriented business.
(i) Hours of Operation. No sexually oriented business shall be or remain open for business between 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m. on any day, except that a sexually oriented business that holds a liquor permit pursuant to Chapter 4303 of the Ohio Revised Code may remain open until the hour specified in that permit if it does not conduct, offer, or allow sexually oriented business activity in which the performers appear nude.
(j) The provisions of Section 535.03, Unlawful Activities, shall not apply to an employee's use of any restroom or any single-sex dressing room that is accessible only to employees, and live performances in which the patron and employee are separated by an impenetrable barrier such as, but not limited too, glass or Plexiglas.
(Ord. 10-15. Passed 4-1-10.)