Studies conducted by the American Planning Association, the Minnesota attorney general's office and the governments of St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Ramsey, Minnesota; St. Croix County, Wisconsin; Denver and Adams Counties, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; Phoenix, Arizona; Los Angeles, California; Rochester - Olmsted County, Minnesota; Indianapolis, Indiana; Seattle, Washington; and the Texas City Attorneys' Association have investigated the impacts that adult establishments have in their communities. These studies have concluded that adult establishments have negative secondary impacts on surrounding neighborhoods. Those impacts included increased crime rates, lower property values, increased transiency, neighborhood blight and potential health risks. The Rosemount 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 smaller city. Based on these studies and findings, the city council concludes:
A. Minnesota statutes, section 462.357, allows the city to adopt regulations to promote the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare.
B. The public health, safety, morals and general welfare will be promoted by the city adopting regulations governing adult establishments.
C. Adult establishments have adverse secondary impacts of the type found in the studies referenced in this section.
D. The adverse impacts caused by adult establishments tend to diminish if adult establishments are governed by location requirements, licensing requirements and health requirements.
E. It is not the intent to prohibit adult establishments from having a reasonable opportunity to locate in the city.
F. 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 adult establishment fully in possession and control of the premises and activities occurring therein.
G. The fact that an applicant for an adult use license has been convicted of a certain crime leads to the rational assumption that the applicant may engage in that conduct in contravention of this chapter.
H. Smaller cities experience many of the same adverse impacts of adult establishments present in larger communities. (Ord. 2013-03, 5-21-2013)