Sexually-oriented business uses have additional regulations imposed to protect children from accidental or other exposure to sexually-oriented materials and activities and because of the likelihood to produce harmful secondary health, safety, and aesthetic effects on residential neighborhoods and other specified land uses. These regulations are not adopted for the purpose of restricting or prohibiting any protected speech associated with sexually-oriented business land uses. The Supreme Court and lower federal courts have recognized a number of possible secondary effects of sexually oriented businesses, including: decline of character of a community’s neighborhoods and quality of life; increase of crime (e.g., prostitution, drug sales); spread of disease, particularly sexually transmitted diseases; degeneration of the social and moral order; and harm to children.
Given the documented harmful secondary effects of sexually-oriented businesses on adjacent neighborhoods and specific land uses, the following specific, reasonable and uniform regulations have been developed to protect the public health and safety of the residents of the municipality.
(a) Permitted and Prohibited Land Uses.
(1) Permitted Land Uses. Sexually-oriented businesses permitted in the City may include the following land uses as defined in Title Seven (Definitions):
A. Sexually-oriented arcade;
B. Sexually-oriented media store;
C. Sexually-oriented cabaret;
D. Sexually-oriented motel;
E. Sexually-oriented theater;
(2) Prohibited Land Uses. Sexually-oriented businesses prohibited in the City include the following land uses as defined in Title Seven (Definitions) and any other sexually-oriented businesses not addressed in this Zoning Ordinance:
A. Sexually-oriented escort agency;
B. Sexually-oriented studio;
C. Sexually-oriented encounter center;
D. Sexually-oriented spa.
(b) Accessory Uses.
(1) A sexually-oriented business use may not be an accessory use.
(2) No two sexually-oriented business uses separately-defined herein may be located in the same premises or on the same lot.
(3) Gambling. No sexually-oriented business establishment shall allow gambling or provide games, machines, tables, or implements for gambling.
(c) Separation Requirements. For the purpose of this Section, measurement shall be made in a straight line, without regard to the intervening structures or objects, from the nearest portion of the structure used as the part of the premises where a sexually-oriented business is conducted, to the nearest property line of the premises of a use listed above in this section. Presence of a municipal, county, or other political subdivision boundary shall be irrelevant for purposes of calculating and applying the distance requirements of this Section.
(1) No sexually-oriented business shall be established within seven hundred fifty (750) feet of any:
A. Residential Zoning District R-1, R-2, R-2A, R-3, R-4, and others as they may be established;
B. Planned Unit Development that includes residential land uses; or
C. Library, educational institution, park, recreational facility, religious place of worship, child day care facility, playground, or swimming pool.
(2) No sexually-oriented business shall be established within five hundred (500) feet of any:
A. Other sexually-oriented business;
B. Bar, tavern, or other establishment offering the sale of beer or intoxicating liquor for consumption on the premises regulated by the Ohio Division of Liquor Control (Ohio R.C. Title 43).
(d) Prohibited Public Display. No displays, promotions, or advertisement which depict or describe specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas shall be shown, distributed or exhibited so as to be visible to the public from any other privately owned property, pedestrian sidewalks or walkways, or from other public or semi- public areas.
(e) Public View to Be Prevented. All building openings, entries, windows, and doors of sexually oriented businesses shall be located, covered, or serviced in such a manner as to prevent a view into the interior from any other privately owned property, pedestrian sidewalks or walkways, or from other public or semi-public areas. For new construction, the building shall be oriented so as to minimize any possibility of viewing the interior from any other privately owned property, pedestrian sidewalks or walkways, or from other public or semi-public areas.
(f) External Audio and Visual Impact. No screens, loudspeakers, or sound equipment used for sexually-oriented motion picture theaters (enclosed or drive-in) or any other sexually-oriented businesses shall be operated in such a manner as to be seen or discerned by the general public from any other privately owned property, pedestrian sidewalks or walkways, or from other public or semi-public areas.
(g) Exterior Signage. Exterior identification signage is permitted subject to other applicable provisions of these regulations. However, to limit exposure of sexual images to minors, no exterior signage shall include sexually-explicit messages, graphics, drawings, or other illustrations of specified sexual anatomical areas or specified sexual activities.
(h) Design Standards. The following design standards shall apply to all sexually- oriented businesses except for the sleeping quarters of sexually-oriented motel rooms:
(1) Public areas. Each application for a sexually oriented business shall contain a diagram of the premises, drawn to scale, showing the location of all manager’s stations, viewing rooms, public restrooms, and shall designate all portions of the premises in which patrons will not be permitted.
(2) All flooring, wall surfaces, and seating surfaces shall be constructed of, or permanently covered by, nonporous, easily disinfected material.
(3) No walls in public areas of the establishment may have any holes or other openings of any kind. It shall be duty of the operator to regularly inspect the walls and prevent entry of any patrons into any room found to contain such holes or other openings until such time as the wall has been repaired to remove the opening.
(4) A sign shall be clearly posted in well-lighted entry areas of the establishment stating all of the following:
A. That no loitering is permitted in viewing rooms.
B. That occupancy of viewing rooms is limited to one person at a time.
C. That sexual activity on the premises is prohibited.
D. That the making of openings between viewing rooms is prohibited.
E. That animals, except seeing eye dogs required to assist the blind, are prohibited.
F. That violators will be required to leave the premises.
G. That violations of these requirements are unlawful.
(5) Manager’s Stations. A manager’s station shall not exceed thirty-two (32) square feet of floor area and 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, except public restrooms, from at least one of the manager’s stations. The view required from a manager’s station must be by direct line of sight and shall remain unobstructed by any doors, curtains, walls, merchandise, display racks, or other materials or enclosures. It shall be the duty of the establishment to ensure that at least one employee is on duty and situated in each manager’s station at all times that any patron is on the premises.
(6) Viewing Rooms. All rooms, booths, or areas less than one hundred fifty (150) square feet, except restrooms, where a patron would be positioned while watching sexually-oriented type of material or performances shall be restricted to use by one person at all times, shall be open to public view at all times from the interior of the building, and shall be configured in such a manner that there is an unobstructed view of the viewing room from a manager’s station.
(7) Restrooms. Separate male and female restrooms shall be provided for and used by sexually-oriented business establishment employees and patrons. All restrooms in a sexually-oriented business establishment shall be equipped with standard toilets, sinks, and other traditional lavatory facilities. Restrooms shall not contain video reproduction equipment. No sexually-oriented materials or live performances shall be provided or allowed at any time in the restrooms of a sexually-oriented business establishment.
(8) Non-Public Interior Areas. Areas where patrons will not be admitted are to be locked and posted with signage clearly indicating that patrons may not enter or be admitted.
(9) Overhead Lighting. The interior of the premises shall be equipped with overhead lighting fixtures of sufficient intensity to illuminate every place to which patrons are permitted access at an illumination of not less than one foot candle as measured at the floor level. Such lighting shall be maintained at all times the establishment is open to the public.
(i) Sexually-Oriented Live Performances. Any person engaging in a sexually-oriented live performance shall be restricted to a stage elevated at least eighteen (18) inches above floor level. Such stage shall be a distance of at least three (3) feet from all parts of a clearly designated area in which patrons may be present, separated by a barrier or railing the top of which is at least three (3) feet above floor level.
(1) A sign shall be clearly posted on the railing that no person may extend any part of his or her body over or beyond the barrier or railing.
(2) Any such tips or gratuities must be placed into a receptacle provided by management for receipt of such tips and gratuities or shall be placed on or near the stage on which the employee or other person is performing.
(3) A sign shall be posted and clearly visible to patrons upon entry to the sexually oriented business stating:
A. An employee may not touch the breast, buttocks, or genitals of a patron, nor may a patron touch the breast, buttocks, or genitals of an employee; and
B. A patron may not place any money on the person or in or on the costume of an employee.
(j) Obscene or Criminal Activity Prohibited. No sexually-oriented business shall allow media, matter, visual representations, live performances, or services of an obscene nature, as defined herein, on the premises. No sexually-oriented business shall encourage or allow prostitution or other criminal activity to occur on the premises.
(Ord. 2008-06. Passed 4-14-08.)