The City Council finds that certain sexually-explicit entertainment activities which may become located near areas zoned for residential use, schools, public parks, and similar open spaces that cater to use by family groups and children, would adversely affect the visibility of such properties and create a public nuisance that:
(A) The city and the U.S. government through development and neighborhood enhancement projects over the past years have attempted to eliminate blight and to further prevent deterioration of the city’s neighborhoods;
(B) Certain sexually-explicit entertainment, because of the conditions of their operations, may contribute to an increased incidence of crime and juvenile delinquency;
(C) Certain sexually-explicit entertainment facilities tend to attract undesirable clientele that discourage neighborhood residents from undertaking civic improvements and cause residents and businesses to move elsewhere and/or may frustrate attempts to attract new residents and businesses to come into a particular area, all of which factors in and contributes to a diminution of property values and to a general deterioration of the city’s neighborhoods;
(D) The establishment of small closet-like rooms or booths at sexually-explicit amusement facilities in the city may encourage persons to loiter for illegitimate purposes and may encourage lewd conduct in public places, thereby creating a public nuisance and a danger to health and safety;
(E) The concentration of sexually-explicit movies and books and sexual paraphernalia in the city, and the establishment of businesses that house sexually-explicit movies and hotel rooms which may be rented by the hour to couples may afford appealing and visible meeting place to ply their trade; that this may create public nuisance or may impose supermarkets of sex on otherwise respectable city neighborhoods;
(F) The value of free expression in a free society can be protected by affording an opportunity for products and services will be just as available to the public wishing to pay for them, but with dramatically less deleterious effect on abutting neighborhoods;
(G) The noise generated by patrons coming and going from sexually-explicit entertainment activity establishments may cause a substantial disruption to nearby residents, and a modest curtailment of the hours during which entertainment is offered to patrons coming and going from such establishments would afford some relief to persons residing nearby, without significantly interfering with the availability of the offered entertainment therein;
(H) Sexually-explicit entertainment establishments which may have integrated several forms of sexually-explicit entertainment in one business premise have had a greater blighting effect on surrounding land uses than have establishments which engage in only one form of sexually-explicit entertainment; that the regulation of escort services providing sexually-explicit services will deter prostitution and public indecency and will secure the public health and safety of the city;
(I) Nationally there is extensive involvement of organized crime in the business of sexually-explicit entertainment activities which is regulated pursuant to this chapter; and
(J) The disclosure of the names of persons who own, as well as the names of the persons who operate such sexually-explicit bookstores and other sexually-explicit entertainment establishments would aid law enforcement officials in the enforcement of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), being 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961 et seq., as well as the enforcement of the laws of the commonwealth prohibiting the distribution of obscene matter; use of minors to distribute obscene matter, advertising of obscene matter, distribution of obscene matter to minors; promoting sale of obscenity; the use of a minor in a sexual performance; the distribution of portrayal of sexual performance by a minor; promotion of material portraying a sexual performance by a minor; the advertising of material portraying a sexual performance by a minor; and the use of a minor to distribute material portraying a sexual performance by a minor.
(Ord. 685-01, passed - -)