(A) Decision deadline. The Mayor or his or her designee shall grant or deny an application for a permit within 30 days from the date of its proper filing. Upon the expiration of the thirtieth day, unless the applicant requests and is granted a reasonable extension of time, the applicant shall be permitted to begin operating the business for which the permit is sought, unless and until the city or its designee notifies the applicant of a denial of the application and states the reason(s) for that denial.
(B) Grant of application for permit.
(1) The Mayor or his or her designee shall grant the application unless one or more of the criteria set forth in division (C) below is present.
(2) The permit, if granted, shall state on its face the name of the person or persons to whom it is granted, the expiration date, and the address of the sexually oriented business. The permit shall also indicate that the sexually oriented business, whether permitted or not, may be subject to indecency pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc., 501 U.S., III S.Ct. 2456 (June 21, 1991). The permit shall be posted in a conspicuous place at or near the entrance to the sexually oriented business so that it can be read easily at any time.
(C) Denial of application for permit.
(1) The Mayor or his or her designee shall deny the application for any of the following reasons:
(a) An applicant is under 18 years of age;
(b) An applicant or an applicant’s spouse is overdue on his or her payment to the city of taxes, fees, fines, or penalties assessed against him or her or imposed upon him or her in relation to a sexually oriented business;
(c) An applicant is residing with a person who has been denied a permit by the city to operate a sexually oriented business within the preceding 12 months, or residing with a person whose permit to operate a sexually oriented business has been revoked within the preceding 12 months;
(d) An applicant has failed to provide information required by this subchapter or permit application for the issuance of the permit or has knowingly falsely answered a question or request for information on the application form;
(e) The premises to be used for the sexually oriented business have not been approved as being in compliance with health, fire, and building codes by the department or agency responsible under law for investigating that compliance;
(f) The application or permit fees required by this chapter have not been paid;
(h) The granting of the application would violate a statute, ordinance, or court order;
(i) The applicant has a permit under this chapter which has been suspended or revoked;
(j) An applicant has been convicted of a specified criminal act for which:
1. Less than two years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement, whichever is the later date, if the conviction is of an infraction offense for the specified criminal acts, which are sexual crimes against children, sexual abuse, rape, or crimes connected with another sexually oriented business including, but not limited to, distribution of obscenity or material harmful to minors, prostitution, pandering, or tax violations;
2. Less than five years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement, whichever is the later date, if the conviction is of a felony offense; for the specified criminal acts which are sexual crimes against children, sexual abuse, rape, or crimes connected with another sexually oriented business including, but not limited to, distribution of obscenity or material harmful to minors, prostitution, pandering, or tax violations;
3. Less than five years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement, whichever is the later date, if the convictions are of two or more misdemeanor offenses for specified criminal acts, which are sexual crimes against children, sexual abuse, rape, or crimes connected with another sexually oriented business including, but not limited to, distribution of obscenity or materials harmful to minors, prostitution, pandering, or tax violations; offenses occurring within any 24-month period;
4. The fact that a conviction is being appealed shall have no effect on the disqualification of the applicant; and
5. An applicant who has been convicted of the above described specified criminal acts may qualify for a sexually oriented business permit only when the time period required above in this division (C)(1)(j) has elapsed.
(k) An applicant knowingly has in his or her employ, an employee who does not have a valid license as required by this chapter.
(2) If the Mayor or his or her designee denies the application, he or she shall notify the applicant of the denial and state the reason(s) for the denial. The denied applicant shall have an opportunity for appeal of the Mayor or designee’s decision as set forth in § 116.40 of this code.
(3) If a person applies for a permit for a particular location within a period of 12 months from the date of denial of a previous application for a permit at the location, and there has not been an intervening change in the circumstances which could reasonably be expected to lead to a different decision regarding the former reasons for denial, the application shall be denied.
(1987 Code, § 4-110) (Ord. 39, 1998, passed 4-13-1998)