No person, firm, or corporation shall own or operate an adult establishment without having first secured a license as provided for in this chapter.
(A) Applications. The application for an adult establishment license shall be submitted on a form provided by the city and shall include:
(1) The name, residence, phone number, and birth date of the applicant, if an individual; and if a corporation, the names, residences, phone numbers, and birth dates of those owners holding more than 5% of the outstanding stock of the corporation;
(2) The name, address, phone number, and birth date of the manager of the operation, if different from the owners;
(3) The address and legal description of the premises where the adult establishment is to be located;
(4) A statement detailing each gross misdemeanor or felony relating to a sex offense and/or the operation of adult uses and related activities of which the applicant, or in the case of a corporation, the owners of more than 0% of the outstanding stock of the corporation, have been convicted, and whether or not the applicant has ever applied for or held a license to operate a similar type of business in other communities;
(5) The activities and types of business to be conducted;
(6) The hours of operation, which shall be limited to Monday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. through 10:00 p.m.;
(7) The provisions made to restrict access by minors; and
(8) A building plan of the premises detailing all internal operations and activities.
(B) License fees.
(1) Each application for a license shall be accompanied by a receipt from the city for payment in full of the required fee for the license. All fees shall be paid into the general fund of the municipality. Upon rejection of any applications for a license, the Finance Director shall refund the amount paid.
(2) All licenses shall expire on the last day of December in each year. Each license shall be issued for a period of 1 year, except that if a portion of the license year has elapsed when the application is made, a license may be issued for the remainder of the year for a pro rated fee. In computing the fee, any unexpired fraction of a month shall be counted as 1 month.
(3) The annual license fee for adult establishments shall be in the amount as set forth in the current city fee schedule.
(4) No part of the fee paid for any license shall be refunded except in the following instances upon application to the City Council within 30 days from the happening of the event. There shall be refunded a pro rata portion of the fee for the unexpired period of the license, computed on a monthly basis, when operation of the licensed business ceases not less than 1 month before expiration of the license because of:
(a) Destruction or damage of the licensed premises by fire or other catastrophe;
(b) The licensee’s illness;
(c) The licensee’s death; or
(d) A change in the legal status making it unlawful for the licensed business to continue.
(C) Granting of license.
(1) The City Council, or such persons as they shall designate, shall complete their investigation within 30 days after the City Council Administrator receives a complete application and all license and investigative fees.
(2) If the application is for a renewal, the applicant shall be allowed to continue business until the City Council has determined to renew or refuse to renew a license.
(3) If, after such investigation, it appears that the applicant and the place proposed for the business are eligible for a license under the criteria set forth in this section, then the license shall be issued by the City Council within 30 days after the investigation is completed. Otherwise the license shall be denied.
(4) Each license shall be issued to the applicant only and shall not be transferable to another holder. Each license shall be issued only for the premises described in the application. No license may be transferred to another premises without the approval of the City Council. If the licensee is a partnership or a corporation, a change in identity of any of the principals of the partnership or corporation shall be deemed a transfer of the license. All adult establishments existing at the time of the adoption of this section shall be required to obtain an annual license.
(5) An applicant for any license under this section shall deposit with the city at the time an original application is submitted, an amount as set forth in the current city fee schedule to cover the costs involved in verifying the license application and to cover the expense of any investigation needed to assure compliance with this section. If the investigation and verification process is conducted outside the State of Minnesota, the city may require the actual investigation costs not exceeding the amount set forth in the current city fee schedule.
(D) Persons ineligible for license. No license shall be granted to or held by any person:
(1) Under 18;
(2) Who has been convicted of a felony or of violating any law of this state or local ordinance relating to sex offenses and/or adult establishments; or
(3) Who is not the proprietor of the establishment for which the license is issued.
(E) Places ineligible for license.
(1) No license shall be granted for adult establishments on any premises where the owner or the applicant has been convicted of a violation of this chapter, or where any license hereunder has been revoked for cause, until 1 year has elapsed after the conviction or revocation.
(2) Except for uses lawfully existing at the time of this chapter adoption, no license shall be granted for any adult establishment, which is not in compliance with the city’s zoning regulations. Light Industrial District.
(F) Conditions of license.
(1) Every license shall be granted subject to the following conditions and all other provisions of this chapter, and of any applicable sections of the code of the city, or state or federal law which ever is more restrictive.
(2) All licensed premises shall have the license posted in a conspicuous place at all times.
(3) No minor shall be permitted on the licensed premises under age 18.
(4) Any designated inspection officer of the city shall have the unqualified right to enter, inspect, and search the premises of a licensee during business hours.
(5) Every licensee shall be responsible for the conduct of his or her place of business and shall maintain conditions of order.
(6) An adult use-principal business shall not sell or dispense nonintoxicating or intoxicating liquors nor shall it be located in a building which contains a business that sells or dispenses nonintoxicating or intoxicating liquors.
(G) Additional conditions for adult entertainment centers. In addition to all other conditions set forth in this chapter, the following conditions apply to adult entertainment centers.
(1) No owner, operator, or manager of an adult entertainment center shall permit or allow any dancer or other live entertainer to perform nude, in such a way as to expose specified anatomical areas.
(2) No dancer, live entertainer, patron, or any other person shall expose specified anatomical areas in an adult entertainment center.
(3) The owner, operator, or manager of an adult entertainment center shall provide the following information to the city concerning any persons who dance or perform live entertainment at the adult entertainment center: the person’s name, home address, home telephone number, date of birth, and any aliases.
(4) No dancer, live entertainer, or performer shall be under 18 years old.
(5) All dancing or live entertainment shall occur on a platform intended for that purpose and which is raised at least 2 feet from the level of the floor.
(6) No dancer or performer shall perform any dance or live entertainment closer than 10 feet to any patron.
(7) No dancer or performer shall fondle or caress any patron and no patron shall fondle or caress any dancer or performer.
(8) No patron shall pay or give any gratuity to any dancer or performer.
(9) No dancer or performer shall solicit any pay or gratuity from any patron.
(10) Partitions facilitating sexual activity: a licensee under this section shall not allow any partition between a subdivision, portion, or part of the licensed premises having any aperture which is designed or constructed to facilitate sexual intercourse, sodomy, or fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region or pubic hair, buttocks, or female breast between persons on either side of the partition.
(11) Restrictions on booths, stalls, and partitions: a licensee under this section shall not allow or have on the licensed premises or adjoining areas any booths, stalls, or partitions used for the viewing of motion pictures or other forms of entertainment, including, but not limited to, live entertainment that have doors, curtains, or portal partitions, unless the booths, stalls, or partitions have at least 1 side open to an adjacent public room so that the area inside is visible to persons in the adjacent public room. Such areas shall be lighted in a manner that the persons in the area used for viewing motion pictures or other forms of entertainment are visible from the adjacent public rooms. No reclining surfaces inside any booths, stalls, or partitions used for the viewing of motion pictures or other forms of entertainment including, but not limited to, live entertainment shall be permitted.
(H) Sign restrictions. In order to protect children from exposure to lurid signs and materials and in order to preserve the value of property surrounding sexually oriented businesses, the sign regulations contained in § 153.105 shall apply to all establishments subject to this chapter, in addition to all other regulations contained in §§ 153.090 through 153.105.
(I) Penalty.
(1) Any person violating any provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished not more than the maximum penalty for a misdemeanor as prescribed by state law.
(2) Any violation of this chapter shall be a basis for the suspension or revocation of any license granted hereunder. In the event that the City Council proposes to revoke or suspend the license, the licensee shall be notified in writing of the basis for the proposed revocation or suspension. The Council shall hold a hearing for the purpose of determining whether to revoke or suspend the license, which hearing shall be within 30 days of the notice.
(3) The City Council shall determine whether to suspend or revoke a license within 30 days after the close of the hearing or within 60 days of the date of the notice, whichever is sooner, and shall notify the licensee of its decision within that period.
(Ord. 2008-8-1, passed 8-12-2008)