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(A) Within 20 days of receipt of any completed application, either original or renewal, the Director shall grant or deny the requested permit and give written notice to the applicant as to the decision.
(B) The Director shall issue a permit to the applicant unless one or more of the following conditions exist:
(1) The applicant’s enterprise is located within 2,500 feet of any school, regular place of religious worship, residential neighborhood, licensed day care center or park. Measurements shall be made in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the nearest point on the property line of the applicant’s enterprise to the nearest point on the property line of such school, regular place of religious worship, residential neighborhood, licensed day care center or park;
(2) The applicant’s enterprise is located within 2,500 feet of any other enterprise for which there is a permit. Measurements shall be made in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the nearest point on the property line of the applicant’s enterprise to the nearest point on the property line of any other enterprise;
(3) Seventy-five percent or more of the tracts within a circular area, as described in this division (B)(3), are residential in character. The radius of such circular area shall be 2,500 feet, and the center of such circular area shall correspond to the midpoint of a line joining the two most distant points on the boundary of the tract on which the enterprise is located;
(4) The applicant failed to supply all of the information requested on the application;
(5) The applicant gave materially false, fraudulent or untruthful information on the application;
(7) The application or the enterprise does not meet any other requirement of this chapter;
(8) The applicant has not fully complied with all state, federal and local laws or regulations affecting the conduct of its business; or
(9) The operator has had a permit revoked for the same enterprise within the 180-day period next preceding the date that the application was filed.
(C) Property uses and distances for original applications shall be determined as of the time that the application is filed. If a renewal application is timely filed as provided in § 117.04 of this chapter, the property uses and measurements for the renewal application shall be determined as of the time that the original application for the enterprise was filed. If not timely filed, renewal applications shall be subject to the same fees and shall be treated in the same manner in all respects as original applications.
(D) If the Director determines that an applicant is not eligible for a permit (in accordance with divisions (B)(1) through (B)(9) above), the applicant shall be given notice in writing of the reasons for the denial within 20 days of the receipt of its application by the Director. An applicant may appeal the decision of the Director regarding such denial by filing a written request for a hearing with the Director within 15 days after he or she is given notice of such denial. The Director’s decision on the application shall be final unless an appeal is timely filed. An appeal shall not stay the Director’s decision on the issuance of a permit. The applicant’s written request for a hearing shall set out the grounds on which the denial is challenged. The hearing shall be conducted by a Hearing Official to be designated by the Director. The Hearing Official shall not have participated in any investigation or decision relating to the denial of the permit. At the hearing, the Hearing Official shall receive oral and written testimony regarding the application. Hearings shall be conducted under rules issued by the Director, which shall be consistent with the nature of the proceedings and shall ensure that each party may present evidence, cross-examine witnesses and be represented by legal counsel.
(E) The Hearing Official shall conduct the hearing within 30 days after receipt of the applicant’s written request for a hearing, unless the applicant requests an extension in writing. The Hearing Official shall render a written decision and issue notice thereof to the applicant within five days after the conclusion of the hearing. The written decision of the Hearing Official shall be final unless an appeal is filed to the City Commission pursuant to division (F) below.
(F) The applicant may appeal the decision of the Hearing Official to the City Commission by filing a written notice of appeal with the City Secretary within 30 days after the applicant is given notice of the Hearing Official’s decision. The notice of appeal shall be accompanied by a memorandum or other writing which sets forth fully the grounds for such appeal and all arguments in support thereof. The Director may submit a memorandum in response to the appeal filed by the applicant on appeal to the City Commission. After reviewing such memoranda, as well as the Hearing Official’s written decision and the exhibits introduced at the hearing before the Hearing Official, the City Commission shall vote to either uphold or overrule the Hearing Official’s decision. Such vote shall be taken within 30 calendar days after the date on which the City Secretary receives the notice of appeal. However, all parties shall be required to comply with the Hearing Official’s decision during the pendency of the appeal. The decision of the City Commission shall be final.
(G) Failure of the Director to give timely notice of his or her action on an application, or failure of the Hearing Official to timely conduct or give notice of his or her decision on an appeal from the Director’s decision, or failure of the City Commission to vote on an appeal from the decision of the Hearing Official within the limitations of time specified in division (F) above, shall entitle the applicant to the issuance of a temporary permit, upon written demand therefor filed by the applicant with the Director. Such a temporary permit shall only be valid until the third day after the Director gives notice of his or her action on the application or the Hearing Official gives notice of his decision on the appeal or the City Commission votes on the appeal, as applicable.
(1998 Code, § 26-65) (Ord. 94-10, passed 6-8-1994)
(A) A permit is personal to the owner and operator designated in the application; provided, however, it may be transferred pursuant to this section. A transfer application must be filed by the tenth day next following any change of the owner or operator designated on the application. If a transfer application is not timely filed, then the permit shall be invalid for any purpose relating to the operation of the enterprise, and any transfer shall require and be treated in all respects as an original permit application. For purposes of measurements between enterprises under § 117.05(B)(2) of this chapter, an establishment for which the permit has become invalid by operation of this section shall be treated as though it had a permit until the permit is revoked pursuant to § 117.07 of this chapter and any appeal therefrom to the City Commission has been concluded.
(B) (1) The Director shall prescribe a form on which permit transfer applications shall be made. The form shall include a statement under oath that the original application remains correct as previously submitted in all respects, except those that are amended pursuant to this section.
(2) The transfer application shall contain a statement under oath that the individual signing the transfer application has personal knowledge of the information contained therein and that the information is true and correct, and the application shall not be complete unless accompanied by a non-refundable transfer fee of $100. Transfer applications shall be filed in the same place and at the same time as original applications, and the fee shall be payable in the same manner as for original applications, as provided in § 117.03 of this chapter.
(C) Transfers shall be reviewed, issued and subject to appeal in the same manner as original applications pursuant to § 117.05 of this chapter; except that, § 117.05(B)(1), (B)(2) and (B)(3) of this chapter shall not apply, and the transfers shall be issued for the remaining term of the permit to be transferred.
(1998 Code, § 26-66)
(A) The Director shall have the authority to revoke a permit for any one or more of the following reasons:
(1) The owner or operator of the permitted enterprise knowingly allowed a person under 21 years of age to enter an enterprise;
(3) Three or more cumulative violations of any of the offenses contained in Tex. Penal Code §§ 21.01 et seq., or Tex. Penal Code §§ 43.01 et seq., or Tex. Penal Code §§ 22.011 or 22.021, or of the offenses contained in this chapter, have occurred on the premises of the permitted enterprise. These violations must have occurred in a consecutive period of 12 months, and the owner or operator must have knowingly allowed such violations to occur or did not make a reasonable effort to prevent the occurrence of such violations;
(4) The operator of the permitted enterprise gave materially false, fraudulent or untruthful information on the original, renewal or transfer application form;
(5) The enterprise has been closed for business for a period of 30 consecutive days, unless such closure is due to circumstances beyond the control of the owner and the owner is proceeding with due diligence, given all attendant circumstances, to reopen the establishment;
(6) There was a change of owner or operator for which a transfer application was not timely filed pursuant to § 117.06 of this chapter; and
(7) The permit should not have been issued pursuant to the criteria of § 117.05 of this chapter.
(B) Prior to revocation of a permit, the Director shall investigate the grounds alleged to determine whether probable cause for revocation may exist and, if so, shall notify the owner and operator in writing of the reasons for the proposed revocation and grant such owner and operator the opportunity to appear before a Hearing Official to be designated by the Director at a time and place specified within such notice. The Hearing Official designated shall not have participated in any investigation of the alleged grounds for the revocation. Such hearing shall be held not less than 15 days after the notice is given. Hearings shall be conducted under rules issued by the Director. Such rules shall be consistent with the nature of the proceedings and shall ensure that each party may present evidence, cross examine witnesses and be represented by legal counsel. If, after the hearing, the Hearing Official finds that the permit should be revoked, he or she shall issue a written order revoking such permit, which shall be effective on the third day after notice thereof is given to the operator. If the Hearing Officer determines, based upon the nature of the violation, that the ends of justice would be served by a suspension in lieu of a revocation, he or she may suspend the operation of the permit for a period of time to be stated in the order of suspension, not to exceed two months; however, a suspension may not be ordered if the grounds are based upon divisions (A)(6) or (A)(7) above.
(C) The owner or operator shall have the right to appeal an order of the Hearing Official revoking a permit to the City Commission in accordance with the procedure set forth in § 117.05(F) of this chapter by delivering notice of appeal to the City Secretary within 15 days after notice is given to the owner and operator of the order. The filing of an appeal of a revocation to the City Commission shall not have the effect of superseding or suspending the order of the Director. Orders suspending permits shall not be subject to any appeal.
(D) An enterprise shall be treated as having a permit for purposes of measurements under § 117.05(B)(2) of this chapter pending the date for filing an appeal of a permit revocation and, if an appeal is filed, pending the disposition of the appeal by the City Commission. An establishment holding a suspended permit shall be treated as having a permit for the purpose of measurements made under § 117.05(B)(2) of this chapter.
(1998 Code, § 26-67)
(A) A permit is valid only at the location for which it is issued.
(B) It shall be unlawful for any person to counterfeit, forge, change, deface or alter a permit.
(C) A permit may be canceled upon written request of the owner or operator and surrender of the permit itself to the Director. Permits shall be surrendered at the same place and at the same time as permit applications, as provided in § 117.03 of this chapter. The surrender of a permit shall be effective upon its filing in the office of the Captain of the Vice Division.
(1998 Code, § 26-68) Penalty, see § 117.99
(A) It shall be unlawful for an owner or operator of a regulated establishment to allow the merchandise or activities of the regulated establishment to be visible from any point outside such regulated establishment.
(B) It shall be unlawful for the owner or operator of a regulated establishment to allow the exterior portions of the regulated establishment to have flashing lights or any words, lettering, photographs, silhouettes, drawings or pictorial representations of any manner, except to the extent permitted by the provisions of this chapter.
(C) It shall be unlawful for the owner or operator of a regulated establishment to allow exterior portions of the regulated establishment to be painted any color other than a single achromatic color. This provision shall not apply to any regulated establishment if the following conditions are met:
(1) The regulated establishment is a part of a commercial multi-unit center; and
(2) The exterior portions of each individual unit in the commercial multi-unit center, including the exterior portions of the regulated establishment, are painted the same color as one another or are painted in such a way so as to be a component of the overall architectural style or pattern of the commercial multi-unit center.
(D) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require the painting of an otherwise unpainted exterior portion of a regulated establishment.
(1998 Code, § 26-69) Penalty, see § 117.99
(A) Notwithstanding Ch. 160 of this code of ordinances pertaining to buildings and building regulations, or any other city ordinance, code or regulation to the contrary, it shall be unlawful for the owner or operator of any regulated establishment or any other person to erect, construct or maintain any sign for the regulated establishment other than one primary sign and one secondary sign as provided in this section.
(B) Primary signs shall have no more than two display surfaces. Each display surface shall:
(1) Not contain any flashing lights;
(2) Be a flat plane, rectangular in shape;
(3) Not exceed 75 square feet in area; and
(4) Not exceed ten feet in height or ten feet in length.
(C) Primary signs shall contain no photographs, silhouettes, drawings or pictorial representations of any manner and may contain only:
(1) The name of the regulated establishment; and/or
(2) One or more of the following phrases:
(a) Adult bookstore;
(b) Adult encounter parlor;
(c) Adult cabaret;
(d) Adult lounge;
(e) Adult novelties;
(f) Adult entertainment; and
(g) Adult modeling studio.
(D) Each letter forming a word on a primary sign shall be of a solid color, and each such letter shall be the same print type, size and color. The background behind such lettering on the display surface of a primary sign shall be of a uniform and solid color.
(E) Secondary signs shall have only one display surface. Such display surface shall:
(1) Be a flat plane, rectangular in shape;
(2) Not exceed 20 square feet in area;
(3) Not exceed five feet in height and four in width; and
(4) Be affixed or attached to any wall or door of the establishment.
(F) The provisions of divisions (B)(1), (C) and (D) above shall also apply to secondary signs.
(1998 Code, § 26-70) Penalty, see § 117.99
(A) It shall be unlawful to allow a person who is younger than 18 years of age to enter or be on the premises of a regulated establishment at any time that the regulated establishment is open for business.
(B) It shall be the duty of the operator of each regulated establishment to ensure that an attendant is stationed at each public entrance to the regulated establishment at all times during such regulated establishment’s regular business hours. It shall be the duty of the attendant to not allow any person under the age of 18 years to enter the regulated establishment. It shall be presumed that an attendant knew a person was under the age of 18 unless such attendant asked for and was furnished:
(1) A valid operator’s, commercial operator’s or chauffeur’s driver’s license; or
(2) A valid personal identification certificate issued by the State Department of Public Safety reflecting that such person is 18 years of age or older.
(1998 Code, § 26-71) Penalty, see § 117.99
(A) Any notice required or permitted to be given by the Director or any other city office, division, department or other agency under this chapter to any applicant, operator or owner of an enterprise may be given either by personal delivery or by certified United States mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, addressed to the most recent address as specified in the application for the permit or transfer application which has been received by the Director or any notice of address change which has been received by the Director. Notices mailed as provided in this division (A) shall be deemed given upon their deposit in the United States mail. If any notice given by mail is returned by the postal service, the Director shall cause it to be posted at the principal entrance to the establishment.
(B) Any notice required or permitted to be given to the Director by any person under this chapter shall not be deemed given until and unless it is received in the office of the Captain of the Vice Division at the time and in the manner provided for filing of applications in § 117.03 of this chapter.
(C) It shall be the duty of each owner who is designated on the permit application and each operator to furnish notice to the Director in writing of any change of residence or mailing address.
(1998 Code, § 26-72)
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