Based on public testimony and other evidence presented to it, the City Council makes the following findings of fact.
(A) The secondary effects of the activities defined and regulated in this chapter are detrimental to the public health, safety, morals and general welfare of the citizens of the city and, therefore, these activities must be regulated.
(B) Regulation of the adult entertainment industry is necessary because, in the absence of the regulation, significant criminal activity has historically and regularly occurred. This history of criminal activity in the adult entertainment industry has included prostitution, illegal employment of minors, narcotics and alcoholic beverage law violations, breaches of the peace, tax evasion and the presence within the industry of individuals with hidden ownership interests and outstanding arrest warrants.
(C) Proximity between entertainers and patrons during adult entertainment performances can facilitate sexual contact, prostitution and related crimes. Concerns about crime and public sexual activity are legitimate and compelling concerns of the city which demand reasonable regulation of adult entertainment establishments in order to protect the public health, safety and general welfare.
(D) The activities described in divisions (B) and (C) above occur, in the absence of regulation, regardless of whether the adult entertainment is presented in conjunction with the sale of alcoholic beverages.
(E) It is necessary to license entertainers in the adult entertainment industry to prevent the exploitation of minors, to ensure that each entertainer is an adult and to ensure that the entertainers have not assumed a false name, which would make regulation of the entertainer difficult or impossible.
(F) It is necessary to have a licensed manager on the premises of establishments offering adult entertainment at such times as the establishments are offering adult entertainment so that there will at all necessary times be an individual responsible for the overall operation of the adult entertainment establishment, including the actions of patrons, entertainers and other employees.
(G) The license fees required in this chapter are necessary as nominal fees imposed as necessary regulatory measures designed to help defray the substantial expenses incurred by the city in regulating the adult entertainment industry.
(H) Hidden ownership interests for the purposes of skimming profits and avoiding the payment of taxes have historically occurred in the adult entertainment industry in the absence of regulation. These hidden ownership interests have historically been held by organized and white collar crime elements. In order for the city to effectively protect the public health, safety, morals and general welfare of its citizens and effectively allocate its law enforcement resources, it is important that the city be fully apprised of the actual ownership of adult entertainment establishments, and identities and backgrounds of persons responsible for management and control of the adult entertainment establishment.
(I) It is not the intent of this chapter to suppress or censor any expressive activities protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution or Article 1 of the state constitution, but rather to enact time, place and manner regulations which address the compelling interests of the city in mitigating the secondary effects of adult entertainment establishments.
(J) In an undercover operation in 1995, police officers entered the Deja Vu adult entertainment establishment in Federal Way, Washington over an approximately five-month period. Approximately 24 criminal violations were charged for acts occurring while the officers were inside Deja Vu. Police officers repeatedly observed managers ignoring criminal law violations committed inside Deja Vu, within a short distance from the manager. Managers would look at the patrons/officers while criminal violations were committed by the entertainers. Entertainers continuously violated the Federal Way City Code. There have been numerous instances where entertainers masturbate the patrons and where the entertainers, without invitation, press their vaginas on the genital area and mouths of the patrons, including undercover officers.
(K) Experience in the city demonstrates that in less than three months of operation of one adult entertainment establishment, violations of liquor laws, controlled substance laws, assaults, lewd conduct, vandalism and excessive noise were reported. In addition, within a few days of operation a serious injury was suffered by an employee of the establishment which resulted in hospitalization and reportedly lifelong debility. As a consequence of repeated offenses by this establishment, the State Liquor Control Commission denied the application for a permanent liquor license for the establishment based on the negative neighborhood impact.
(Prior Code, § 112.02) (Ord. 1145, passed 5-20-1996)