(A) Title. This section shall be known and may be cited as "An Ordinance Providing for Certain Distances Between Establishments Holding Limited Video Lottery Licenses, Schools and Churches.
(B) Policy. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the citizens of Weirton to protect school children and worshipers from the incursion of gambling businesses into close proximity to them, and to protect the character of the city and its neighborhoods from the unreasonable proliferation of limited video lottery establishments.
(C) Definitions. For purposes of this section the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
CHURCH.
Building or buildings and real property:
(a) Set apart for the purpose of worship;
(b) In which religious services are held;
(c) With which clergy is associated;
(d) Which is kept for that use and not put to any other use inconsistent with itsprimary purpose; and
(e) Which is tax exempt under the laws of this state.
SCHOOL.
The buildings, and all the real property to which it is attached, comprising a public or private elementary, vocational, or secondary school or a private or a public college, junior college, or university, or a place offering dancing or gymnastic instruction.
(D) Enforcement. All law enforcement officers of the city shall have the power to arrest for violations of this section, and city officers with authority to approve or deny building permits, zoning permits, or city licenses shall have the power and duty to enforce the provisions of this section by refusing to grant such permits or licenses to licensed limited video lottery establishments which apply for them after the effective of this section and which would, by virtue of their locations, violate the terms of this section.
(E) Prohibited acts.
(1) It shall be unlawful to open or operate any limited video lottery establishment within 1,000 feet of any church or school.
(2) The measurement of distances for the purposes of this section shall be from whichever exterior corner of the lot on which a limited video lottery establishment is located which is closest to an existing school or church, measured to the nearest corner of any schoolyard, school parking lot, or lot on which a school building is located, or to any lot on which any church building or church parking lot is located.
(3) The operation of facilities whose only gambling activity is the selling of lottery tickets as specifically allowed under W. V. Code § 29-22-1,ff and facilities whose only gambling activity is charitable bingo as provided under W. V. Code § 47-20-1,ff shall not be affected by this section.
(4) Violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine or $250 to $1,000 or a sentence of not more than 30 days in jail, or by both fine and imprisonment.
(F) Placement in Zoning Code. Divisions (F)(1) and (2) above shall be added to the city's Zoning and Planning Code as § 704(D)(9)(a) and (b) and shall be a part thereof and enforceable as is the balance of the Planning and Zoning Code and any successor thereto.
(G) This section shall be referred to the Planning Commission of the city with the specific request that the Planning Commission consider the said section and report upon it to Council, and that notice of the Commission's proceedings shall be published and that the public shall have a right to appear and comment upon its contents as provided in W. V. Code § 8-24-18.
(Ord. 1426, passed 9-13-04; Am. Ord. 1427, passed 12-13-04)