[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Westville 12-12-2001 (Ch. 95 of the 1974 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
An individual, proprietorship, partnership, corporation,
association or other legal entity.
A commercial establishment which, as one of its principal business
purposes, offers for sale, rental or display any of the following:
books, magazines, periodicals or other printed material or photographs,
films, motion pictures, videocassettes, slides or other visual representations
which depict or describe a specified sexual activity or specified
anatomical area; or still or motion-picture machines, projectors or
other image-producing devices which show images to one person per
machine at any one time, and where the images so displayed are characterized
by the depiction of a specified sexual activity or specified anatomical
area; or instruments, devices or paraphernalia which are designed
for use in connection with a specified sexual activity; or
A commercial establishment which regularly features live performances
characterized by the exposure of a specified anatomical area or by
a specified sexual activity or which regularly shows films, motion
pictures, videocassettes, slides or other photographic representations
which depict or describe a specified sexual activity or specified
anatomical area (i.e., bookstores, gentlemen's clubs or dance
clubs).
A.
A sexually oriented business shall be permitted as a conditional
use in the Industrial Zone (I-4).
B.
A sexually oriented business is permitted in the Industrial Zone
(I-4), provided that it is not located within 1,000 feet of:
C.
For the purpose of Subsection B, measurement shall be made in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the nearest portion of the building or structure used as a part of the premises where a sexually oriented business is conducted to the nearest property line of the premises of a church or place of religious worship or public or private elementary or secondary school or to the nearest boundary of an affected public park, residential district or residential lot.
D.
Every sexually oriented business shall be surrounded by a perimeter
buffer of at least 50 feet in width with plantings, a fence or other
physical divider along the outside of the perimeter sufficient to
impede the view of the interior of the premises in which the business
is located. All such shrubs shall be at least six feet high at the
time of planting along any common property line.
E.
Any sexually oriented business lawfully operating in violation of
the above as of the enactment into law of this chapter, although nonconforming,
shall be permitted to continue within the parameters set forth herein,
unless it is voluntarily discontinued for a period of 30 days or more.
F.
A sexually oriented business lawfully operating is not rendered illegal
by the location, subsequent to the grant or renewal of the appropriate
license, of a church or place of religious worship, public or private
elementary or secondary school or public park. This provision applies
only to the renewal of a valid license and does not apply when an
application for a license is submitted after a license has expired
or has been revoked.
G.
No sexually oriented business shall violate or suffer or permit or
have upon its premises a person convicted of a violation of a crime,
any statute, ordinance or regulations involving sexually oriented
businesses or violate any other law pertaining to the operation of
the premises or violate the provisions of this chapter.
H.
Sexually oriented businesses within the Borough of Westville are subject to the rules and regulations as set forth in the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., and any expansion, alteration, change, etc., shall be subject to the restrictions set forth under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d and local ordinances, including Chapter 205, Land Use and Development, of the Code of the Borough of Westville.
A.
A person who operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented
business shall comply with the following requirements:
(1)
The applicant shall apply for a license to operate a sexually oriented
business. If the applicant is an individual, he or she must sign the
application for a license as applicant and provide his/her full name,
address and telephone numbers. If the applicant is a partnership,
the partners' names, addresses and telephone numbers must be
listed on the application. If the applicant is a corporation, the
applicant shall disclose the names, addresses and telephone numbers
of the appropriate registered agent, corporate officers, shareholders
and the name of the person or persons who are or will be primarily
responsible for the management and operation of the sexually oriented
business. Upon application for a license, the application shall be
accompanied by a diagram of the premises showing a plan thereof specifying
the location of one or more manager's stations and the location
of all overhead lighting fixtures and designating any portion of the
premises in which patron will not be permitted. The diagram shall
also designate the place at which the permit will be conspicuously
posted, if granted. Each diagram should be oriented to the north or
to some designated street or object and should be drawn to a designated
scale or with marked dimensions sufficient to show the various internal
dimensions of all areas of the interior of the premises. The Borough
Council may waive the foregoing diagram or renewal applications if
the applicant adopts a diagram that was previously submitted and certifies
that the configuration of the premises has not been altered since
it was prepared.
(2)
No alteration in the configuration or location of a manager's
station may be made without the prior approval of the Construction
Official or his designee.
(3)
It is the duty of the owners and operator of the premises to ensure
that at least one employee is on duty and situated in each manager's
station at all times that any patron is present inside the premises.
(4)
The interior of the premises shall be configured in such a manner
that there is an unobstructed view from a manager's station of
every area of the premises to which any patron is permitted access
for any purpose, excluding rest rooms. Rest rooms may not contain
video reproduction equipment or otherwise serve as viewing areas for
patrons. If the premises has two or more manager's stations designated,
then the interior of the premises shall be configured in such a manner
that there is an unobstructed view of each area of the premises to
which a patron is permitted access for any purpose from at least one
of the manager's stations. The view required in this subsection
must be by direct line of sight from the manager's station. View
booths must be separated at least 12 inches from the exterior walls
of any other view booths.
(5)
It shall be the duty of the owners and operator, and it shall also be the duty of any agents and employees present in the premises, to ensure that the area specified in Subsection A(4) remains unobstructed by any doors, walls, merchandise, display racks or other materials at all times that any patron is present in the premises and to ensure that no patron is permitted access to any area of the premises which has been designated as an area in which patrons will not be permitted in the application filed pursuant to Subsection A(1) of this section.
(6)
The premises shall be equipped with overhead lighting fixtures of
sufficient intensity to illuminate every place to which patrons are
permitted access at an illumination of not less than one footcandle
as measured at the floor level and which otherwise satisfy site plan
review standards.
(7)
It shall be the duly of the owners and operator, and it shall be
the duty of any agents and employees present in the premises, to ensure
that the illumination described above is maintained at all times that
any patron is present in the premises.
(8)
A sexually oriented business operating without a New Jersey alcoholic
beverage license shall be permitted to conduct the sexually oriented
business only between the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. A sexually
oriented business operating with a New Jersey alcoholic beverage license
shall be subject to the hours of operation of licensed liquor establishments
as set forth in the general ordinances. This subsection governs the
operation of the sexually oriented business as defined in this chapter
and does not control the hours of operation of other permitted uses
on the premises. (Authority: N.J.S.A. 2C:33-12.2.)
(9)
For the prevention of the spread of sexually transmitted disease,
no partitions between subdivisions of a room, portion or part of a
building, structure or premises may have an aperture which is designed
or otherwise constructed to encourage sexual activity between persons
on either side of the partition.
(10)
No booths, stalls or partitioned portions of a room or individual
rooms used for the viewing of motion pictures or other forms of entertainment
shall have doors, curtains or portal partitions, but all such booths,
stalls, partitioned portions of a room or individual rooms so used
shall have at least one side open to an adjacent public room so that
the area inside is visible to persons in the adjacent public room.
All such described areas shall be lighted in such a manner that the
persons in the areas used for viewing motion pictures or other forms
of entertainment are visible from the adjacent public rooms, but such
lighting shall not be of such intensity as to prevent the viewing
of the motion pictures or other offered entertainment.
(11)
Each applicant for a business license shall, upon the filing
of the application and payment of the filing fee, place signs (at
least 24 inches by 36 inches in size) which provide notification and
information specifically stating "SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESS LICENSE
APPLICATION PENDING" and the date on which the application was filed.
All lettering on the signs must be at least 1 1/2 inches by two
inches in size for each letter of the sign. The signs must be of sufficient
quantities to be placed upon the property so as to identify it as
being subject to a proposed sexually oriented license. It shall be
the duty of each applicant as to each particular application to erect
said signs along all the property's public road or highway frontage.
(12)
Publication of notice of application.
(a)
Every applicant for a sexually oriented business license shall
give notice of the application by publication at its own expense in
two consecutive issues of the official newspaper of the Borough of
Westville. The notice shall be printed in twelve-point boldface type
and shall include:
[1]
The fact that a sexually oriented business license has been
applied for;
[2]
The exact location of the place of business for which the permit
is sought;
[3]
The names of each owner of the business and, if the business
is operated under an assumed name, the trade name, together with the
names of all the owners; and
[4]
If the applicant is a corporation, the names and titles of all
officers.
(b)
Such notice shall be printed not less than 14 days after the
application is filed with the Municipal Clerk.
(13)
All employees of a sexually oriented business are required to
be listed on the application form, delineating each person's
age, address and social security number. All employees must be at
least 18 years of age. No person may work for any sexually oriented
business without having on his/her person at all times while at work
an appropriate identification card showing that he/she is an employee
of the licensee. Such identification shall be available at all times
for inspection and shall be worn on the left breast of said employee
during working periods. Application forms will be provided by the
Municipal Clerk, and the determination of compliance must be made
by the Borough Council within 45 days from the time of the filing
of the application.
(14)
The fact that the person possesses any other valid license required
by law does not exempt him/her from the requirement of obtaining a
sexually oriented business license. A person who operates a sexually
oriented business and possesses another business and/or alcoholic
license shall comply with the requirements and provisions of the law
concerning the other licenses.
(15)
All trash, refuse, articles or matter to be disposed of shall
be shredded, cut or rendered in such a fashion so that the remains
are not readable, legible or discernible.
C.
Issuance of license.
(1)
All licenses for the operation of a sexually oriented business shall
be granted/denied by the Borough of Westville Council. If granted,
the license shall be renewed and reissued annually, effective January
1 of each year, after payment of the required fees and submission
of the application form to the Clerk. The license, when issued, shall
be posted and conspicuously displayed in the place of business of
the applicant. The Municipal Clerk shall also issue all identification
cards required by the licensee and/or its employees at the same time
that the license is issued. The fee for each identification card shall
be $25 per calendar year. The license shall state on its face the
name of the person to whom it is granted, the expiration date and
the address of the sexually oriented business. The license shall be
posted in a conspicuous place at or near the entrance to the sexually
oriented business so that it may be easily read at any time.
(2)
The annual fee for a sexually oriented business shall be $1,000,
to be submitted with the application.
(3)
The Borough Council shall approve the issuance of a license to an
applicant within 60 days after receipt of an application unless it
finds one or more of the following to be true:
(a)
An applicant or its employee is under 18 years of age.
(b)
An applicant is overdue in its payment to the Borough of assessments,
fees, fines or penalties assessed against it or imposed upon it in
relation to a sexually oriented business.
(c)
An applicant has failed to provide information reasonably necessary
for the issuance of the license or has falsely answered a question
or request for information on the application form.
(d)
An applicant has been convicted of a violation of a provision
of this chapter, other than the offense of operating a sexually oriented
business without a license, within two years immediately preceding
the application.
(e)
The premises to be used for the sexually oriented business has
not been approved by the Zoning Officer and/or the Borough Construction
Official as being in compliance with this chapter.
(f)
The license fee required by this chapter has not been paid.
(g)
An applicant has been employed in a sexually oriented business
in a managerial capacity within the preceding 12 months and has demonstrated
that he or she or it is unable to operate or manage a sexually oriented
business premises in a peaceful and law-abiding manner, which necessitated
repeated action by police officers.
(h)
The premises does not have a least two emergency fire exits.
(i)
The premises has not been inspected as to fire prevention and
firesafety and approved by the Fire Subcode Official and/or County
Fire Marshal. Said inspections and/or approvals must be completed
and forwarded to the Borough within 30 days of the date that the license
application has been filed.
(j)
An applicant has been convicted of a crime involving any of
the following offenses as described in N.J.S.A. 2C:34-1 et seq. and
N.J.S.A. 2C:34-2 et seq.:
[1]
Prostitution.
[2]
Promotion of prostitution.
[3]
Compelling prostitution.
[4]
Obscenity.
[5]
Sale, distribution or display of harmful material to minors.
[6]
Sexual performance by a child.
[7]
Possession of child pornography.
[8]
Criminal attempt, conspiracy or solicitation to commit any of
the foregoing offenses.
(4)
Removal of disqualification. An applicant who has been convicted
of an offense listed above may qualify for a sexually oriented business
only when such conviction has preceded the date of the application
by five years or more and the governing body grants a request for
removal of disqualification for good cause shown.
A.
A person commits an offense if, in a sexually oriented business establishment
open to persons under the age of 18 years, he permits obscene material
to be disseminated to persons under the age of 18 years pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 2C:34-3 et seq.
B.
In this section, "display" means to locate an item in such a manner
that, without obtaining assistance from an employee of the business
establishment:
C.
Defenses to prosecution under this section are provided in N.J.S.A.
2C:34-3, Subsection e, and shall be incorporated herein as if fully
set forth.
This chapter shall be enforced by the Zoning Officer, Code Official
and/or any law enforcement officers of the State of New Jersey.
