[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Delran
by Ord. No. 1996-17 (Sec. 6-13 of the 1993 Revised General
Ordinances). Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose and intent of this chapter is to license and regulate sexually
oriented businesses to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the
citizens of the Township of Delran, as well as the patrons of such businesses,
and to establish reasonable and uniform regulations to prevent the concentration
of sexually oriented businesses within the Township. The provisions of this
chapter have neither the purpose nor effect of imposing a limitation or restriction
on the content of any communicative material or speech activity, including
sexually oriented materials or expressive speech activity. Similarly, it is
not the intent nor effect of this chapter to restrict or deny access by adults
to sexually oriented materials or activities protected by the First Amendment
or to deny access by the distributors and exhibitors of sexually oriented
entertainment to their intended market.
As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any place to which the public is permitted or invited wherein coin-operated
or slug-operated or electronically or mechanically controlled still or motion
picture machines, projectors or other image-producing devices are maintained
to show images to five or fewer persons per machine at any one time and where
the images so displayed are distinguished or characterized by the depicting
or describing of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
A commercial establishment which, as one of its principal business
purposes, offers for sale or rental for any form of consideration any one
or more of the following:
Books, magazines, periodicals or other printed matter or photographs,
films, motion pictures, video cassettes or video reproductions, slides or
other visual representations which depict or describe specified sexual activities
or specified anatomical areas; or
Instruments, devices or paraphernalia which are designed for use in
connection with specified sexual activities.
A nightclub, bar, restaurant or similar place of business or portion
thereof which features:
Persons who appear in a state of nudity or seminude state;
Live performances which are characterized by the exposure of specified
anatomical areas or by specified sexual activities; or
Films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides or other photographic
reproductions which are characterized by the depiction or description of specified
sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
A hotel, motel or similar commercial establishment which:
Offers accommodations to the public for any form of consideration; provides
patrons with closed-circuit television, transmissions, film, motion pictures,
video cassettes, slides or other photographic reproductions which are characterized
by the depiction or description of specified sexual activities or specified
anatomical areas; and has a sign visible from the public right-of-way which
advertises the availability of this adult type of photographic reproductions;
Offers a sleeping room for rent for a period of time that is less than
10 hours; or
Allows a tenant or occupant of a sleeping room to subrent the room for
a period of time that is less than 10 hours.
A commercial establishment where, for any form of consideration,
films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides or similar photographic reproductions
are regularly shown and are characterized by the depiction or description
of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
A theater, concert hall, auditorium or similar commercial establishment
which regularly features persons who appear in a state of nudity or live performances
which are characterized by the exposure of specified anatomical areas or by
specified sexual activities.
A person who must apply for a license under this chapter.
A building used as a day nursery, children's boarding home, child
placing agency or other place for the care or custody of children under 15
years of age.
A building in which persons regularly assemble for worship, intended
primarily for purposes connected with faith or for propagating a particular
form of belief.
A person who, for consideration, agrees or offers to act as a companion,
guide or date for another person or who agrees or offers to privately model
lingerie or to privately perform a striptease for another person.
A business association which furnishes, offers to furnish or advertises
to furnish escorts as one of its primary business purposes, for a fee, tip
or other consideration.
Includes any of the following:
The opening or commencement of any sexually oriented business as a new
business;
The conversion of an existing business, whether or not a sexually oriented
business, to any sexually oriented business;
The addition of any sexually oriented business to any other existing
sexually oriented business;
The relocation of any sexually oriented business; or
A location and place of business.
A person in whose name a license to operate a sexually oriented business
has been issued, as well as the individual listed as an applicant on the application
for a license or a person licensed under this chapter.
The Municipal Clerk of the Township of Delran.
Any place where a person who appears in a state of nudity or displays
specified anatomical areas is provided to be observed, sketched, drawn, painted,
sculptured, photographed or similarly depicted by other persons who pay money
or any form of consideration.
An individual, proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association
or other legal entity.
Includes any store, shop, tavern, bar, restaurant, pool hall, bowling
alley, amusement parlor, ice-skating rink, theater or premises wherein merchandise,
food or drink is sold, or any combination or group of the foregoing, which
business is maintained within one building or structure open to the public.
Duly sworn law enforcement officers of the State of New Jersey or
his or her designated agent.
Sexual activity with another person in exchange for something of
economic value; or the offer or acceptance of an offer made within view of
a public place to engage in sexual activity in exchange for something of economic
value.
A tract of land maintained by the federal, state or a local government
for the recreation and enjoyment of the general public.
A single-family, duplex, townhouse, multiple-family or mobile home
district.
A single-family, duplex, multiple-family or mobile home park, mobile
home subdivision and campground used as a residence.
A state of dress in which clothing covers no more than the genitals,
pubic region and areola of the female breast, as well as portions of the body
covered by supporting straps or devices.
Includes but is not limited to sexual intercourse, including genital-genital,
oral-genital, anal-genital and oral-anal conduct, whether between persons
of the same or opposite sex, masturbation, touching of the genitals, buttocks
or female breasts, sadistic or masochistic abuse and other deviate sexual
relations.
A business or commercial enterprise that, as one of its primary business
purposes, offers for any form of consideration:
An adult arcade, a bookstore or adult video store, adult entertainment
establishment, adult motel, adult motion-picture theater, adult theater, escort
agency, nude model studio or sexual encounter center.
Human genitals in state of sexual arousal.
Includes any of the following listed as sexual activity in N.J.S.A.
2C:34-1 et seq.
Includes any of the following:
The sale, lease or sublease of the business;
The transfer of securities which constitutes a controlling interest
in the business, whether by sale, exchange or similar means; or
The establishment of a trust, gift or other similar legal device which
transfers the ownership or control of the business, except for transfer by
bequest or other operation of the law upon the death of the person possessing
the ownership or control.
Sexually oriented businesses are classified as follows:
A.
The following are required to be licensed: All owners
of a sexually oriented business are required to be licensed to conduct, operate
or permit to be operated a sexually oriented business.
B.
All employees of a sexually oriented business are required
to be listed on the application form. No person may work for any sexually
oriented business without having on his or her person at all times while at
work an appropriate identification card showing that he or 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 Township Council within 30 days from the
time of application.
C.
An application for a sexually oriented business license
must be made on a form provided by the Municipal Clerk. The application must
be accompanied by a sketch or diagram showing the configuration of the premises,
including a statement of total floor space occupied by the business. The sketch
or diagram need not be professionally prepared but must be drawn to a designated
scale or drawn with marked dimensions of the interior of the premises to an
accuracy of plus or minus six inches. All locational requirements must be
approved by the Zoning Officer of the Township of Delran within 30 days from
the time the application is filed.
D.
The applicant for a sexually oriented business license
must be qualified according to the provisions of this chapter.
E.
If a person who wishes to operate a sexually oriented
business is an individual, he or she must sign the application for a license
as applicant. If a person who wishes to operate a sexually oriented business
is a partnership, the partners' names and addresses must be listed on the
application. If the applicant is a corporation, the name of the corporation
and the name and address of the registered agent 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 must be listed on the application.
F.
The fact that a person possesses any other valid license
required by law does not exempt him from the requirements of obtaining a sexually
oriented business license. A person who operates a sexually oriented business
and possesses another business and/or alcoholic beverage license shall comply
with the requirements and provisions of this chapter as well as the requirements
and provisions of the laws concerning the other licenses.
G.
Each individual applicant shall be at least 18 years
of age.
H.
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 2 inches in size for each letter on
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
as to be clearly visible from the public road or highway. If property does
not have a public road or highway frontage, then signs shall be placed upon
the closest available right-of-way upon the property. One sign shall be erected
for each three-hundred-foot increment of each public road or highway frontage
said property existing or any part thereof. Said signs shall be erected not
less than 14 days after the filing of the application for the sexually oriented
business license and remain erected until the application has been approved
by the Township Council.
I.
Every applicant for a sexually oriented business license
shall give notice of the application by publication at his own expense in
two consecutive issues of the official newspaper of Delran Township. The notice
shall be printed in ten-point boldface type and shall include the fact that
a sexually oriented business license has been applied for; the exact location
of the place of business for which the permit is sought; 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 owners; and if the applicant
is a corporation, the names and titles of all officers. Such notice shall
be printed not less than 14 days after the application is filed with the Municipal
Clerk.
A.
All licenses for the operation of a sexually oriented
business shall be granted by the Township Council and issued by the Township
Clerk. 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.
B.
The license shall state on its face the name of the person
or persons 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.
C.
The Township Council shall approve the issuance of a
license to an applicant within 60 days after receipt of an application unless
the Council finds one or more of the following to be true:
(1)
An applicant is under 18 years of age.
(2)
An applicant is overdue in his payment to the Township
of taxes, fees, fines or penalties assessed against him or imposed upon him
in relation to a sexually oriented business. The Township Tax Assessor shall
make this determination and report his or her findings to the Township Council
within 30 days from the time the application is filed.
(3)
An applicant has failed to provide information reasonably
necessary for issuance of the license or has falsely answered a question or
request for information on the application form.
(4)
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.
(5)
The premises to be used for the sexually oriented business
has not been approved by the Zoning Officer and/or the Township Construction
Code Official as being in compliance with this chapter. Reports of compliance
or noncompliance with this chapter must be completed by the municipality within
30 days from the time the application is filed.[1]
(6)
The license fee required by this chapter has not been
paid.
(7)
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 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.
(8)
The premises does not have at least two emergency fire
exits.
(9)
The premises has not been inspected as to fire prevention
and fire safety and approved by the fire subcode official and/or County Fire
Marshal. Said inspections and/or approvals must be completed and forwarded
to the Township Council within 30 days of the date that the license application
has been filed.
(11)
Offenses.
(a)
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]
Aggravated promotion of prostitution.
[4]
Compelling prostitution.
[5]
Obscenity.
[6]
Sale, distribution or display of harmful material to
a minor.
[7]
Sexual performance by a child.
[8]
Possession of child pornography.
[9]
Criminal attempt, conspiracy or solicitation to commit
any of the foregoing offenses.
(b)
Removal of disqualification. An applicant who has been
convicted of an offense listed above may qualify for a sexually oriented business
license only when such conviction has preceded the date of the application
by five years or more and the Township Council grants a request for removal
of the disqualification for good cause shown.
The annual fee for a sexually oriented business shall be as set forth in § 150-3A, to be submitted with the application.
A.
An applicant or licensee shall permit representatives
of the Delran Township Zoning Office and Township Construction Code Official
to inspect the premises of a sexually oriented business for the purpose of
ensuring compliance with the law, at any time it is occupied or open for business.[1]
B.
A person who operates a sexually oriented business or
his agent or employee commits an offense if he refuses to permit a lawful
inspection of the premises by a zoning official or Construction Code Official
of the Township at any time it is occupied or open for business.
C.
The provisions of this section do not apply to areas
of an adult motel which are currently being rented by a customer for use as
a permanent or temporary habitation.
A.
Each license shall expire one year from the date of issuance and may be renewed only by making application as provided in § 285-4. Application for renewal should be made at least 60 days before the expiration date, and, when made less than 60 days before the expiration date, the expiration of the license will not be affected.
B.
If the Township Council denies a renewal and, subsequent
to denial, the Township Council finds that the basis for denial of the renewal
license has been corrected or abated, the applicant may be granted a license.
A.
The Township Council shall suspend a license for a period
not to exceed 30 days if it determines that a licensee has:
(1)
Violated or is not in compliance with any portion of
this chapter.
(2)
Knowingly permitted the rules and regulations of the
New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control to be violated while on
the sexually oriented business.
(3)
Refused to allow an inspection of the sexually oriented
business premises as authorized by this chapter.
(4)
Demonstrated inability to operate or manage a sexually
oriented business in a peaceful and law-abiding manner thus necessitating
repeated action by law enforcement officers.
B.
Said suspension may be appealed directly to a court of
competent jurisdiction immediately following notice thereof.
A.
The Township Council shall revoke a license if a cause of suspension in § 285-9 occurs and the license has been suspended within the preceding 12 months.
B.
The Township Council shall revoke a license if it determines
that:
(1)
A licensee gave false or misleading information in the
material submitted to the Township Council during the application process.
(2)
A licensee or an employee has knowingly allowed possession,
use or sale of controlled substances on the premises.
(3)
A licensee or an employee has knowingly allowed prostitution
on the premises.
(4)
A licensee or an employee knowingly operated the sexually
oriented business during a period of time when the licensee's license was
suspended.
(5)
A licensee has been convicted of an offense listed in § 285-5C(11)(a) for which the time period required in § 285-5C(11)(b) has not elapsed or the disqualification has not been removed.
(6)
On two or more occasions within a twelve-month period, a person or persons committed an offense occurring in or on the licensed premises of a crime listed in § 285-5C(11)(a) for which a conviction has been obtained and the person or persons were employees of the sexually oriented business at the time the offenses were committed.
(7)
A licensee or an employee has knowingly allowed any act
of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, masturbation or sexual activity
to occur in or on the licensed premises. The term "sexual activity" shall
have the same meaning as it is defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:34-1a(2).
C.
The fact that a conviction is being appealed shall have
no effect on the revocation of the license.
If the Township Council denies the issuance of a license or suspends
or revokes a license, the Municipal Clerk shall send to the applicant or licensee,
by certified mail, return receipt requested, written notice of said decision.
The applicant for a license or the licensee may immediately, upon receipt
of said notice from the Municipal Clerk, appeal to a court of competent jurisdiction
for review of said denial, suspension or revocation. A sexually oriented business
in operation at the time that this chapter becomes effective shall be permitted
to operate while the license application is pending.
A licensee shall not transfer his license to another, nor shall a licensee
operate a sexually oriented business under the authority of a license at any
place other than the address designated in the application.
A.
A person commits an offense if he operates or causes
to be operated a sexually oriented business within 1,000 feet of:
B.
For the purposes of Subsection A, 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.
A sexually oriented business lawfully operating as a
conforming use is not rendered a nonconforming use by the location, subsequent
to the grant or renewal of the sexually oriented business 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.
E.
All locational requirements of this chapter must be approved
by the Zoning Officer within 30 days from the time the application is filed.
The Township Council shall have the power to suspend or revoke any license
when the licensee is found guilty of a crime violating any municipal ordinance
or regulation involving a sexually oriented business or when the licensee
shall violate any other ordinance, law or regulation pertaining to the operation
of the premises or violate the provisions of this chapter. If the Township
Council shall have reason to believe that there are grounds upon which to
revoke any such license, it shall cause a notice to be served in writing upon
the licensee, the person in charge of the licensed premises or the agent thereof
requiring an appearance before the Township Council at such time and place
as it shall designate, to show cause why the license should not be suspended
or revoked. Such notice is to be served at least 10 days prior to the date
set for a hearing, and the licensee shall be afforded a hearing before the
Township Council prior to the suspension or revocation of his license. Violations
of any provision of this chapter are also subject to the jurisdiction of the
Delran Township Municipal Court.
The license to operate a sexually oriented business shall not be transferable
from place to place or to another person, and the ownership of said business
may not be changed or modified until proper application shall have been made
as heretofore provided for an original issuance and shall be granted only
with the written consent of the Township Council.
A.
A nude model studio shall not employ any person under
the age of 18 years.
B.
A person under the age of 18 years commits offense if
he appears in a state of nudity in or on the premises of a nude model studio.
It is a defense to prosecution under this section if the person under 18 years
was in a rest room not open to public view or persons of the opposite sex.
C.
A person commits an offense if he appears in a state
of nudity or knowingly allows another to appear in a state of nudity in an
area of a nude model studio premises which can be viewed from the public right-of-way.
D.
A nude model studio shall not place or permit a bed,
sofa or mattress in any room of the premises, except that a sofa may be placed
in a reception room open to the public.
A.
A person commits an offense if he knowingly allows a
person under the age of 18 years to appear in a state of nudity in or on the
premises of an adult theater or adult motion-picture theater.
B.
A person under the age of 18 years commits an offense
if he knowingly appears in a state of nudity in or on the premises of an adult
theater or adult motion-picture theater.
A.
Evidence that a sleeping room in a hotel, motel or similar
commercial establishment has been rented and vacated two or more times in
a period of time that is less than 10 hours creates a rebuttable presumption
that the establishment is an adult motel as that term is defined in this chapter.
B.
A person commits an offense if, as the person in control
of a sleeping room in a hotel, motel or similar commercial establishment that
does not have a sexually oriented business license, he or she rents or subrents
a sleeping room to a person and, within 10 hours from the time the room is
rented, he or she rents or subrents the same sleeping room again.
A.
A person who operates or causes to be operated a sexually
oriented business which depicts specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas shall comply with the following requirements:
(1)
Upon application for a sexually oriented business license,
the application shall be accompanied by a diagram of the premises showing
a plan thereof and 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 patrons will not be permitted. A manager's station
may not exceed 32 square feet of floor area. The diagram shall also designate
the place at which the permit will be conspicuously posted, if granted. A
professionally prepared diagram in the nature of an engineer's or architect's
blueprint shall not be required; however, 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 market dimensions sufficient to show the various
internal dimensions of all areas of the interior of the premises to an accuracy
of plus or minus six inches. The Township Council may waive the foregoing
diagram for 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.
(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 the 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. 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 any 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. Viewing booths must be separated at least 12 inches
from the exterior walls of any other viewing booths by open space.
(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 when any patron is present in the premises and to ensure that no patron is permitted access to an 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.
(7)
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 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 12:00 noon and 10:00 p.m., Monday
through Saturday. A sexually oriented business operating with a New Jersey
alcoholic beverage license shall be permitted to conduct the sexually oriented
business between the hours of 12:00 noon and 1:00 a.m., Monday through Saturday.
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.
C.
All locational requirements of this chapter must be approved
by the Zoning Officer within 30 days from the time the application is filed.
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:34-3e and shall be incorporated herein as if fully set forth.
This chapter shall be enforced by the Zoning Officer and any law enforcement
officers of the State of New Jersey.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to the penalty set forth in § 1-5, Violations and penalties, of this Code and to suspension or forfeiture of their license or permit. Each day that a violation occurs or is committed shall constitute a separate offense.
