[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Stafford 9-7-1999 by Ord. No. 99-60.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Ch. 176, Signs, Temporary, adopted 7-7-1992 by Ord. No. 92-44, was repealed 12-20-1994 by Ord. No. 94-114.
A. 
Statutory authorization. It is the responsibility of the local government to adopt regulations designed to promote the public health, safety and general welfare. Such power has been delegated to the municipalities from the legislature of the State of New Jersey. The Township Council of the Township of Stafford, in order to better promote the public health, safety and general welfare of its citizens, does ordain as follows.
B. 
Findings of fact.
[Amended 3-16-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-23]
(1) 
In order to promote the public health, safety and general welfare of its citizens, the Township of Stafford wishes to promulgate reasonable time, place and manner regulations with respect to the sale, distribution, rental or exhibition of obscene material as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:34-2.
C. 
Purposes and objectives. It is the purpose of this chapter to regulate sexually oriented businesses so as to minimize and control the adverse effects recognized in the preceding section and to promote the public health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the Township of Stafford. The Township Council of the Township of Stafford finds that the secondary effects of adult entertainment establishments, as established through the reports and studies of other cities and municipalities with the appropriate resources to conduct the same, is deleterious and inimical to health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the municipality. It is not the purpose of this chapter to restrict or deny access by adults to sexually oriented material protected by the First Amendment nor will this chapter have the effect of restricting or denying such access.
For the purposes of this chapter, the terms used within this chapter shall be defined as follows:
ADULT ARCADE
Any place to which the public is permitted or invited wherein coin-operated or slug-operated or electronically, electrically or mechanically controlled still or image-producing devices are maintained to show images to one person per machine at any one time and where the images displayed are distinguished or characterized by the depicting or describing of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
ADULT BOOKSTORE or ADULT VIDEO STORE
A commercial establishment which as one of its business purposes offers for sale or for rental for any form of consideration any of the following:
[Amended 3-16-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-23]
A. 
Books, magazines, periodicals or other printed material or photographs, films, motion pictures and videocassette or video reproduction, slides or other visual representations which depict or describe specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
B. 
Instruments, devices or paraphernalia which are designed for use in connection with specified sexual activities.
ADULT CABARET
A bar, restaurant or other commercial establishment, whether or not same is licensed to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, which regularly features:
[Amended 5-2-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-35]
A. 
Persons who appear in a state of nudity; or
B. 
Live performances which are characterized by the exposure of specified anatomical areas or by sexual conduct or by specified sexual activities; or
C. 
Films, motion pictures, videocassettes, compact disks, slides or other photographic reproductions which are characterized by the depiction or description of specified sexual activities, sexual conduct or specified anatomical areas.
ADULT MOTEL
A hotel, motel or similar commercial establishment which offers accommodations to the public for any form of consideration and which:
A. 
Provides patrons with closed-circuit television transmissions, films, motion pictures, videocassettes, 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 a public right-of-way which advertises the availability of this adult-type of photographic reproductions;
B. 
Offers a sleeping room for rent for a period of time that is less than 10 hours; or
C. 
Allows a tenant or occupant of a sleeping room to subrent the room for a period of time that is less than 10 hours.
ADULT MOTION-PICTURE THEATER
A commercial establishment where, for any form of consideration, films, motion pictures, videocassette, slides or similar photographic reproductions are regularly shown which are characterized by the depiction or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas. Adult motion-picture theaters shall meet the seating criteria established for adult theaters.
ADULT THEATER
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. Seating shall be provided in a design consistent with traditional movie theaters. All sitting areas shall be visible and unobstructed.
COMMERCIAL DISPLAY
The exhibition to the senses of another person for valuable consideration, whether the valuable consideration is paid by the recipient of the exhibition or by another and whether the exhibition occurs at the exhibitor's place of business or elsewhere.
NUDITY or A STATE OF NUDITY
The appearance of a human bare buttock, anus, male genitals, female genitals or female breasts.
OBSCENE MATERIALS
The definition of obscene materials set forth in N.J.S.A. 2C:34-2, as the same shall be from time to time amended or supplemented, as well as in accordance with and not more strictly than judicial interpretations thereof pursuant to the Constitutions of the United States and of the State of New Jersey finally concluded in courts of jurisdiction sufficient to render decisions on constitutional questions of general application.
PERSON
An individual, proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity.
SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESS
An adult arcade, adult bookstore or adult video store, adult cabaret, adult motel, adult motion-picture theater or adult theater.
SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREAS
A. 
Less than completely and opaquely covered human genitals, pubic region, buttock or female breasts below the point immediately above the top of the areola; or
B. 
Human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered.
SPECIFIED SEXUAL ACTIVITIES
Includes any of the following:
A. 
The fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttock or female breasts;
B. 
Sex acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, including intercourse, oral copulation or sodomy;
C. 
Masturbation, actual or simulated; or
D. 
Excretory functions as part of or in connection with any of the activities set forth in Subsections A through C.
A. 
Sexually oriented businesses shall only be located on a county road within the Local Business (LB) Zone in accordance with the provisions set forth within § 211-26E of the Township Code of the Township of Stafford.
B. 
It shall be a violation of this chapter if a person operates or causes to operate or allows to be operated a sexually oriented business:
(1) 
Within 1,000 feet of a place of worship.
(2) 
Within 1,000 feet of a school, whether public or private, or within 1,000 feet of any school bus stop.
(3) 
Within 1,000 feet of any other sexually oriented business.
(4) 
Within 1,000 feet of any residential use or zone.
(5) 
Within 1,000 feet of any public park or playground.
(6) 
Within 1,000 feet of a hospital.
[Added 3-16-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-23]
(7) 
Within 1,000 feet of a child-care center.
[Added 3-16-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-23]
C. 
Measurements 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 place of worship, a school, a boundary of a residential district, a public park or playground, a lot devoted to residential use or a school bus stop.
D. 
A sexually oriented business lawfully operating as a conforming use is not rendered a nonconforming use by the location, subsequent to the establishment of the sexually oriented business, of a place of worship, school, public area, residential district or residential lot within 1,000 feet of the sexually oriented business.
E. 
Sexually oriented businesses shall conform to design standards and development requirements established through the ordinances of the Township of Stafford.
F. 
No person under the age of 18 years shall be permitted on the premises of a sexually oriented business for any purpose.
G. 
No display visible from the exterior of the sexually oriented business shall contain material of a sexually oriented nature.
Every sexually oriented business located in the Township of Stafford shall be surrounded by a perimeter buffer of at least 50 feet in width of plantings, 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.
A. 
Any person violating any provision of this chapter, upon conviction, is punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or a term of imprisonment not to exceed 90 days or by community service of not more than 90 days, or any combination of fine, imprisonment and community service, as determined in the discretion of the Municipal Court Judge. In no event shall any person violating this chapter, upon conviction, receive a final fine below the amount of $100.
B. 
Each day a sexually oriented business is in operation, in violation of § 176-3 of this chapter, shall constitute a separate offense under this chapter.
C. 
Each separate film, videocassette or other visual reproduction or each showing of live entertainment which is displayed to another in violation of § 176-3 of this chapter is a separate offense under this chapter.