[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Hazlet 5-7-1990 by Ord. No. 781-90[1] as Sec. 7-14 of the 1982 Revised General Ordinances (Ch.
315 of the 1993 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Licensing — See Ch. 249.
[1]
Editor's Note: The preface to this ordinance
cited the following findings of the Township Committee:
"1. The retail sale or rental of certain forms
of educational and entertainment materials, specifically films and
videos, constitutes a discrete and special commercial enterprise warranting
specific regulation and licensing;
"2. The contents of such films and/or videos
may on occasion be contrary to obscenity or pornography laws or contrary
to the prevailing community standards of this community;
"3. The methods of display or merchandising
of certain films or video, whether or not the same violate obscenity
or pornography laws, may be detrimental to the health, safety and
welfare of the residents of the Township and of the general public
if not properly controlled and regulated and, specifically, if displayed,
sold, advertised or made available in a manner designed or likely
to encourage or entice minors to view or acquire the same or if the
display or merchandising of such videos is placed so as to unavoidably
thrust said displays upon minors and others who do not wish to see
such displays;
"4. Regulation of the display and merchandising
of such films and/or videos can be accomplished without infringing
upon rights protected by the Constitutions of the United States and
of New Jersey;
"5. The provisions of this ordinance are designed
reasonably to regulate the advertisement, display, sale and rental
of films and videos in a proper manner."
It shall be unlawful to display, offer to sell,
advertise, sell or rent any film or videocassette for a fee or otherwise,
in any retail commercial premises without having first secured a license
as herein provided. Said license shall be for a specific premises
and shall be nontransferable.
A.
All licenses issued under this chapter shall expire
on December 31, following the date when issued, without regard to
the time of said year when issued, and the fees as herein fixed shall
be the license fee for said time, whether it be for all or part of
such license year.
B.
The annual fee shall be $100.
A.
Any person desiring a license to operate a video business
shall submit a license application to the Township Clerk.
B.
The application shall state:
(1)
The name and address of the owner of the property.
(2)
The name and address of the license if other than
the owner of the property.
(3)
The type of merchandise that will be sold or rented
at the video business.
(4)
A diagram of the premises showing the interior layout
of the premises and describing the mode of operation and the methods
of compliance with this chapter.
(5)
Whether or not X-rated or sexually explicit videos
or films will be displayed, rented or sold.
C.
The aforementioned application will not be necessary
where the license desired is a renewal of a previous license and in
the same name of the previous license holder.
A.
It shall be unlawful to display, advertise, rent or
sell any film or videocassette which is deemed by state or federal
law to be obscene or otherwise not protected by the United States
Constitution and New Jersey Constitution.
B.
No employee under the age of 18 shall be permitted
to handle transactions in which an X-rated or sexually explicit film
or videocassette is displayed, shown, sold or rented to any person.
C.
No person under the age of 18 shall be displayed,
sold, shown or rented any such X-rated or sexually explicit film or
videocassette.
D.
It shall be unlawful to sell or rent or display for
sale or rent any film or videocassette which is rated X or which is
sexually explicit, unless the following requirements are met:
(1)
Such films and videocassettes and/or the display covers
containing pictures or descriptions of said films or cassettes shall
be segregated in a separate room, surrounded by solid walls. The door
of said room shall be of a solid, nontransparent material and shall
have posted thereon the following words in clear block letters of
not less than two inches each:
|
ADULTS ONLY
NO ONE ADMITTED
UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE
|
(2)
Said door shall be kept closed except when being used
for ingress and egress. Said door shall be clearly visible to the
store cashier at all times and shall be not more than 15 feet from
the cash register.
(3)
The walls of said room shall extend from the floor
to a height of not less than eight feet unless the ceiling shall be
less than nine feet, in which case said walls shall extend from the
floor to a distance of not less than one foot from the ceiling.
(4)
The operator of said business shall be responsible
for prohibiting minors from entering said room and that said room
is adequately secured from casual observation by minors and the general
public.
(5)
No more than 5% of the total square foot area of the
video store shall be utilized in which an X-rated or sexually explicit
film or videocassette is displayed, shown, sold or rented to any person.
[Added 3-7-1995 by Ord. No. 977-95]
E.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply irrespective
of the total volume or percentage of the business at the premises
which such sales or rentals or videos shall constitute.
A.
Except as provided in Subsection B below, any violation of this chapter shall result in the following penalties being imposed upon the licensee:
B.
The knowing misstatement of any material fact or omission
of any required information from the license application shall result
in denial of issuance of such license or revocation of the license.
C.
In determining whether any person or entity has violated
this chapter, the standards and defenses set forth in N.J.S.A. 33:1-77,
respecting sale of alcoholic beverages to a minor, shall apply as
if the same applied to the display, handling, showing, giving, sale
or rental of such X-rated or sexually explicit films or videos as
defined herein.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
In addition to the storage, exhibition, and shelving of videos
and films, the posting, showing or revealing to any person of any
case, carton, box, bag or other wrapping in which such film or video
is packaged or contained and any poster, sign, advertisement, photograph,
book, catalogues or document of any kind describing the contents of
such film or video.
The depiction of specified sexual activities or specified
anatomical areas, as follows:
