[Ord. of 1-24-00, § 1]
(a)
There are, or may in the future be, "adult-oriented establishments"
located in the Town which require special supervision from the Town's
public safety agencies in order to protect and preserve the health,
safety and welfare of the patrons of such establishments, as well
as the health, safety and welfare of the Town's citizens.
(b)
Statistics and studies performed by a substantial number of cities
and Towns in the United States indicate that:
(1)
Large numbers of persons, primarily male, frequent such "adult-oriented
establishments" especially those which provide closed booths, cubicles,
studies and rooms for the private viewing of so-called "adult" motion
pictures and/or video tapes and/or live entertainment; and
(2)
Persons under the age of 18 may be attracted to adult-oriented establishments
and seek to enter or loiter about them without the knowledge or permission
of their parents or guardians; and
(3)
Such closed booths, cubicles, studios and rooms have been used by
patrons, clients or customers of such "adult-oriented establishments"
for the purpose of engaging in certain sexual acts; and
(4)
Male and female prostitutes have been known to frequent such establishments
in order to provide sex for hire to the patrons, clients or customers
of such establishments within such booths, cubicles and rooms; and
(5)
Doors, curtains, blinds and/or other closures installed in or on
the entrances and/or exits of such booths, cubicles, studios, and
rooms which are closed while such booths, cubicles, studios and rooms
are in use encourage patrons using such booths, cubicles, studios
and rooms to engage in sexual acts therein with prostitutes or others,
thereby promoting and encouraging prostitution and the commission
of sexual acts which cause blood, semen and urine to be deposited
on the floors and/or walls of such booths, cubicles, studios and rooms,
which deposits could prove detrimental to the health and safety of
other persons who may come into contact with such deposits; and
(6)
The reasonable regulation and supervision of such "adult-oriented
establishments" tends to discourage such sexual acts and prostitution,
and thereby promotes the health, safety and welfare of the patrons,
clients and customers of such establishments.
(7)
The nature of "adult-oriented establishments" and the traffic which
they generate, and the potential and the propensity for such establishments
to attract persons interested in explicit sexual activities or erotic
art forms, and the potential for outdoor assembly of such persons
around the premises of such establishments, are such as to make them
incompatible with nearby uses of land where concentrations of children
or youth tend to congregate;
(c)
The unregulated operation of adult-oriented establishments including,
without limitations, those specifically cited at Subsection (b)(1)
hereof, is and would be detrimental to the general welfare, health
and safety of the citizens of the Town.
(d)
The Constitution and laws of the state grant to the Town powers,
especially police power, to enact reasonable legislation and measures
to regulate and supervise "adult-oriented establishments" as hereinafter
defined in order to protect the public health, safety and welfare.
(e)
It is not the intent of the Town, in enacting this ordinance, to
deny to any person rights to speech protected by the United States
and/or State Constitutions, nor is it the intent of the Town to impose
any additional limitations or restrictions on the contents or any
communicative materials, including sexually oriented films, video
tapes, books and/or other materials. Further, by enacting this section,
the Town does not intend to deny or restrict the rights of any adult
to obtain and/or view any sexually oriented materials protected by
the United States and/or State Constitutions, nor does it intend to
restrict or deny any constitutionally protected rights that distributors
or exhibitors of such sexually oriented materials may have to sell,
distribute or exhibit such materials.
[Ord. of 1-24-00]
For the purpose of this ordinance, the words and phrases used
herein shall have the following meanings, unless otherwise clearly
indicated by the context:
Includes any amusement machine that is regularly used for
presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis
on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities
and specified anatomical areas, as defined below, for observation
by patrons therein.
An establishment having any portion of its stock and trade
in books, films, video cassettes, or magazines and other periodicals
which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matter
depicting, describing or relating to "specified sexual activities"
or "specified anatomical areas," as defined below, provided that this
definition shall not apply to any establishment in which such materials
constitute less than 10% of the value of the inventory of said establishment
and in which the display of such materials does not permit the viewing
of "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas" within
the establishment.
Any exhibition of any adult-oriented motion pictures, live
performance, display or dance of any type, removal of articles of
clothing or appearing unclothed, pantomime, modeling, or any other
personal services offered customers, which has as a significant or
substantial portion of such performance or any actual or simulated
performance of "specified sexual activities" or exhibition and viewing
of "specified anatomical areas"
An enclosed building with a capacity of less than 50 persons
regularly used for presenting material distinguished or characterized
by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to "specified
sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas," as defined below,
for observation by patrons therein.
An enclosed building with a capacity of 50 or more persons
regularly used for presenting material distinguished or characterized
by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to "specified
sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas," as defined below,
for observation by patrons therein.
Includes, without limitation, "adult bookstores," "adult
motion picture theaters," "adult mini-motion picture theaters" and
commercial establishments containing one or more "adult amusement
machines." "Adult-oriented establishment" further means any premises
to which the public, patrons or members are invited or admitted and
which are so physically arranged as to provide booths, cubicles, rooms,
studios, compartments or stalls separate from the common areas of
the premises for the purpose of viewing adult-oriented motion pictures,
or any premises wherein an entertainer provides adult entertainment
to a member of the public, a patron or a member, when such adult entertainment
is held, conducted, operated or maintained for a profit, direct or
indirect. An "adult-oriented establishment" further includes, without
limitation, any adult entertainment studio or any premises that are
physically arranged and used as such, whether advertised or represented
as an adult entertainment studio, rap studio, exotic dance studio,
encounter studio, sensitivity studio, modeling studio, or any other
term of like import.
Includes any machine which upon the payment of a charge or
upon insertion of a coin, slug, token, plate, or disk, may be operated
by the public for use as a game, entertainment or amusement, whether
or not registering a score and whether or not electronically operated.
The Board of Selectmen of the Town of Durham, Connecticut.
Any and all persons, including independent contractors, who
work in or at or render any services directly related to the operation
of an adult-oriented establishment.
Any person who provides entertainment within an adult-oriented
establishment as defined in this section, whether or not a fee is
charged or accepted for entertainment and whether or not entertainment
is provided as an employee or an independent contractor.
One or more employees of the Town designated by the Board
of Selectmen who shall hereby be authorized to inspect premises regulated
under this article and to take the required actions authorized by
this article in case of violations being found on such premises, and
to require corrections of unsatisfactory conditions found on said
premises;
Shall be deemed to refer to a person under the age of 18
years;
Any person, or any proprietor, shareholder, general partner
or limited partner who holds any share of or partnership interest
of any business which is operating, conducting, owning or maintaining
an adult-oriented establishment;
As used in this article, is not intended to include any medical
publications or films or bona fide educational publication or films,
nor does it include any art or photography publications which denote
at least 25% of the lineage of each issue to articles and advertisements
dealing with subjects or art or photograph. Nor does this definition
apply to any news periodical which reports or describes current events
and which, from time to time, publishes photographs of nude or semi-nude
persons in connection with the dissemination of the news. Nor does
this definition apply to publications or films which describe and
report different cultures and which, from time to time, publish or
show photographs or depictions of nude or semi-nude persons when describing
cultures in which nudity or semi-nudity is indigenous to the population.
The First Selectman of the Town;
[Ord. of 1-24-00, § 3]
(a)
No operator or employee of an adult-oriented establishment shall
allow or permit any minor or intoxicated person to loiter in any part
of such establishment, including parking lots immediately adjacent
to such establishment used by patrons of such adult-oriented establishment.
(b)
Every adult-oriented establishment shall display a sign outside each
entrance bearing the words, "Adult-oriented establishment persons
under 18 not admitted" in letters three inches high.
(c)
No adult-oriented establishment shall be conducted in such a manner
that permits the observation of any material depicting specified sexual
activities or specified anatomical areas, from the outside of the
building that houses the adult-oriented establishment.
(d)
Every adult-oriented establishment doing business in the Town on
or after the effective date of this article shall be well lighted
at all times and be physically arranged in such a manner that the
entire interior portion of the booths, cubicles, rooms or stalls,
wherein adult entertainment is provided, shall be clearly visible
from the common areas of the premises. Visibility into such booths,
cubicles, rooms or stalls shall not be blocked or obscured by doors,
curtains, partitions, drapes, or any other obstruction whatsoever.
It shall be unlawful to install enclosed booths, cubicles, rooms or
stalls within adult-oriented establishments for whatever purpose,
but especially for the purpose of providing for the secluded viewing
of adult-oriented motion pictures, or other types of adult-oriented
entertainment.
(e)
On or after the effective date of this article the operator of each
adult-oriented establishment shall be responsible for and shall provide
that any room or other area used for the purpose of viewing adult-oriented
motion pictures or other types of live adult entertainment shall be
well lighted and readily accessible at all times and shall be continuously
open to view in its entirety. 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. It shall
be the duty of the operator and its agents to ensure that the illumination
described above is maintained at all times that any patron is present
in the premises.
(f)
Every act or omission by an employee constituting a violation of
the provisions of this article shall be deemed the act or omission
of the operator if such act or omission occurs either with the authorization,
knowledge or approval of the operator, or as a result of the operator's
negligent failure to supervise the employee's conduct, and the operator
shall be punishable for such act or omission in the same manner as
if the operator committed the act or caused the omission.
(g)
An operator shall be responsible for the conduct of all employees
while on the licensed premises, and any act or omission of any employee
constituting a violation of the provisions of this article shall be
deemed the act or omission of the operator for purposes of determining
whether the operator shall be subject to the penalties imposed by
this article.
(h)
All adult-oriented establishments shall be open to inspection at
all reasonable times by the inspector, or such other person(s) as
the Town may designate. Information regarding employees, including
name, date of birth and social security number, must be maintained
as part of the record and must be available for inspection by Town
officials.
[Ord. of 1-24-00, § 4]
Adult-oriented establishments shall be located no less than
the distances given below from any of the following uses, if existing
at the time when the adult-oriented establishment is established:
(1)
One thousand feet from any public or private school serving grade
12 or lower; any day care center, nursery school, or similar use;
any public park or playground; any playground associated with a church
or other community building; and any church.
(2)
Three hundred feet from any residential zone.
Measurements of distances shall be from any portion of the building
housing such adult-oriented establishment to any portion of a parcel
of land containing such land uses or being residentially zoned. The
separating distance required by this section shall be determined as
of the date that any adult-oriented establishment commences to operate
in accordance with this article and any applicable provision(s) of
the zoning regulations, building code, health Code, and other applicable
state and local laws, and such adult-oriented establishment shall
not be deemed to violate this section if, thereafter, one of the enumerated
uses is established within the distance set forth herein.
[Ord. of 1-24-00, § 5]
No adult-oriented establishments shall be permitted in any portion
of a building that is less than 1,000 feet from that portion of a
building occupied by an existing adult-oriented establishment. The
1,000 feet shall be the straight horizontal distance from any part
of a building housing an adult-oriented establishment to any part
of the other building housing such use.
[Ord. of 1-24-00, § 6]
[Ord. of 1-24-00, § 7]
(a)
Any person, partnership or corporation who is found to have violated
this article shall be fined a definite sum not exceeding $100 for
each such violation.
(b)
Each violation of this article shall be considered a separate offense,
and any violation continuing more than one hour of time shall be considered
a separate offense for each hour of violation.
[Ord. of 1-24-00, § 8]
(a)
Unless otherwise stated, all notices and fines required or permitted
by this article shall emanate from the First Selectman or the inspector
designated by the Board of Selectmen. Fines shall be paid to the First
Selectman.
(b)
Interest shall accrue at the rate of 1 1/2% per month on all
fines outstanding for periods in excess of 30 days.
(c)
Fines and interest payable under this article shall be deposited
into the Town's general fund.
[Ord. of 1-24-00, § 9]
(a)
The Board of Selectmen shall serve as an appeals board for fines
imposed under this article.
(b)
Whenever a fine is imposed under this article, the person fined,
may, within 10 days from the date of the notice of the fine, appeal
by filing a written notice of appeal with the First Selectman. The
Board of Selectmen shall begin hearing the appeal no later than 30
days from its receipt by the First Selectman. The Board of Selectmen
shall render a written decision on the appeal within seven days of
conclusion of the hearing. The filing of an appeal shall stay collection
of any fine imposed until such time as a decision is rendered on the
appeal.
[Ord. of 1-24-00, § 10]
(a)
The Board of Selectmen may choose to enforce the provisions of this ordinance by citation and hearing as permitted by C.G.S., § 7-152(c). The citation hearing procedure will then serve as the appeals procedure in lieu of that set forth in § 9-69.
(b)
The First Selectman is authorized to institute civil or criminal
proceedings as necessary to enforce the provisions of this article.
[Ord. of 1-24-00, § 11]
The provisions of this article shall not be interpreted to permit
within any zoning district of the Town the establishment of a use
which the zoning regulations of the Town do not otherwise permit within
that district.
