a.
The purpose of this bylaw is to address the well-documented secondary
impacts of adult uses, as defined herein. Such secondary impacts have
been found to include increased levels of crime, blight resulting
from the clustering and concentration of adult uses, adverse impacts
on the business climate of municipalities, and adverse impacts on
property values of residential and commercial properties. Late-night
noise and traffic also increase due to the late hours of operation
of many of these establishments. This section is enacted pursuant
to MGL c. 40A, § 9A, with the purpose and intent of addressing
and mitigating the secondary impacts of adult uses that are adverse
to the health, safety, and welfare of the Town and its inhabitants.
b.
The provisions of this section have neither the purpose nor intent
of imposing a limitation or restriction on the content of any communicative
matter of materials, including sexually oriented matters or materials.
Similarly, it is not the purpose or intent of this section to restrict
or deny access by adults to sexually oriented matter or materials
protected by the Constitution of the United States or of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts, or to restrict or deny rights that distributors
or exhibitors of such matter or materials may have to sell, rent,
distribute, or exhibit such matter or materials. Neither is it the
purpose or intent of this section to legalize the sale, rental, distribution,
dissemination, or exhibition of obscene or other illegal matter or
materials, as defined in MGL c. 272, § 31.
As used in this bylaw, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
An establishment having as a substantial or significant portion
of its stock-in-trade books, magazines and other matter which are
distinguished or characterized by their emphasis depicting, describing
or relating to sexual conduct or sexual excitement, as defined in
MGL c. 272, § 31.
A nightclub, bar, restaurant, tavern, dance hall or similar
commercial establishment which regularly features persons or entertainers
who appear in a state of nudity or live performances which are distinguished
or characterized by nudity, sexual conduct or sexual excitement, as
defined in MGL c. 272, § 31.
An enclosed building or any portion thereof regularly used
for presenting material (motion-picture films, videocassettes, cable
television, slides or any other such visual media) distinguished by
an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to sexual
conduct or sexual excitement, as defined in MGL c. 272, § 31.
An establishment having as a substantial or significant portion
of its stock devices, objects, tools or toys which are distinguished
or characterized by their association with sexual activity, including
sexual conduct or sexual excitement, as defined in MGL c. 272, § 31.
Adult bookstores, adult cabarets, adult motion-picture theaters,
adult paraphernalia stores and adult video stores, or a combination
thereof operated as a single business, or any other business or establishment
characterized by an emphasis depicting, describing or related to sexual
conduct or excitement as defined in MGL c. 272, § 31, and
as defined in this bylaw. For purposes of interpreting the definition
of "adult use" as defined by this bylaw, "regular or regularly" shall
mean a consistent, ongoing and substantial course of conduct, such
that the films, performances or business activities so described constitute
a significant and substantial portion of the films, performances or
business activities offered as a part of the ongoing business of the
sexually oriented business. For purposes of this bylaw, "significant
or substantial" shall mean more than 25% of the subject establishment's
inventory of stock or more than 25% of the subject premises' gross
floor area.
An establishment having as a substantial or significant portion
of its stock-in-trade, for sale or rent, motion-picture films, video
cassettes and similar audio/visual media, which are distinguished
or characterized by their emphasis depicting, describing or relating
to sexual conduct or sexual excitement, as defined in MGL c. 272,
§ 31.
a.
All adult uses as defined in Subsection 4120 of this Zoning Bylaw
are allowed only in the Light Industrial (LI) District upon the granting
of a special permit by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
b.
No adult use shall be located less than 400 feet from any residential
zoning district or from any residential use; from any public or private
school, or municipal building open to the general public; from any
church or other religious facility; from any public park or recreation
area and any principal or accessory private recreational facility
use; or from any day-care center, nursing home or hospital. The minimum
distance specified above shall be measured in a straight line from
the nearest property line of the premises on which the adult use is
to be located to the nearest boundary line of a residential zoning
district, or the nearest property line of any of the designated uses
set forth herein, except where the distance to be measured crosses
Interstate 95 or US Route 1, in which case the distance shall be limited
by and measured only to the boundary of such highway.
a.
The maximum lot coverage, including building, parking and driveways,
shall be 50% of the upland lot area.
b.
A fifty-foot vegetated buffer containing adequate screening appropriate
to the character of the area and the intensity of the use shall be
provided between an adult use and other abutting commercial uses.
c.
An adult use shall not be allowed within a building containing other
retail, consumer or residential uses, or within a shopping center,
shopping plaza, or mall.
d.
There shall be screening of windows and doors to prevent the public's
view of the interior from any public or private right-of-way or abutting
property.
e.
No adult use shall be allowed to disseminate adult matter to minors,
to cause adult use displays to be viewed by minors or to allow minors
to linger on the premises.
Off-street parking and loading shall be provided as required
for retail uses in the Light Industrial District, Subsections 3130
and 3133.
a.
Only one sign, to be mounted flat on the building wall face, shall
be allowed for an adult use. The area of this wall sign shall be not
more than 10% of the projected area of the elevation it is attached
to, except that no sign shall exceed 30 square feet.
b.
Only one freestanding sign may be allowed at the discretion of the
Zoning Board of Appeals, in a situation where the wall sign may not
be visible from the street on which the property has frontage. This
freestanding sign shall not be located within five feet of any street
or property line and not more than 10 feet above the ground. Any such
sign shall have a maximum sign area of four square feet.
c.
All other signs, including temporary and window signs, whether on
the exterior of the building or visible from the exterior of the building,
are prohibited.
d.
No adult use may have any flashing lights visible from outside the
establishment. Furthermore, no sign shall rotate or contain reflective
or fluorescent elements.
e.
The appropriate lighting of the sign(s) shall be determined by the
Zoning Board of Appeals.
a.
In addition to the requirements in this Section 4100, special permit
applications for approval under this Section 4100 shall comply with
the submittal requirements for site plan approval as detailed in Subsection
6326 and shall contain the following additional information:
(1)
Names and addresses of the legal owner(s) of the adult entertainment
establishment.
(2)
Names and addresses of all persons having a fee, equity and/or
security interest in such establishment. In the event a corporation,
partnership, trust or other entity is listed, the name and address
of every person who has an ownership interest and/or beneficial interest
in the entity must be listed in order that the special permit granting
authority will know who are the persons who will actually own and
control the establishment. The applicant and/or owner must disclose
if they have been convicted of violating the provisions of MGL c.
119, § 63 (inducing or abetting delinquency of a child)
or MGL c. 272, § 28 (matter harmful to minors, etc.) or
similar laws in other states.
(3)
Name and address of the manager.
(4)
The number of employees, or proposed number of employees, as
the case may be.
(5)
Proposed security precautions.
(6)
The external and internal physical layout of the premises.
(7)
Full description of the intended nature of the business.
(8)
The distances between the proposed adult use establishment and
any residential zoning district, public or private school, church
or other religious facility, public park or recreation area, group
day-care center, family day-care center, nursing home and hospital,
and municipal building open to the general public.
b.
In approving a special permit, the special permit granting authority
may attach such conditions, limitations and safeguards as are deemed
necessary to protect the immediate area and the Town; provided, however,
that no such conditions in fact prohibit the use of the property for
the use intended. No special permit shall take effect until such decision
has been recorded in the Registry of Deeds. Conditions of approval
may include but are not limited to the following:
(1)
Street, side or rear setbacks greater than the minimum required
by this bylaw.
(2)
Requirement of screening of parking areas or other parts of
the premises from adjoining premises or from the street, by walls,
fences, planting, or other means.
(3)
Modification of the exterior features or appearances of the
structure.
(4)
Limitation of size, number of occupants, method or time of operation,
or extent of facilities.
(5)
Regulation of number, design and location of access drives or
other traffic features.
(6)
Requirement of off-street parking or other special features
beyond the minimum required by this or other applicable ordinances.
(7)
The special permit shall be issued to the owner of the establishment
and shall not transfer with a change in ownership of the business
and/or property.
(8)
Where the adult use is not governed by other state or local
licensing board, the following conditions shall apply:
(i)
A manager responsible for the operation of the establishment
shall be designated by the owner, if the owner is not the manager.
The manager shall register with the Select Board. No manager shall
be designated who has been convicted of violating MGL c. 119, § 63,
or MGL c. 272, § 28, or similar laws in other states.
(ii)
Special permits for adult use establishments shall
not be granted to any person or persons convicted of violating the
provisions of MGL c. 119, § 63, nor MGL c. 272, § 28,
or similar laws in other states.
c.
Lapse of permit.
(1)
Any special permit granted hereunder for an adult use establishment
shall lapse after one year, including such time required to pursue
or await the determination of an appeal from the grant thereof, if
a substantial use thereof has not sooner commenced except for good
cause, or in the case of a permit for construction, if construction
has not begun by such date except for good cause, including such time
to pursue or await the determination of an appeal referred to in MGL
c. 40A, § 17, from the grant thereof.
(2)
The special permit shall not be renewed if any of the following
have taken place on or in proximity to and associated with the premises:
(3)
Violation of any of the conditions of approval of the special
permit shall be grounds for nonrenewal of the special permit as provided
for above.
Any adult use establishment that was in existence as of the
first date of the publication of the notice of public hearing on this
zoning amendment regulating adult uses may continue to operate in
the same location, without material change in scale or content of
the business, but shall apply for such special permit within 90 days
following the adoption of this bylaw and shall thereafter comply with
all of the requirements herein.
Nothing in this bylaw is intended to authorize, legalize or
permit the establishment, operation or maintenance of any business,
building or use which violated any Town bylaw or statute of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts regarding public nuisances, sexual conduct, lewdness,
or obscene or harmful matter, or the exhibition or public display
thereof.
If any provision of this section of the bylaw is ruled invalid
by a court of competent jurisdiction, such ruling shall not affect
the validity of the remainder of the section.
