[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Wolcott 6-18-2002 by Ord. No. 84. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Adult Oriented Business
Establishments Ordinance for the Town of Wolcott."
The Town Council of the Town of Wolcott, Connecticut (hereinafter
the "Council") finds:
A.
There are or may in the future be adult-oriented business establishments,
hereinafter defined, located in the Town of Wolcott, which establishments
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
business establishments, especially those which provide closed booths,
cubicles, studios and rooms for the private viewing of so-called "adult"
motion pictures and/or electronic media and/or live entertainment;
and[1]
(2)
Such closed booths, cubicles, studios and rooms have been used by
patrons, clients or customers of such adult-oriented business establishments
for the purpose of engaging in certain sexual acts; and
(3)
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
(4)
Such establishments attract an undesirably large number of transients
as customers, leading to an increase in crime, particularly prostitution,
and an adverse effect particularly on residential neighborhoods; 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 and/or with
other persons, 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
business establishments tend to discourage such sexual acts and prostitution,
and thereby promote the health, safety and welfare of the patrons,
clients and customers of such establishments.
C.
The continued unregulated operation of such adult-oriented business
establishments is and would be detrimental to the health, safety and
welfare of the citizens of the Town of Wolcott.
D.
The Constitution and laws of the State of Connecticut grant to the
Town powers, including regulatory and police powers, to enact reasonable
legislation and measures to regulate and supervise such adult-oriented
business establishments in order to protect the public health, safety
and welfare.
E.
It is not the intent of the Council, in enacting this chapter, to
deny any person rights to speech protected by the United States and/or
State Constitutions, nor is it the intent of the Council to impose
any additional limitations or restrictions on the contents of any
communicative materials, including sexually oriented films, electronic
media, books and or other materials. Further, by enacting this chapter,
the Council 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
of exhibitors of such sexually oriented materials may have to sell,
distribute or exhibit such materials.[2]
For the purpose of this chapter, the words and phrases used
herein shall have the following meanings, unless otherwise clearly
indicated by the context:
An establishment having less than 10% of its stock-in-trade
in books, magazines, electronic media, adult materials and devices
used for sexual stimulation or display, films for sale, barter or
rent or for viewing on premises by use of motion-picture devices or
any other coin-operated means and other printed materials which are
distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matters depicting
or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas, as defined below. Any such accessory adult use shall be enclosed
and controlled so as to restrict exposure and entry to exclude any
minor by reason of age. All adult personal service establishments
and activities shall be deemed to be a principal activity.
Includes any amusement machine, as defined below, that is
regularly used for presenting material distinguished or characterized
by its emphasis on matters depicting, describing or relating to specified
sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, as defined below.
An establishment having 10% or more of its stock-in-trade
in books, magazines, films, electronic media, adult materials and
devices used for sexual stimulation or display, films for sale or
rent or for viewing on premises by use of motion-picture devices or
any other coin-operated means and other printed materials and other
periodicals which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis
on matters depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities
or specified anatomical areas, as defined below.
A public or private establishment which is licensed to serve
food and/or alcoholic beverages, which features nude or partially
nude dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female
impersonators, or similar entertainers, or acts relating to specified
sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, as defined below,
for observation by patrons therein and from which type of establishment
minors are customarily excluded by virtue of age.
Any exhibition of any adult-oriented motion pictures, live
performance, display or dance of any type which has as a significant
or substantial portion of such performance any actual or simulated
performance of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas, as defined below.
An enclosed building with a capacity of fewer than 50 persons
used regularly and routinely for presenting materials having as a
dominant theme material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis
on matters depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities
or specified anatomical areas, as defined below, for observation by
patrons therein and from which type of establishment minors are customarily
excluded by virtue of age.
An enclosed building with a capacity of 50 or more persons
used regularly and routinely for presenting motion-picture films,
cable television, or any other such visual or electronic media, distinguished
or characterized by an emphasis on matters depicting, describing or
relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas,
as defined below, for observation by patrons therein and from which
type of theater minors are customarily excluded by virtue of age.
An establishment having 10% or more of its stock-in-trade
in adult materials, toys and other devices designed for sexual stimulation
and from which type of establishment minors are customarily excluded
by virtue of age.
Any public or private establishment of the type which is
customarily not open to the general public but only to one or more
classes of the public, thereby excluding any minor by reason of age,
and whose principal activity includes but is not limited to one or
a combination of the following types of businesses: adult bookstore,
adult cabaret, adult motion-picture theater, adult mini-motion-picture
theater, adult novelty business, adult video store, and adult personal
service establishment, as well as 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 purposes
of viewing adult entertainment, any premises to which the public,
patrons or members are invited or admitted wherein an entertainer,
as defined below, 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,
regardless of how such premises are advertised or represented, but
including, without limitation, an adult entertainment studio, rap
studio, exotic dance studio, encounter studio, sensitivity studio,
modeling studio or any other term or business of like import.
An establishment, club, or business by whatever name designated
which offers or advertises or is equipped or arranged so as to allow
a person while clothed, nude or partially nude to provide personal
services for a person of the same or other sex on an individual basis
in an open or closed room and which excludes minors by virtue of age.
Such services or activities include but are not limited to massages,
body rubs, alcohol rubs, baths and other similar treatments, as well
as modeling studios, body painting studios, body piercing studios,
wrestling studios, and individual theatrical performances. It does
not include activities performed by persons pursuant to, and in accordance
with, licenses issued to such persons by the State of Connecticut,
nor does it include the following specific uses and activities:
Treatment by a licensed chiropractor, a licensed osteopath,
a Connecticut-licensed masseur or masseuse, a licensed practical nurse
or a registered professional nurse;
Electrolysis treatment by a licensed operator of electrolysis
equipment;
Hospitals, nursing homes, medical clinics or medical offices;
Barbershops or beauty parlors which offer massage to the scalp,
the face, the neck or shoulders only;
Athletic facilities of an educational institution, including
an alumni club, or of a philanthropic or charitable institution; and
Health establishments including commercial and noncommercial
clubs, which are equipped and arranged to provide instruction, services,
or activities which improve or affect a person's physical condition
by physical exercise or by massage. Physical exercise programs include
aerobics, martial arts or the use of exercise equipment.
An establishment having 10% or more of its stock-in-trade
in electronic media or films for barter, sale or rent or for viewing
on premises by use of motion-picture devices or any other coin-operated
means, and other printed materials and other periodicals which are
distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matters depicting
or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas, as defined below.
Any machine which, upon the payment of a charge or upon the
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,
and shall include but not be limited to such devices as pinball machines,
skillball, mechanical grab machines, any and all air-propelled machines
or games, pool tables, shooting games, any and all video games and
all other games and operations similar thereto under whatever name
they may be indicated, including video monitoring machines.
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 business establishment.
Any person who engages in the performance of "adult entertainment
within an adult-oriented business establishment, as defined in this
section, whether or not a fee is charged or accepted for such entertainment
and whether or not such person is an employee or an independent contractor.
An employee of the Health District, or the Zoning Enforcement
Officer, or an employee of the Building Department, or a member of
the Wolcott Police Department, or the Wolcott Fire Marshal, or an
agent of any or all of such persons, who is designated to inspect
premises regulated under this chapter, and to take the required actions
authorized by this chapter in case of violations being found on such
premises, and to require corrections of unsatisfactory conditions
found on said premises.
Any person under the age of 18 years.
Any person, partnership, limited partnership, limited-liability
company, corporation or other business entity operating, conducting
or maintaining an adult-oriented business establishment.
Having any part of specified anatomical areas, as defined
below, less than completely and opaquely covered.
A use accounting for 10% or more of a business's stock-in-trade,
in display space, or floor space, or movie display time per month.
A.
No operator or employee of an adult-oriented business establishment
shall allow or permit any minor to loiter in any part of such establishment,
including parking lots immediately adjacent to such establishment
used by patrons of such adult-oriented business establishment.
B.
The interior of every adult-oriented business establishment doing
business in the Town on and after the effective date of this chapter
shall be well lighted at all times and shall 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 business establishments for
the purpose of providing for adult entertainment.
C.
On and after the effective date of this chapter, the operator of
each adult-oriented business establishment shall be responsible for
and shall provide that any room or other area used for the purpose
of viewing adult-oriented pictures or other types of 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 to 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.
D.
Every act or omission committed by an employee constituting a violation
of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed the act or omission
of the operator and the operator shall be subject to penalties for
such act or omission in the same manner as if the operator had committed
the act or caused the omission.
E.
All adult-oriented business establishments shall be open to inspection
at all reasonable times by the Wolcott Police Department, inspectors
employed by the Town, or such other persons as the Council may designate.
F.
No adult-oriented business establishment shall be permitted on a
site that is less than 1,000 feet from an existing adult-oriented
business establishment.
All adult-oriented business establishments shall comply in all
respects with the Zoning Regulations of the Town of Wolcott, without
benefit of variances of any kind.
All adult-oriented business establishments shall acquire and
maintain a license from the Town of Wolcott in the following manner:
A.
The operator or proposed operator, as defined in § 205-3 above, of an adult-oriented business establishment shall submit an application to the Wolcott Chief of Police upon a form to be provided by the Chief of Police. Within 45 days after receipt of a completed application, the Chief of Police shall mail to the applicant a license or a notice of intent to deny. If he fails to do so, the license shall be deemed granted. The application shall be deemed complete when the Chief of Police has received the fees, all pertinent information required in § 205-7 below, a photograph and fingerprints of the applicant and, in the case of a corporation or other business organization, photographs and fingerprints of all persons for whom information is required under § 205-7 of this chapter.
B.
The premises must be inspected by the Chesprocott Regional Health
District, Wolcott Fire Department, Wolcott Zoning Department and Wolcott
Building Department within 30 days of receipt of the completed application.
If the premises are in compliance with state and local health, fire
and building codes and zoning regulations, a license shall be issued
within 45 days of receipt of the completed application, unless the
applicant is deemed unqualified. The inspections required by this
subsection shall be requested by the applicant in writing to each
applicable agency or department simultaneously with the submission
of the application to the Chief of Police. Proof that said written
requests have been made along with the dates of same shall be submitted
with said application.
C.
The applicant shall be deemed unqualified, or shall become unqualified,
if one or more of the following is true regarding such applicant or,
if the proposed operator is a business entity, regarding any officer,
director, member, partner, limited partner, and major shareholder
(a holder of 10% or more of the stock of said corporation) of such
operator and all other persons with authority to participate directly
and regularly in the management of the business of such operator:
(1)
An applicant is under 18 years of age;
(2)
An applicant is overdue in payment to the Town of Wolcott of taxes, fees, fines or penalties assessed against him/her in relation to an adult-oriented business establishment, or as set forth in Chapter 320, Article IV, Issuance of Permits and Certificates and Contract Payments to Delinquent Taxpayers, of the Town Code.
(3)
An applicant has failed to provide the information required by this
chapter for issuance of the license or has falsely answered a question
or request for information on the application form;
(4)
An applicant has violated a provision of this chapter within two
years immediately preceding the application;
(5)
The premises to be approved for the adult-oriented business establishment
have not been approved by the Chesprocott Regional Health District
Department, Wolcott Fire Department, Wolcott Zoning Department and
Wolcott Building Department as being in compliance with applicable
laws, ordinances and regulations within 30 days of the filing of the
application;
(6)
An applicant is in violation of the Town of Wolcott's Zoning Regulations;
(7)
The license fee required by § 205-8 of this chapter has not been paid at the time the application was filed with the Chief of Police;
(8)
An applicant has been employed in an adult-oriented business establishment
in a managerial capacity within the preceding 12 months and has demonstrated
an inability to operate or manage an adult-oriented business establishment
in a peaceful and law-abiding manner, thus necessitating action by
law enforcement officers; and/or
(9)
An applicant has been convicted of or has pleaded guilty or nolo
contendere to a felony or a crime of moral turpitude involving racketeering,
prostitution, controlled substances, sexual misconduct, child pornography
or risk of injury to a child, as set forth in the Connecticut General
Statutes or the United States Code of Criminal Conduct, or for conduct
in another jurisdiction which would constitute an offense set forth
above if carried out in Connecticut within the previous 60 months.
D.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection C(9) above, an applicant shall not be deemed unqualified solely because of prior conviction of a crime; however, if the applicant has been convicted of a crime, the Chief of Police may consider the following when determining applicant qualifications:
E.
If an applicant is deemed unqualified, said rejection shall be in
writing and shall specifically state the evidence presented and the
reason(s) for rejection and shall be sent to the applicant by registered
mail, to the address designated in the application.
F.
The license, if granted, shall state on its face the name of the
person(s) to whom it is granted, the expiration date and the address
of the adult-oriented business establishment. The license shall be
posted in a conspicuous place at or near the entrance to the adult-oriented
business establishment so that it may be easily read at any time.
A.
The application for a license shall include the information called for in Subsection A(1) through (9) below. If the applicant is a business entity, it shall designate an officer, partner or member as applicant. In such case, in addition to the information in Subsection A(1) through (9) below, the application shall state the date of formation of the business entity and the information called for in Subsection A(2) through (6) below with respect to each officer, director, member, general partner, limited partner, major stockholder (a holder of 10% or more of the stock of said corporation) and all other persons with authority to participate directly and regularly in the management of the business, but such information need not be provided with respect to attorneys, accountants and other persons whose primary function is to provide professional assistance to the licensee.
(1)
The name, business location, business mailing address and phone number
of the adult-oriented business establishment;
(2)
The full true name and any other names, aliases or stage names used
in the preceding five years;
(3)
Current residential mailing address and telephone number;
(4)
Written proof of age in the form of a birth certificate, current
driver's license with picture or other picture identification document
issued by a governmental agency;
(5)
The issuing jurisdiction and the effective dates of any license or
permit relating to an adult-oriented business establishment or adult
personal service, whether any such license or permit has been revoked
or suspended and, if so, the reason(s) therefor;[1]
(6)
All criminal charges, complaints or indictments in the preceding
five years which resulted in a conviction or a plea of guilty or nolo
contendere;
(7)
The name and address of the statutory agent or other agent authorized
to receive service of process;
(8)
The name(s) of the adult-oriented business establishment manager(s)
who will have actual supervisory authority over the operations of
the business; and
(9)
An accurate, drawn to scale but not necessarily professionally drawn,
floor plan of the business premises clearly indicating the location
of one or more manager's stations.
B.
The information provided pursuant to Subsection A(5) and (6) shall be supplemented in writing by certified mail to the Chief of Police within 10 working days of a change of circumstances which would render information originally submitted as false, incomplete, or outdated, or in the event of a change in the name of ownership of the license holder, or of any officer, director, member, limited partner, general partner, or major shareholder.
A license fee of $500 shall be submitted with the application
for a license. If the application is denied, 1/2 of the fee shall
be returned.
A.
Each license shall expire one year from the date of issuance and may be renewed annually by making an application, as provided in § 205-6 of this chapter. Application for renewal should be made at least 45 days before the expiration date to allow Town officials time to review the application in a timely manner; however, when an application for renewal is made less than 45 days before the expiration date, the expiration of the license will not be affected.
B.
All applications for renewal must comply in all respects with the same criteria as an original application, as set forth above, with the exception of the application fee. Said application for renewal may be denied for any of the same reasons as for the original application, set forth in § 205-6 above.
C.
An annual, nonrefundable license renewal fee of $250 shall be submitted
with the renewal application. In addition to the renewal fee, a late
penalty of $50 shall be assessed against the applicant who files for
renewal less than 45 days before the license expires.
D.
No adult-oriented business establishment shall operate if its license
expires by lapse of time.
The Chief of Police shall suspend a license for a period not
to exceed 30 days if he determines that an operator or an employee
of an operator has violated any part of this chapter or violated any
state statute regarding the subject establishment.
A.
The Chief of Police shall revoke a license if a cause of suspension in § 205-10 occurs and the license has been suspended within the preceding 12 months, or if said license has been suspended four or more times since the issuance of the initial license.
B.
The Chief of Police shall revoke a license if he determines that:
(1)
An operator gave false or misleading information in the material
submitted during the application process;
(2)
An operator becomes unqualified during the term of the license as set forth in § 205-6 of this chapter;
(3)
An operator or an employee of an operator has knowingly allowed possession,
use or sale of controlled substances (as defined by the Connecticut
General Statutes) on the premises of the adult-oriented business establishment
or in any areas appurtenant thereto over which the licensee has control
and/or possession;
(4)
An operator or an employee of an operator has knowingly allowed or
promoted prostitution on the premises of the adult-oriented business
establishment;
(5)
An operator or an employee of an operator has knowingly operated
the adult-oriented business establishment during the period of time
when the operator's license was suspended;
(6)
An operator or an employee of an operator has knowingly allowed or
as a result of his/her negligent failure to supervise has allowed
any act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, masturbation
or sexual contact to occur in or on the premises of the adult-oriented
business establishment; or
C.
Any operator whose license is revoked shall not be eligible to receive
a license for one year from the date of revocation and until a new
application is made; provided, however, that any operator whose license
has been revoked as a result of having its license suspended four
or more times since the issuance of the initial license shall have
forfeited any and all rights to reapply for a license for a period
of five years from the date of the last license suspension.
A.
An operator shall not transfer his/her license to another, nor shall
an operator operate an adult-oriented business establishment under
the authority of a license at any place other than the address designated
in the application.
B.
The transfer of a license or any interest in a license shall automatically
and immediately revoke the license.
If the Chief of Police denies the issuance of a license or suspends or revokes a license, he shall, within 10 days of his decision, send to the applicant or operator at the address listed on the application by certified mail, return receipt requested, written notice of his decision and shall further specifically state the evidence presented, the reason for the decision and the right to an appeal. The aggrieved party may appeal the decision to the Mayor within 30 days of receipt of the notice by filing a written application to the Wolcott Town Clerk requesting a hearing before the Mayor. At the hearing, the applicant/operator shall have the opportunity to present evidence in support of his appeal. The Chief of Police or his designee shall also have the right to present evidence in support of the denial, suspension or revocation. Such hearing shall be scheduled within 30 days of the notice of appeal. The Mayor shall render a decision within 45 days of receipt of the appeal or within 10 days from the conclusion of the hearing, whichever date occurs later. The aggrieved party may file an appeal of the Mayor's decision directly to the Superior Court for the Judicial District of Waterbury within 15 days of issuance of a notice of denial of the appeal by the Mayor, which appeal shall be heard by the Court de novo. The filing of an appeal stays the action of the Town in suspending or revoking a license until the Mayor or, if appealed, the Superior Court makes a final decision, unless otherwise ordered by the Superior Court. Nothing in this section shall prevent the Town from proceeding with an injunction action pursuant to § 205-14 hereof.
B.
Each violation of this chapter shall be considered a separate offense,
and any violation continuing for more than one hour of time from receipt
of notice of violation shall be considered a separate offense for
each hour of violation.
C.
The penalties provided for in this section shall be in addition to
any and all other enforcement remedies provided for in this chapter
and in any other applicable zoning regulations, local ordinances,
state statutes, and as allowed by law and equity, including a request
for injunctive relief.
A.
Any adult-oriented business establishment existing and actively operating
for a period of at least one year prior to the effective date of this
chapter shall not be subject to provisions of this chapter; except,
however:
B.
All preexisting adult-oriented business establishments meeting the
above one-year existence requirement shall be exempt from the provisions
of this chapter as long as they meet the following requirements.:
In construing this chapter, masculine or neuter pronouns shall
be substituted for those of feminine form and vice versa and the plural
of the singular and the singular of the plural shall be substituted
in any case in which the context may require.
