This chapter shall be known as the "Adult-Oriented Business Ordinance for the Town of Willington."
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Willington 11-1-2017. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Town Meeting of the Town of Willington, Connecticut finds:
A.
Adult-oriented establishments located in the Town of Willington require supervision from the Town's public safety and zoning enforcement 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 of Willington'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, studios, and rooms for the private viewing of so-called "adult motion pictures" and/or videotapes 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)
Closed booths, cubicles, studios, and rooms within adult-oriented establishments 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, studios, 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, 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 in 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.
C.
The continued unregulated operation of adult-oriented establishments, including, without limitation, those specifically cited at Subsection B(1) hereof, is and would be detrimental to the general welfare, health, and safety of the citizens of Willington.
D.
The Constitution and laws of the State of Connecticut 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 Meeting, 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 Town Meeting to impose any additional limitations or restrictions on the contents of any communicative materials, including sexually oriented films, videotapes, books and/or other materials. Further, by enacting this chapter, the Town Meeting 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.
For the purpose of this chapter, 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 related to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, as defined below, for observation by patrons.
An establishment having any portion of its stock and trade in books, films, videocassettes, compact discs 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. This definition shall not apply to any establishment in which such materials are concealed so as not to permit the observation of specified sexual activities and specified anatomical areas by the general public.
Any exhibition of any motion pictures, videotapes, live performances, displays or dances of any type, which has as a significant or substantial portion of such performances any actual or simulated performance of specified sexual activities or exhibition and viewing of specified anatomical areas.
An enclosed building 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, commercial establishments containing one or more adult amusement machines and commercial establishments within which adult entertainment or performances and/or presentations by entertainers occur. "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 entertainment when such establishment is operated or maintained for a profit, direct or indirect.
Includes 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.
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.
An agent of the Health Official, the Zoning Agent, the Building Official, any police officer, the Fire Marshal, and any person to whom any of those officials or the Board of Selectmen may delegate the duty to perform functions under this chapter.
Shall be deemed to refer to a person under the age of 18 years.
Any person, partnership, limited liability company or corporation operating, conducting or maintaining an adult-oriented establishment.
Human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely opaquely covered.
"Specified anatomical areas" and "specified sexual activities" as used in this chapter do not include materials depicted in any medical publications or films; in any bona fide educational publications or films; in any art or photography publications which devote at least 25% of the lineage of each issue to articles and advertisements dealing with subjects of art or photography; in any news periodical which reports or describes current events and which, from time to time, publishes photographs of nude or seminude persons in connection with the dissemination of the news; or in publications or films which describe and report different cultures which, from time to time, publish or show photographs or depictions of nude or seminude persons when describing cultures in which nudity or seminudity is indigenous to the population.
The Town Meeting of the Town of Willington, Connecticut.
Either the Chief of Police of the Town of Willington or any other official statutorily empowered to supervise law enforcement within the Town of Willington.
A.
License required.
(1)
Except as provided in Subsection A(4) below, from and after the effective date of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person, partnership or corporation to engage in, conduct, or carry on or permit to be engaged in, conducted, or carried on, in or upon any premises in the Town, the operation of an adult-oriented establishment without first obtaining a license to operate from the Willington Town Clerk.
(2)
A license may be issued for only one adult-oriented establishment located at a fixed and certain place. Any person, partnership, or corporation which desires to operate more than one adult-oriented establishment must have a license for each.
(3)
It shall be a violation of this chapter for any entertainer, employee, owner, or operator to knowingly work in or about or to knowingly perform any service directly related to the operation of any unlicensed adult-oriented establishment.
(4)
All existing adult-oriented establishments at the time of the passage of this chapter must submit an application for a license within 60 days of the effective date of this chapter. If no application is filed within said sixty-day period, then such existing adult-oriented establishment shall cease operations.
(5)
Each license shall be specific to a licensee and to a location and may not be sold, assigned or transferred to any person, limited liability company, corporation or partnership in any way.
B.
No operator or employee of an adult-oriented establishment shall allow or permit any minor to enter into such establishment or to loiter upon the grounds and parking lot of such establishment.
C.
Each adult-oriented establishment shall display prominently a sign in the dimensions of 24 inches by 24 inches outside of, and adjacent to, each entrance bearing the words "Adult-Oriented Establishment — Persons Under 18 Not Admitted" in white letters against a red background.
D.
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 outside of the building that houses the adult-oriented establishment.
E.
Every adult-oriented establishment doing business in the Town of Willington on and after the effective date of this chapter 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. After the effective date of this chapter, it shall be unlawful to install closed booths, cubicles, rooms or stalls within adult-oriented establishments for the purpose of viewing adult entertainment.
F.
On and after the effective date of this chapter, 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 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 on the premises.
G.
Every act or omission by an employee constituting a violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed the act or omission 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.
H.
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 chapter shall be deemed the act or omission of the operator for purposes of determining whether the operator shall be subject to penalties imposed by this chapter.
I.
All adult-oriented establishments shall be open to inspection at all reasonable times by inspectors or such other persons as the Town Meeting may designate.
J.
No adult-oriented establishment shall be permitted that is less than 1,000 feet from an area zoned residential. The measurement referred to herein shall be the straight horizontal distance from any developed part (e.g., buildings, structures, parking lots) of a parcel of land housing an adult-oriented establishment to any boundary of a zoning district that is zoned for residential use.
K.
No adult-oriented establishment shall be permitted that is less than 1,000 feet from an existing adult-oriented establishment. The measurement referred to herein 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 an adult-oriented establishment.
L.
No adult-oriented establishment shall be permitted that is less than 1,000 feet from a public park; preexisting school, including a licensed day care (whether public or private); or place of worship, meaning to include parish houses and convents. The measurement referred to herein shall be the straight horizontal distance from any part of a building housing an adult-oriented establishment to any part of a public park or to any part of a building housing a preexisting school, including a licensed day care (whether public or private), or place of worship.
[Amended 10-1-2025]
A.
Any person, partnership or corporation desiring to secure a license shall make application to the Town Clerk. Seven copies of the application shall be filed with, and dated by, the Town Clerk. Copies of the application shall be distributed promptly, by the Town Clerk, to the Willington Chief of Police, the First Selectman, the Building Official, the Health Official, the Zoning Agent, and the Planning and Zoning Commission. (Separate permits from these and other agencies may be required in addition to the license.)
B.
The application for a license shall be upon a form provided by the Town Clerk. An applicant for a license, which shall include all partners or limited partners of a partnership applicant, all officers or directors of a corporate applicant, and all stockholders holding more than 5% of the stock of a corporate applicant, and all members or managers of a limited liability company applicant, and all members holding more than 5% of the membership interests of a limited liability company applicant or any other person who is interested directly in the ownership or operation of the business, shall furnish the following information:
(1)
Name and address, including all aliases;
(2)
Written proof that the individual is at least 18 years of age;
(3)
All residential addresses of the applicant for the past 10 years;
(4)
The applicant's height, weight, and color of eyes and hair;
(5)
The businesses, occupations or employment of the applicant for 10 years immediately preceding the date of application;
(6)
Whether the applicant previously operated in this or any other county, town, city or state under an adult-oriented establishment license or similar business license, whether the applicant has ever had such license revoked or suspended, the reason therefor, and the business entity or trade name under which the applicant operated that was subject to the suspension or revocation;
(7)
All criminal statutes, whether federal or state, or Town ordinance violation convictions; forfeiture of bond and pleading of nolo contendere on all charges, except minor traffic violations;
(8)
Fingerprints and two portrait photographs at least two inches by two inches of the applicant;
(9)
The address of the adult-oriented establishment to be operated by the applicant; and
(10)
If the applicant is a corporation or limited liability company, the applicant shall specify the name of the corporation or limited liability company, the date and state of the incorporation or formation, the name and address of the registered agent, and the name and address of all shareholders or members owning more than 5% of the stock or membership interests in said corporation or limited liability company and all officers and directors of the corporation or members and managers of the limited liability company.
C.
Within 75 days of receiving an application for a license, the Town Clerk shall notify the applicant whether the application is granted or denied. The Town Clerk shall grant the application upon written certification from the First Selectman, the Building Official, the Health Official, and the Zoning Agent that all applicable requirements have been met and upon the following circumstances:
(1)
The required fees have been paid;
(2)
The applicant conforms in all respects to the provisions of this chapter;
(3)
The applicant has not made a material misinterpretation of the facts in the application;
(4)
That neither the applicant, if an individual, nor any person financially interested, if a corporation, nor any of the partners, including limited partners, nor the holder of any profit interest, nor the manager or other person principally in charge of the operation of the proposed business has been convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere or guilty to any felony or to a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude;
(5)
The applicant has not had a license, similar to the one issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, issued by another local authority suspended or revoked for cause within the five-year period immediately preceding the date of the filing of the application;
(6)
The proposed business complies with all applicable regulations of the Town of Willington Planning and Zoning Commission; and
(7)
The applicant, manager or other person principally in charge of the operation of the business is at least 18 years of age.
D.
The Town Clerk shall deny the application if all of the requirements set forth in Subsection C(1) through (7) above have not been met. Whenever an application is denied, the Town Clerk shall advise the applicant, in writing, of the reasons for such action. If the applicant requests a hearing within 10 days of receipt of the notification of denial, a public hearing shall be held within 30 days thereafter before the Board of Selectmen, as hereinafter provided.
E.
Failure or refusal of the applicant to give any information relevant to the investigation of the application, or his or her refusal or failure to appear at any reasonable time and place for examination regarding said application, or his or her refusal to submit to cooperate with any investigation required by this chapter shall constitute an admission by the applicant that he or she is ineligible for such license and shall be grounds for denial thereof by the Town Clerk.
A.
To receive a license to operate an adult-oriented establishment, an applicant must meet the following standards:
(1)
If the applicant is an individual:
(a)
The applicant shall be at least 18 years of age.
(b)
The applicant shall not have been convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere to a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude, prostitution, obscenity or other crime of a sexual nature in any jurisdiction within five years immediately preceding the date of the application. Such crimes include, but are not limited to, obscenity, child pornography, prostitution, patronizing a prostitute, promoting or permitting prostitution and sexual assault.
(c)
The applicant shall not have been found to have previously violated this chapter within five years immediately preceding the date of the application.
(2)
If the applicant is a corporation:
(a)
All officers, directors and stockholders required to be named under § 162-5B of this chapter shall be at least 18 years of age.
(b)
No officer, director or stockholder required to be named under § 162-5B of this chapter shall have been convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere to a felony or crime involving moral turpitude, prostitution, obscenity or other crime of a sexual nature in any jurisdiction within five years immediately preceding the date of the application.
(3)
If the applicant is a partnership, joint venture or any other type of organization where two or more persons have a financial interest:
(a)
All persons having a financial interest in the partnership, joint venture or other type of organization shall be at least 18 years of age.
(b)
No person having a financial interest in the partnership, joint venture or other type of organization shall have been convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere to a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude, prostitution, obscenity or other crime of a sexual nature in any jurisdiction within five years immediately preceding the date of the application. Such crimes include, but are not limited to, obscenity, child pornography, prostitution, patronizing a prostitute, promoting or permitting prostitution and sexual assault.
(c)
No person having a financial interest in the partnership, joint venture or other type of organization shall have been found to have violated any provision of this chapter within five years immediately preceding the date of the application.
(4)
If the applicant is a limited liability company:
(a)
All managers and members required to be named under § 162-5B of this chapter shall be at least 18 years of age.
(b)
No manager or member required to be named under § 162-5B of this chapter shall have been convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere to a felony or crime involving moral turpitude, prostitution, obscenity or other crime of a sexual nature in any jurisdiction within five years immediately preceding the date of the application. Such crimes include, but are not limited to, obscenity, child pornography, prostitution, patronizing a prostitute, promoting or permitting prostitution and sexual assault.
B.
No license shall be issued unless the Willington Chief of Police has investigated the applicant's qualifications to be licensed. The results of that investigation shall be filed in writing with the Town Clerk no later than 60 days after the date of the application.
A license fee of $950 shall be submitted with the completed application for a license. If the application is denied, 1/2 of the fee shall be returned.
A.
Every license issued pursuant to this chapter will terminate at the expiration of one year from the date of issuance, unless sooner revoked, and must be renewed before operation is allowed in the following year. Any operator desiring to renew a license shall make application to the Town Clerk. The application for renewal shall be filed not later than 60 days before the license expires. The application for renewal shall be filed in triplicate with and dated by the Town Clerk. A copy of the application for renewal shall be distributed promptly by the Town Clerk to the Willington Chief of Police and to the operator. The application for renewal shall be upon a form provided by the Town Clerk and shall contain such information and data as is required for an application for a new license.
B.
A license renewal fee of $500 shall be submitted with the application for renewal. In addition to the renewal fee, a late penalty of $100 shall be assessed against the applicant who files for a renewal less than 60 days before the license expires. If the application is denied, 1/2 of the total fees collected shall be returned.
C.
If the Willington Chief of Police is aware of any information bearing on the operator's qualifications, that information shall be filed in writing with the Town Clerk.
A.
The Board of Selectmen shall revoke a license or permit for any of the following reasons:
(1)
Discovery that false or misleading information or data was given on any application or material facts were omitted from any application;
(2)
The operator or any employee of the operator violates any provision of this chapter or any rule or regulation adopted by the Board of Selectmen pursuant to this chapter; provided, however, that in the case of a first offense by an operator where the conduct was solely that of an employee, the penalty shall not exceed a suspension of 30 days if the Board shall find that the operator had no actual or constructive knowledge of such violation and could not, by the exercise of due diligence, have had such actual or constructive knowledge;
(3)
The operator becomes ineligible to obtain a license or permit;
(4)
Any cost or fee required to be paid by this chapter is not paid; or
(5)
Any alcoholic liquor or alcoholic beverage, as defined in C.G.S. § 30-1(3), is served or consumed on the premises of the adult-oriented establishment.
B.
The Board of Selectmen, before revoking or suspending any license or permit, shall give the operator at least 10 days' written notice of the charges against him and the opportunity for a public hearing before the Board within 30 days after receipt of the notice.
C.
The transfer of a license or any interest in a license shall automatically and immediately revoke the license.
D.
Any operator whose license is revoked shall not be eligible to receive a license for one year from the date of revocation. No location or premises for which a license has been issued shall be used as an adult-oriented establishment for six months from the date of revocation of the license.
E.
The Board of Selectmen shall give notice to the Town Clerk of any revocations or suspensions.
Should any court of competent jurisdiction declare any section, clause or provision of this chapter to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid under Connecticut state law, such decision shall affect only such section, clause or provision so declared unconstitutional or invalid and shall not affect any other section, clause or provision of this chapter.