[Added 5-27-1998 by Ord. No. 98-117; amended 11-22-1999 by Ord. No. 00-28]
A.
Findings.
(1)
A number of commercial establishments located in the
City of Bangor presently offer nude dances and other nude performances
as a form of public entertainment.
(2)
Within the past year, the number of such establishments
located in the City of Bangor has increased.
(3)
The types of nude entertainment offered by such establishments
and regulated by this article are a purely commercial activity, unrelated
to free expression and the exchange of ideas.
(4)
The types of nude entertainment regulated by this
article consist of lewd exhibitions that are patently offensive to
a large majority of the residents of the City of Bangor.
(5)
Unlimited commercial exploitation of nudity can induce
individuals to engage in prostitution, sexual assaults, breaches of
the peace and other criminal activity.
(6)
Displays of nudity in commercial establishments tend
to create, and have created, a tawdry atmosphere which adversely affects
the quality of life of Bangor's residents.
(7)
Persons under the age of 18, by reason of their age
and inexperience, are especially susceptible to prostitution and other
criminal activity if employed by or allowed entrance as patrons of
commercial establishments offering nude entertainment.
(8)
Commercial establishments offering nude entertainment
should be sited in locations that minimize their negative effects
on public health, safety and morals.
B.
In view of the foregoing legislative findings, for
the purpose of protecting the public health, safety and morals, the
City Council of the City of Bangor hereby adopts the following regulations
of commercial nudity within the City of Bangor.
A.
B.
NUDE ENTERTAINMENT
PREMISES
In addition, the following terms shall have the definitions
stated:
Any display of live persons in a state of nudity, or in a
visible state of sexual excitement whether or not clothed.
The entire building or structure concerned, including all
floors, attics, basement areas, and outbuildings, whether or not partitioned
into separate rooms or areas.
No person operating a commercial establishment in the City of Bangor shall present or allow presentation of any form of nude entertainment on the premises of the establishment concerned without first obtaining a certificate of occupancy for that purpose from the city's Code Enforcement Officer. The application procedure and criteria for issuance of a certificate of occupancy shall be as provided in Chapter 165, Land Development, § 165-10C; provided, however, that the following additional requirements shall apply to commercial establishments offering nude entertainment:
A.
The application for a certificate of occupancy under Chapter 165, § 165-10C shall state that the proposed use includes nude entertainment. The application shall describe the nude entertainment to be offered, including the intended frequency and times, and shall indicate the area of the premises where the nude entertainment shall take place.
B.
The application shall disclose the name and current
residence address of all principals of the business concerned and
shall disclose the name and current residence address of all persons
holding a financial interest of 5% or more in the business concerned.
C.
Prior to granting a certificate of occupancy, the Code Enforcement Officer shall forward the application to the Chief of Police for a criminal information background check on each of the persons named in the application under Subsection B above. The Code Enforcement Officer shall deny the application if the applicant, any principal of the business concerned or any holder of a 5% or greater financial interest in the business concerned has a record of conviction of prostitution, promoting prostitution or of a Class A, B, or C felony under Maine law, or equivalent offenses in other jurisdictions, during the ten-year period ending prior to the application date.
D.
Location and standards.
(1)
No certificate of occupancy shall be granted for a commercial establishment offering nude entertainment, unless the premises concerned are located in a commercial zoning district and the premises concerned meet all district provisions and development standards contained in Chapter 165, Land Development, plus the following additional requirements:
(a)
No certificate of occupancy shall be granted
for a commercial establishment offering nude entertainment if the
premises concerned are located within 500 feet of any other such establishment
for which a certificate of occupancy, previously issued, remains in
force; any establishment licensed to sell alcohol for on-premises
or off-premises consumption under 28-A M.R.S.A. § 601 et
seq.; a church, chapel, parish house or other place of worship; or
a public library, juvenile shelter or orphanage in existence as of
the application date, as measured from the main entrance of the premises
to the main entrance of a building by the ordinary course of travel.
(b)
The premises concerned must not be located within 500 feet of the nearest district boundary of any residential zoning district established under the provisions of Chapter 165, Land Development, of the City of Bangor, as measured in a straight line from the premises to the boundary of the zoning district.
(c)
The premises concerned must not be located within
500 feet of the nearest property line of any public or private school,
school dormitory, or school ground, public playground or City of Bangor
public park, as measured in a straight line from the premises to the
property line.
(2)
For the purposes of this Subsection D, the term "commercial zoning district" consists of the following zoning districts, as defined in Chapter 165, Articles XIII and XIV: Neighborhood Service District, Urban Service District, Airport Development District, Shopping and Personal Service District, General Commercial and Service District and, subject to conditional use approval, Urban Industry District.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
E.
(Reserved)
F.
No certificate of occupancy shall be issued for a
commercial establishment offering nude entertainment unless the premises
concerned include changing rooms and toilet facilities for performers
that are separated from any area of the premises to which the public
will have access.
G.
No certificate of occupancy shall be issued for a
commercial establishment offering nude entertainment if any portion
of the premises concerned consists of residential apartments or units,
whether or not occupied.
I.
The subsequent establishment of an establishment licensed
to sell alcohol, a public or private school or school dormitory, a
church, chapel, parish house or other place of worship, a public library,
a juvenile shelter or orphanage, a playground or public park or the
rezoning of any nonresidential district within 500 feet of a residential
district (with the exception of the zoning district in which the adult
business is situated) shall not affect the validity a certificate
of occupancy of a legally existing commercial establishment offering
nude entertainment. In the event of the subsequent establishment of
any of the foregoing uses, the commercial establishment offering nude
entertainment shall be treated as any other use permitted in the zoning
district.
A.
No person under the age of 18 years shall be employed
in any capacity upon the premises of a commercial establishment that
offers nude entertainment. The operator of each such establishment
shall be responsible for verifying the age of each employee through
photographic identification, including hourly employees, salaried
employees and all persons working on the premises for tips, commissions
or as independent contractors, contract dancers or contract performers.
(1)
Each employer shall maintain records showing the name
and date of birth for each employee, including a copy of the photographic
identification used to verify age. Prior to any employee's beginning
employment, the operator shall bring the records to the Bangor Police
Department to verify the age of the prospective employee. These records
must be maintained by the employer until six months after the employee
ceases to work for the employer. These records are also subject to
review by the Bangor police on the business premises during normal
operating hours.
(2)
In the event that the Bangor police reasonably suspect
that any employee listed in the records is under the age of 18 years,
the Bangor police may copy the record for investigatory purposes.
Any record or information so obtained, and any subsequent information
developed therefrom, is declared to be "intelligence and investigative
record information" under 16 M.R.S.A. § 803, Subsection
7, the Intelligence and Investigative Record Information Act, which,
if publicly disclosed, would endanger the life or safety of the individuals
named therein. Record information may be disclosed to the person named
therein, notwithstanding this declaration.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
B.
No person under the age of 18 years shall be admitted
to any commercial establishment offering nude entertainment, as a
customer or patron. The operator of each such establishment shall
be responsible for verifying the age of each person entering the premises,
through photographic identification.
C.
No alcoholic beverages shall be sold, served or given
away on the premises of any commercial establishment offering nude
entertainment, whether for on-premises or off-premises consumption.
Operators of any such establishment shall not allow customers or patrons
to bring or consume alcoholic beverages on the premises.
D.
There shall be no physical contact on the premises
between patrons and dancers. For the purposes of this subsection,
"physical contact" does not include incidental touching between a
dancer and patron of a business or social nature, i.e., a handshake
or the brief contact that occurs while a patron is giving a tip to
a dancer. In no case shall incidental contact be deemed to include
contact barred by the state statutes regarding unlawful sexual contact.
E.
Dancers or performers who remove any garments during
the nude entertainment shall not toss or throw those garments to any
customer or patron.
G.
Nude entertainment presented in a commercial establishment
shall not include any showing of the male or female genitals, pubic
area, perineum or anus of any person with less than a fully opaque
covering.
H.
No nude entertainment shall be presented after the
hour of 1:00 a.m. All premises offering nude entertainment shall be
closed and cleared of customers and patrons between the hours of 1:15
a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 9:00 a.m. Sundays.
A.
Any violation of this article by the owner, lessee, licensee, permittee or operator of a premises shall constitute a land use violation and shall be subject to prosecution and penalties as provided in 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4452, provided that the minimum fine for any violation by such persons shall be $500 for each offense. In addition, the Code Enforcement officer may suspend or revoke the certificate of occupancy for any establishment offering nude entertainment in violation of this article, or in violation of conditions contained in the certificate of occupancy. Suspension or revocation of a certificate of occupancy shall be subject to administrative appeal as provided in Chapter 165, Land Development, § 165-11.
B.
Any violation of this article by a person other than
the owner, lessee, licensee, permittee or operator of a premises shall
be punished by a fine of not less than $500 for the first offense,
and not less than $1,000 for the second and subsequent offenses.
A.
Within 30 days after the effective date of this article, all commercial establishments offering nude entertainment that wish to remain in operation at their existing location shall apply for a new certificate of occupancy as provided in § 228-14 above. In considering those applications, the requirements of § 228-14D and G shall not be deemed to apply; provided, however, that any certificate of occupancy granted to an existing establishment under this section that otherwise would have been denied under § 228-14D or G shall be deemed to expire on June 1, 2001, and shall not be renewed thereafter, unless the applicant and the premises concerned shall at that time comply with all requirements of this article.
B.
(Reserved)
The application and location restrictions of § 228-14A through D above shall not apply to theaters, dinner theaters, licensed movie theaters or similar establishments which are primarily devoted to theatrical performances or the presentation of movies, provided that any displays of live nudity within such theaters, dinner theaters, licensed movie theaters or similar establishments shall be limited to occasional nudity by bona fide stage actors during the course of theatrical performances; provided also that the provisions of §§ 228-14F through I, 228-15C through H and 228-16 of this article shall apply to nude theatrical performances under this section.
