[Adopted as Secs. 12:12-1 to 12:12-8 of the
1975 General Ordinances; amended 7-17-1984;10-25-1988]
The purpose of this article is to provide for
the social welfare, health, peace and morals of the citizens of Burlington
Township and, in particular, to ensure that adult live entertainment
which would be obscene under current state law does not occur within
the Township and that non-obscene adult live entertainment is properly
regulated and licensed.
A.
SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREA
SPECIFIED SEXUAL ACTIVITY
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation
or other entity engaged in a commercial enterprise to offer for view
any persons such as dancers, nude or seminude entertainers or any
other persons engaged in showing or exhibiting "specified anatomical
areas," as defined herein, or "specified sexual activity," as defined
herein, without first having obtained an adult live entertainment
license.
B.
The conduct described previously in this section for
which an adult live entertainment license is required shall constitute
"adult live entertainment" for the purposes of this article.
A.
Any person desiring to obtain an adult live entertainment
license shall make application therefor to the Township Council on
a form to be provided by the Office of the Township Clerk. Such application
form shall contain the following information:
(1)
Name, residence and age of person making application
and title, if appropriate.
(2)
Whether applicant is an individual, partnership, corporation
or other entity.
(3)
If a partnership, the names of all persons having
an interest in the partnership, their addresses and ages.
(4)
If a corporation, the names, addresses and ages of
all of the principal officers, directors and managers.
(5)
If a corporation, the name of each shareholder, together
with the total number of shares held by each and the total number
of outstanding shares.
(8)
The nature of the adult live entertainment for which
a license is sought, setting forth the number of entertainers who
will perform on the premises at any one given time, the nature of
the room or other place in which the entertainment will take place
and its location on the premises, and the seating arrangements, if
any.
B.
Said application shall be signed and verified by the
applicant before an officer authorized to administer oaths.
C.
Said application shall be referred to the Director
of Public Safety and Construction Official of the Township for proper
investigation of the applicant and the premises. Within 30 days after
receipt of the completed application, the Director of Public Safety
and Construction Official shall report the results of their investigation
to the Township Council.
[Amended 10-27-2009 by Ord. No. 09-OR-024]
D.
The Township Council shall grant the license for the
specific premises requested unless, based upon the investigation reports
received or other evidence presented to the Council, it shall appear
that:
(1)
The applicant or any partner, if the applicant is
a partnership, or any person owning more than 10% of the shares, if
the applicant is a corporation, is not of good moral character or
does not have business responsibilities.
(2)
The premises for which the license is sought does
not comply with relevant Township ordinances and all other laws and
regulations of the State of New Jersey.
E.
In the event the applicant is denied a license, the
applicant shall be entitled to request a hearing before the Township
Council, and at such hearing, if the applicant establishes to the
satisfaction of the Council that the requisites for the issuance of
a license have been met, the Township Council shall grant the applicant
a license.
A.
The fee for each adult live entertainment license
shall be $100, payable upon submission of the application. In the
event that an application is denied, $50 shall be refunded to the
applicant.
B.
All licenses issued between the first day of January
and the 30th day of June, inclusive, of any year, shall expire on
the 31st day of December of the same year, and all licenses issued
between the first day of July and the 31st day of December, inclusive,
of any year shall expire on the 30th day of June of the succeeding
year.
C.
The fee for a renewal of a license shall be $75, payable
upon application for renewal. Procedure for renewal shall be the same
as for the initial license, and should renewal be denied, $35 of the
renewal fee shall be refunded to the applicant.
D.
A license shall not be transferable to any other person,
entity or to any other premises.
A.
No license shall permit any adult live entertainment,
as herein defined, to be performed on any licensed premises by any
person under 18 years of age nor shall a licensee permit any person
under 18 years of age to observe any adult live entertainment.
B.
No licensee shall permit any adult live entertainment
performance which is obscene under the definition of "obscene material"
set forth in N.J.S.A. 2C:34-2.
C.
No licensee shall permit any person to perform any
adult live entertainment, as defined herein, unless such person has
a valid adult live entertainer's license issued by the Township.
D.
No licensee shall permit any physical contact between
any adult live entertainer and any persons observing said entertainment.
E.
No licensee shall permit any refreshments to be served
or alcoholic beverages to be served or consumed during any adult live
entertainment performance.
F.
No licensee shall permit any disorderly conduct during
any adult live performance.
A.
Township Council may suspend or revoke any adult live entertainment license for violations of § 100-13 of this article or in the event that it is established that the license was obtained by fraudulent or materially false representations of fact.
B.
Notice of intention to suspend or revoke such license
shall be served upon the licensee of such premises by certified mail.
The notice shall include or have attached thereto a statement of the
facts upon which the violation is charged. The licensee shall be entitled
to a hearing before the Township Council within 60 days. Whenever
any license shall be suspended or revoked, no refund of any unearned
portion of the fee shall be made, and at least six months from the
time of such suspension or revocation shall elapse before another
license shall be issued for the same premises. If the license of any
premises be twice suspended or revoked within a period of one year,
a new license shall not be issued to such place for a period of at
least one year from the date of the second suspension or revocation.
A.
No person shall perform or engage in any adult live entertainment, as defined in § 100-10 of this article, without having first obtained an adult live entertainment license from the Township Council. No such license shall be issued to any person not 18 years of age.
B.
Application forms for an adult live entertainer's
license shall be obtained from the Office of the Township Clerk and
shall contain the following information:
(1)
Name, address, age and birth date.
(2)
Prior experience or involvement in the adult live
entertainment field, including previous places of employment and length
of employment, if any.
(3)
Whether applicant was ever convicted of violating
any law relating to obscenity.
(4)
Two photographs to be supplied by the applicant.
(5)
Fingerprints of the applicant.
C.
The application shall be signed and verified by the
applicant before an officer authorized to administer oaths.
D.
The application shall be referred to the Director
of Public Safety for investigation, and he shall report within 30
days the results of his investigation to the Township Council.
[Amended 10-27-2009 by Ord. No. 09-OR-024]
E.
The Township Council shall not grant the license if it appears from the report of the investigation or other evidence presented to the Council that there is high likelihood, based upon the applicant's background, that the applicant will not abide by the provisions of Subsection J of this section or that the applicant does not have the requisite moral character.
(1)
Any person denied a license by the Council shall be entitled to a hearing, and if Council determines, based upon evidence presented by the applicant, that there is no high likelihood of the applicant not abiding by the provisions of Subsection J of this section and that the applicant is of good moral character, the license shall be granted by Council after said hearing.
F.
The fee for each adult live entertainer's license
shall be $100, payable upon submission of the application, and in
the event that an application is denied, $50 shall be refunded to
the applicant.
G.
All licenses issued between the first day of January
and the 30th day of June, inclusive, of any year shall expire on the
31st day of December of the same year, and all licenses issued between
the first day of July and the 31st day of December, inclusive, of
any year shall expire on the 30th day of June of the succeeding year.
H.
All adult live entertainers' licenses shall be renewed
annually upon submission of an application and payment of the renewal
fee utilizing the same procedure set forth for the initial issuance
of the license. The renewal fee shall be $50, of which $25 shall be
refundable in the event renewal is denied.
I.
Such license shall not be transferable to any other
person.
J.
The following conduct by any licensee is hereby prohibited:
(1)
No licensee shall, during any adult live entertainment
performance, physically come in contact with any member of the audience
or any persons observing said performance.
(2)
No licensee shall give any performance which contains
"obscene material," as that term is defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:34-2, nor
shall any licensee engage in any disorderly, illegal or criminal conduct
during any performance.
(3)
No licensee shall perform on any premises not licensed
for adult live entertainment performances under the provisions of
this article.
K.
A license may be suspended or revoked by the Township
Council for violation of any prohibited conduct as set forth in this
article by the licensee or upon the grounds that said license was
obtained by fraud or by a material false representation of fact.
L.
The procedure for suspension or revocation of an adult live entertainer's license shall be the same as that set forth in § 100-14 for the revocation or suspension of an adult live entertainment license.
M.
Every person holding an adult live entertainer's license
shall have said license readily accessible for exhibition to any authorized
Township law enforcement officer or other authorized Township official
and shall exhibit same to said official when requested to do so.
Any person who permits adult live entertainment
upon his premises without first having obtained the license required
by this article, or who gives or participates in an adult live entertainment
performance without having obtained the license required by this article,
or who makes fraudulent statements or material misrepresentation of
facts on an application for any of the aforesaid licenses, or who,
having had his license or permit suspended or revoked, continues to
permit adult live entertainment performances or who thereafter engaged
in such performances, shall be guilty of an offense and shall be subject
to a fine not exceeding $2,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding
90 days or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days, or
any combination thereof. Each day's continued violation shall constitute
a separate violation.
