[HISTORY: Adopted by the Special Town Meeting of the Town of Griswold 9-20-1999.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Board of Selectmen of the Town of Griswold, Connecticut finds:
A.
There are, or may in the future be, adult-oriented establishments
located in the Town of Griswold which 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 establishments, especially those which provide closed booths,
cubicles, studies and rooms for the private viewing of so-called "adult" motion
pictures and/or video tapes and/or live entertainment.
(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.
(3)
Such closed booths, cubicles, studios and rooms have
been used by patrons, clients or customers of such adult-oriented establishments
for the purpose of engaging in certain sexual acts.
(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 and rooms.
(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 or others, 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.
(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.
(7)
The nature of adult-oriented establishments and the traffic
which they generate and the potential and the propensity for such establishments
to attract persons interested in explicit sexual activities or erotic art
forms and the potential for outdoor assembly of such persons around the premises
of such establishments are such as to make them incompatible with nearby uses
of land where concentrations of children or youth tend to congregate.
C.
The continued unregulated operation of adult-oriented establishments, including, without limitations, those specifically cited in § 117-2 hereof, is and would be detrimental to the general welfare, health and safety of the citizens of Griswold.
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-otiented establishments as hereinafter
defined in order to protect the public health, safety and welfare.
E.
It is not the intent of the Board of Selectmen, in enacting
this chapter, to deny to any person rights to speech protected by the United
States and/or State Constitutions, nor is it the intent of the Board of Selectmen
to impose any additional limitations or restrictions on the contents or any
communicative materials, including sexually oriented films, video tapes, books
and/or other materials. Further, by enacting this chapter, the Board of Selectmen
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 relating to specified sexual activities and specified anatomical
areas, as defined below, for observation by patrons therein.
An establishment having any portion of its stock and trade in books,
films, video cassettes 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, as defined below,
provided that this definition shall not apply to any establishment in which
such materials constitute less than 10% of the value of the inventory of said
establishment and in which the display of such materials does not permit the
viewing of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas within
the establishment.
Any exhibition of any adult-oriented motion pictures, live performance,
display or dance of any type, removal of articles of clothing or appearing
unclothed, pantomime, modeling or any other personal services offered customers
which has as a significant or substantial portion of such performance, or
any actual or simulated performance of, specified sexual activities or exhibition
and viewing of specified anatomical areas
An enclosed building with a capacity of less than 50 persons 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.
An enclosed building with a capacity of 50 or more persons 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, adult mini-motion picture theaters and commercial establishments
containing one or more adult amusement machines. 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-oriented motion pictures, or any
premises wherein an entertainer 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. An adult-oriented
establishment further includes, without limitation, any adult entertainment
studio or any premises that are physically arranged and used as such, whether
advertised or represented as an adult entertainment studio, rap studio, exotic
dance studio, encounter studio, sensitivity studio, modeling studio or any
other term of like import.
Includes any machine which, upon the payment of a charge or upon
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.
The Board of Selectmen of the Town of Griswold, Connecticut.
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.
One or more employees of the Town of Griswold designated by the Selectmen
who shall hereby be authorized 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.
Refers to a person under the age of 18 years.
Any person, or any proprietor, shareholder, general partner or limited
partner who holds any of share or partnership interest of any business which
is operating, conducting, owning or maintaining an adult-oriented establishment.
Not intended to include any medical publications or films or bona
fide educational publication or films, nor does it include any art or photography
publications which denote at least 25% of the lineage of each issue to articles
and advertisements dealing with subjects or art or photographs. Nor does this
definition apply to 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. Nor does this definition
apply to publications or films which describe and report different cultures
and 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 police, building, zoning, officials.
A.
No operator or employee of an adult-oriented establishment
shall allow or permit any minor or intoxicated person to loiter in any part
of such establishment, including parking lots immediately adjacent to such
establishment used by patrons of such adult-oriented establishment.
B.
Every adult-oriented establishment shall display a sign
outside each entrance bearing the words, "Adult-oriented establishment - persons
under 18 not admitted" in letters three inches high.
C.
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 the outside of the building
that houses the adult-oriented establishment.
D.
Every adult-oriented establishment doing business in
the Town on or after September 20, 1999, 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.
It shall be unlawful to install enclosed booths, cubicles, rooms or stalls
within adult-oriented establishments for whatever purpose, but especially
for the purpose of providing for the secluded viewing of adult-oriented motion
pictures or other types of adult-oriented entertainment.
E.
On or after September 20, 1999, 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-oriented motion
pictures or other types of live 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 1.0 foot candle 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.
F.
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 if such act or omission occurs either with the authorization, knowledge
or approval 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.
G.
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 the penalties imposed by this chapter.
H.
All adult-oriented establishments shall be open to inspection
at all reasonable times by the Inspector, or such other person(s) as the Board
of Selectmen may designate. Information regarding employees, including name,
date of birth and social security number, must be maintained as part of the
record and must be available for inspection by Town officials.
Adult-oriented establishments or any signage, advertising or notice
for the adult-oriented establishment shall be located not less than 1,000
feet from any of the following uses, if existing at the time when the adult-oriented
establishment is established: any public or private school serving grade 12
or lower; any day care center, nursery school or similar use; any public park
or playground; any playground associated with a church or other community
building; any residential zone. Measurements of distances shall be from any
portion of the building housing such adult-oriented establishment to any portion
of a parcel of land containing such land uses or being residentially zoned.
The separating distance required by this section shall be determined as of
the date that any adult-oriented establishment commences to operate in accordance
with this chapter and any applicable provision(s) of the Town of Griswold
Zoning Regulations,[1] Building Code,[2] Health Code and other applicable state and local laws, and such
adult-oriented establishment shall not be deemed to violate this section if,
thereafter, one of the enumerated uses is established within the distance
set forth herein.
No adult-oriented establishments or any signage, advertising or notice
for the adult-oriented establishment shall be permitted in any portion of
a building that is less than 1,000 feet from that portion of a building occupied
by an existing adult-oriented establishment. The 1,000 feet 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 such use or any public
entrance or exit into or out of that building housing an adult-oriented establishment
or, if only a portion of the building is so used, any public entrance or exit
into or out of any portion of the building housing such adult-oriented establishment
to any such public entrance or exit for any existing adult-oriented establishment.
A.
Any person, partnership or corporation who is found to
have violated this chapter shall be fined a definite sum not exceeding $100
for each such violation.
B.
Each violation of this chapter shall be considered a
separate offense, and any violation continuing more than one hour of time
shall be considered a separate offense for each hour of violation.
