[Added 5-24-1983 by Ord. No. 83-188]
[Amended 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-326]
A.
No person
shall maintain or operate a public entertainment center within the
City of Rochester without first having obtained an entertainment center
license.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 11 of Ord.
No. 83-188, which enacted this article, provides as follows: "Amusement
center licenses which are valid on the effective date of this ordinance
and allow an activity which is deemed to be public entertainment under
this ordinance shall be automatically deemed entertainment center
licenses and shall remain in effect as provided in said license, unless
earlier suspended or revoked. Thereafter, said licenses may be renewed
in accordance with the provisions governing renewal of entertainment
center licenses. All rules and regulations of the Chief of Police
governing public amusements in effect at the time of this ordinance
shall automatically apply to entertainment centers and the entertainment
offered therein, and shall remain in full force and effect until amended
or revoked by the Chief of Police."
B.
No person shall maintain or operate a limited entertainment center
within the City of Rochester without first having obtained a limited
entertainment center license.
[Amended 6-27-1985 by Ord. No. 85-263; 5-14-1996 by Ord. No. 96-155; 6-16-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-179; 6-20-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-170; 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-326]
A.
An application for a public entertainment center license or a limited
entertainment center license shall be made to the City Clerk. The
application shall contain the name and address of the owner and operator
of the entertainment center. If the owner or operator is a partnership,
corporation or other business association, the application shall contain
the names and addresses of all partners, officers or principals. All
addresses of persons involved shall be home addresses, listing street
and number. The application shall contain the address of the public
or limited entertainment center and the type of entertainment to be
offered.
B.
The premises to be licensed must meet all applicable Zoning, Building,
Fire, Health and Safety Codes. Upon receipt of an application for
a public entertainment center or limited entertainment center license
and after approval for Zoning Code compliance by the Director of Planning
and Zoning, the Commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development
and the Fire Chief shall cause an inspection of the premises to be
made to determine whether the applicant is complying with the applicable
Building and Fire Codes, and said Commissioner and Fire Chief and
members of their staff shall have the right to enter upon any premises
for which the license is sought for the purpose of making such an
inspection during normal business hours.
C.
No public entertainment center license shall be denied, suspended or revoked based upon the content of any public entertainment or motion picture or type of public entertainment or motion picture offered. No limited entertainment center license shall be denied, suspended or revoked based upon the content of any limited entertainment or type of limited entertainment offered, except to the extent that the content or type is contrary to the definition and criteria for limited entertainment set forth in § 29-1. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to affect in any way the institution or prosecution of obscenity charges involving any public entertainment or motion picture.
D.
A public entertainment center license or limited entertainment center
license shall be issued or continued despite a guilty plea to or conviction
of a crime by the owner or operator of a center offering, operating,
presenting or exhibiting any motion picture or public entertainment
or limited entertainment protected by the First Amendment to the United
States Constitution, unless the granting or continuation of the license
presents a clear and present danger of serious, substantive evil.
A.
The owner and operator of any public entertainment center or limited
entertainment center shall comply with all provisions of federal,
state and local laws and ordinances relating to the conduct of the
business and the use and maintenance of the premises.
[Amended 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-326]
B.
The owner and operator of any public entertainment center or limited
entertainment center shall comply with all the notices, orders, decisions
and rules and regulations made by the Chief of Police, Fire Chief,
Commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development and the Director
of Planning and Zoning governing the occupation and use of said premises.
[Amended 6-27-1985 by Ord. No. 85-263; 6-16-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-179; 6-20-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-170; 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-326]
C.
The owner and operator of any public entertainment center or limited
entertainment center shall cause the applicable entertainment center
license to be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises.
[Amended 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-326]
D.
The owner and operator of any public entertainment center or limited
entertainment center shall not permit at any time a greater number
of persons on the premises than the capacity approved by the Department
of Neighborhood and Business Development and set forth on the applicable
entertainment center license.
[Amended 6-16-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-179; 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-326]
E.
The owner and operator of any public entertainment center or limited
entertainment center shall maintain good order on the premises at
all times. The lack of good order on the premises shall include, but
not be limited to, the following:
[Amended 4-4-1989 by Ord.
No. 89-109; 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-326]
F.
The Chief of Police may promulgate rules and regulations to govern
the operation of public entertainment centers and limited entertainment
centers so as to provide for the orderly operation of the centers
and to ensure the public safety and the peace and tranquility of the
neighborhood where the centers are located. Such rules and regulations
shall deal solely with specific public health and safety concerns,
and no rule or regulation shall govern the content of any public entertainment,
limited entertainment or motion picture.
[Amended 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-326]
G.
The Chief of Police may promulgate rules and regulations
to govern the operation of entertainment centers so as to provide
for the orderly operation of the centers and to ensure the public
safety and the peace and tranquility of the neighborhood where the
centers are located. Such rules and regulations shall deal solely
with specific public health and safety concerns, and no rule or regulation
shall govern the content of any public entertainment or motion picture.
H.
Every owner of an individual mechanical motion-picture
machine commonly known as a "peep show" shall cause his or her name,
business address and telephone number to be affixed to each such machine.
[Added 7-16-1985 by Ord. No. 85-317; amended 2-14-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-22]
I.
No minor under 16 years of age shall be allowed to
operate any motion-picture machine, projector or device, unless such
minor is accompanied by a parent or guardian.
[Added 7-16-1985 by Ord. No. 85-317]
J.
Booths for presentation of motion pictures and adult
entertainment.
[Added 12-12-1995 by Ord. No. 95-417[1]]
(1)
The Council recognizes that the City and its surrounding
area have a large incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, including
AIDS. The Council wishes to assure that entertainment centers are
not used in a manner that can facilitate the transmission of such
diseases through high-risk sexual contact with multiple partners.
The Council has reviewed information justifying the enactment of ordinances
in other municipalities establishing open booth requirements and believes
that such justifications apply in the City of Rochester. As a result
of reviewing information and ordinances from other municipalities
and information on local entertainment centers, the Council finds
that:
(a)
Large numbers of persons, primarily male, frequent
adult entertainment establishments and other establishments which
provide closed booths for the private viewing of motion pictures and
adult entertainment;
[Amended 11-19-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-354]
(b)
Such closed booths have been used by patrons
for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts and certain booths in the
City have been constructed so as to facilitate sexual activity;
(c)
Doors, curtains, partitions, drapes or other
obstructions in the entrances to such booths encourage patrons using
such booths to engage in sexual acts therein, thereby promoting and
encouraging prostitution and the commission of sexual acts which may
lead to the transmission of disease between such persons or the deposit
of bodily fluids on the floors and walls of such booths. Such activities
could also prove detrimental to the health and safety of other persons
who may come into contact with such fluids; and
(d)
The reasonable regulation and supervision of
such adult entertainment establishments and such booths tends to discourage
such sexual acts and prostitution.
(2)
No person shall own, operate, manage or control or
cause or permit the establishment, operation or use of a booth provided
or used for the private viewing of motion pictures or adult entertainment
unless the booth is physically constructed and arranged in such a
manner that the entire interior portion of the booth is clearly visible
to persons in an adjacent public area of the premises. Visibility
into such booths shall not be blocked or obscured by doors, curtains,
partitions, drapes or any other obstruction whatsoever. Such booths
shall be lighted in a manner that the persons in the booths are visible
to persons in an adjacent public area of the premises, but such lighting
shall not be of such intensity as to prevent the viewing of the motion
pictures or adult entertainment. All such booths shall be separated
from adjacent booths and any nonpublic areas by a wall. All such walls
shall be solid and without any openings, shall extend from the floor
to a height of not less than six feet and shall be light colored,
nonabsorbent, smooth-textured and easily cleanable. Windows may be
provided in the walls for viewing live entertainment as long as the
windows are solid and cannot be opened to allow for contact between
the patron and entertainer. The floor in such booths shall also be
nonabsorbent, smooth-textured and easily cleanable.
(3)
No person shall allow or permit the use of a booth
provided or used for the private viewing of motion pictures or adult
entertainment to be occupied by more than one person at a time, nor
shall more than one person occupy any such booth at a time.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided that
it would take effect on 2-1-1996 and would apply to all establishments
doing business on or after said date.
A.
The annual fees for entertainment center licenses shall be as follows:
[Amended 6-18-1991 by Ord. No. 91-257; 5-12-1992 by Ord. No. 92-175; 6-14-1994 by Ord. No. 94-171; 6-18-1996 by Ord. No. 96-206; 6-18-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-201; 6-17-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-205; 11-19-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-372; 11-12-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-326]
(1)
Public entertainment centers and limited entertainment centers which
offer or operate only those individual mechanical motion-picture machines
commonly known as "peep shows" shall pay a fee of $325.
(2)
Public entertainment centers and limited entertainment centers which
offer or present any public entertainment or motion picture other
than or in addition to those individual mechanical motion-picture
machines commonly known as "peep shows" shall pay in accordance with
the following schedule:
|
Occupancy
(number of persons)
|
Annual Fee
|
|---|---|
|
0 to 49
|
$100
|
|
50 to 99
|
$275
|
|
100 to 249
|
$425
|
|
250+
|
$500
|
In addition to the above fee, public entertainment centers
and limited entertainment centers with any New York State license
allowing for the consumption of alcoholic beverages on the premises
shall be charged an extra annual fee of $100.
B.
Payment of the fee shall be due upon application for
the license.
[Amended 6-18-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-201]
C.
The fee for replacement of an entertainment center
license which has been lost or destroyed shall be $10.
[Added 7-16-1985 by Ord. No. 85-317; amended 6-14-1994 by Ord. No. 94-171]
[Amended 6-18-1996 by Ord. No. 96-206; 11-12-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-326]
Public entertainment center and limited entertainment center
licenses shall expire on January 31 of each year. Fees for renewal
of an entertainment center license expiring in 1996 shall be prorated
on a semiannual basis.
