A. 
No licensee for the sale of liquor to be consumed on a licensed premises shall permit, on a licensed premises, any entertainment unless the licensee shall have first obtained a special amusement permit from the municipal officers.
B. 
Applications for all special amusement permits shall be made in writing to the municipal officers and shall state the name of the applicant; the applicant's residence address; the name of the business to be conducted; the business address; the nature of the applicant's business; the location to be used; whether the applicant has ever had a license to conduct the business therein described either denied or revoked and, if so, the applicant shall describe those circumstances specifically; whether the applicant, including all partners or corporate officers, has ever been convicted of a felony and, if so, the applicant shall describe specifically those circumstances; and any additional information as may be needed by the municipal officers in the issuing of the permit, including but not limited to a copy of the applicant's current liquor license.
C. 
Any licensee requesting a special amusement permit from the municipal officers shall be notified of their decision no later than 15 days from the date the licensee's request was considered. In the event that a licensee is denied a permit, the licensee shall be provided with the reason for the denial, in writing. The licensee may reapply for a permit after 30 days have lapsed since the original denial and the applicant has shown that the causes for the original denial have been removed, repaired or otherwise substantively addressed.
D. 
No permit shall be issued if the premises do not fully comply with all ordinances, articles, bylaws, or rules and regulations of the Town of Bethel.
E. 
The fee for a special amusement permit shall be as provided in the Town of Bethel Fee Schedule.
F. 
It shall be the responsibility of the licensee to provide the municipal officers sufficient information about the proposed premises at the time of application to ensure compliance with this chapter, State of Maine statutes regarding fire regulation, all other laws of the State of Maine and ordinances of the Town of Bethel. An affidavit agreeing to such compliance shall become part of said application.
G. 
The municipal officers shall, prior to granting a permit and after 10 days' notice to the Town of Bethel, the public and the applicant, hold a public hearing at which the testimony of the applicant and that of any interested members of the public shall be taken.
H. 
The municipal officers shall grant a permit unless they find that issuance of the permit is detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare as defined in § 29-6, or would violate municipal ordinances, or rules and regulations, articles or bylaws.
[Amended 6-12-2024 ATM by Art. 12]
A. 
Disorderly conduct. The licensee shall not knowingly, intentionally or recklessly allow in his licensed premises any person or persons to engage in disorderly conduct, i.e., conduct which intentionally or recklessly causes annoyance to others by making loud and unreasonable noises or knowingly accosting, insulting, taunting, or challenging any person with offensive, derisive or annoying words or by gestures or other physical conduct which would in fact have a direct tendency to cause a violent response by an ordinary person in the situation of the person so accosted, insulted, taunted or challenged. The licensee shall not knowingly, intentionally or recklessly allow on his premises conduct which is in violation of the laws of the State of Maine.
B. 
Creation of hazards. The licensee shall not permit on his premises the gathering of a crowd or audience or patrons to witness any entertainment, amusement or show so as to create a condition dangerous to others.
C. 
Solicitation of drinks. The licensee shall not allow on any licensed premises any person not a licensee or an employee who is then and there working to frequent or loiter with the purpose of soliciting any other person, customer, or patron to purchase any drink of any kind.
D. 
Gambling. The licensee shall not allow on any licensed premises the use or occupancy thereof for gambling or games of chance as prohibited by the statutes of the State of Maine or ordinances, articles, bylaws, or rules and regulations of the municipality, nor shall any licensee have or keep for gambling purposes on or about such licensed premises any dice, cards, bowls, quoits, or other implements used in gambling, or allow any person resorting thereto to use or exercise for gambling purposes any of said games or any other unlawful game or sport therein.
E. 
Obscenity. The licensee, or any licensed premises, shall not:
(1) 
Knowingly disseminate, distribute, or make available to the public any obscene material;
(2) 
Knowingly make available to the public any obscene performance;
(3) 
Knowingly engage in commerce and/or for commercial gain with materials depicting and describing explicit sexual conduct, nudity, or excretion utilizing displays, circulars, advertisements, or any other public sales efforts that promote such commerce primarily on the basis of their prurient appeal;
(4) 
Provide service to patrons in such a manner as to expose to public view:
(a) 
The licensee's or any of his agents' or employees' genitals, pubic hair, buttocks, perineum, anal region or pubic hair region;
(b) 
Any device, costume or covering which gives the appearance of or simulates the genitals, pubic hair, buttocks, perineum, anal region or pubic hair region; or
(c) 
Any portion of the female breast at or below the areola thereof; or
(5) 
Knowingly promote the commission of any of the above-listed acts of this section.
F. 
For the purposes of this section and any other section of this chapter, unless specified otherwise, the following terms are defined as follows:
AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC
The matter or performance or act may be purchased or attended on a subscription basis, or membership fee arrangement, or for a separate fee for each item or performance or act, or available merely by being a patron of or present in an establishment that is licensed to sell liquor.
DISSEMINATE
To transfer possession of, with or without consideration.
EXPOSE TO PUBLIC VIEW
That view, glimpse, sight, or reconnoiter by use of one's ordinary visual means which is revealed, open to plain view, exposed, discovered, distinguished, recognized, observed, demonstrated, exhibited, perceived, discerned, displayed, or capable of any or all of such from any vantage point where the public or any patron of any licensee is allowed, authorized, invited, or normally and commonly frequents.
KNOWINGLY
Being aware of the character and the content of the material.
MATERIAL
Any book, magazine, newspaper, or other printed or written material or any picture, drawing, photograph, motion picture or other pictorial representation, or any statue or other figure, or any recording, transcription or mechanical, chemical, or electrical reproduction or any other articles, equipment, or machines.
OBSCENE
To the average person applying contemporary community standards the predominant appeal of the matter or act taken as a whole is to prurient interest and the matter or act depicts or describes in a patently offensive manner sexual conduct or lewd exhibition of the genitals or other body parts mentioned in this chapter above and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value, or any matter or acts or performance which is prohibited by the statutes of the State of Maine.
PERFORMANCE
Any preview, play, show, skit, film, dance, or other exhibition, or entertainment performed before an audience.
SERVICE TO PATRONS
The provision of services to customers, patrons, or any other persons present in establishments providing food and beverages, including but not limited to hostessing, hatchecking, cooking, bartending, serving, table setting and clearing, waiter and waitressing, and entertaining.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection G, Noise, and Subsection H, Measurement procedures, which immediately followed, were repealed 6-13-2012.
A. 
Whenever inspections of the premises used for or in connection with the operation of a licensed business which has obtained a special amusement permit are provided for or required by ordinance, rules and regulations or state law provision or to detect violations thereof, it shall be the duty of the licensee, or the person in charge of the premises, to be inspected, to admit thereto for the purpose of making the inspection any law enforcement officer authorized to make such inspection at any reasonable time that admission is requested.
B. 
Whenever an analysis of any commodity or material is reasonably necessary to secure conformance with any ordinance, rule and regulation, or state law provision, it shall be the duty of the licensee, or the person in charge of the premises, to give to any law enforcement officer so requesting sufficient samples of the material or commodity for analysis.
C. 
In addition to any other penalty which may be provided, the municipal officers may revoke, after hearing, the special amusement permit of any licensee in the Town of Bethel who refuses to permit any such officer to make such inspection, or take sufficient samples for analysis, or who interferes with such officer while in the performance of his duty, provided that no special amusement permit shall be revoked unless written demand for the inspection or sample is made upon the licensee or person in charge of the premises at the time it is sought to make the inspection.
[Amended 6-12-2024 ATM by Art. 12]
Any licensee who has requested a permit and has been denied, or whose permit has been revoked or suspended, may, within 30 days of the denial, suspension, or revocation, appeal the decision to the Town of Bethel Board of Appeals. The Board of Appeals may grant or reinstate the permit if it finds that the permitted activities would not constitute a detriment to the public health, safety, or welfare, or that the denial, revocation, or suspension was arbitrary or capricious, or that the denial, revocation, or suspension was not based on a preponderance of the evidence or on a violation of any ordinance, article, bylaw, or rule or regulation of the Town of Bethel.
Entertainment of any sort which is regulated herein shall be conducted upon the premises of the licensee only during the business days and hours during which liquor may be sold and delivered by the licensee as provided in 28-A M.R.S.A. § 4.