Chapter 5.120
PUBLIC PLACES OF ADULT ENTERTAINMENT
Sections:
5.120.030 License fees—Term—Assignment—Renewals.
5.120.040 License for managers and entertainers required—Fee.
5.120.050 License applications.
5.120.070 Standards of conduct and operations.
5.120.085 Minors—Hours—Updating applications required.
5.120.110 Issuance of licenses.
5.120.120 Suspension or revocation of licenses—Notice—Summary suspension or revocation.
5.120.130 Licensing—Compliance with other city ordinances—Inspections.
5.120.140 Violation a misdemeanor.
5.120.010 Intent.
This chapter is intended to protect the general public health, safety and welfare of the citizenry of the city through the regulation of the operations of public places of adult entertainment. The regulations set forth in this chapter are intended to prevent health and safety problems in and around public places of adult entertainment and to prevent dangerous and unlawful conduct in and around public places of adult entertainment. (Ord. 1196-85 § 1 (A), 1985)
5.120.020 Definitions.
For the purpose of this chapter the words and phrases used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, shall have the following meanings:
A. “Adult entertainment” means any exhibition, performance or dance of any type conducted in premises where such exhibition, performance or dance involves a person who is unclothed or in such costume, attire or clothing as to expose any portion of the male or female pubic region, anus, buttocks, or genitals, any portion of the female breast below the top of the areola, vulva, or male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered.
B. “Clerk” means the city clerk of the city who is designated by the mayor as licensing official under this chapter. It also includes his/her designee.
C. “Employee” means any and all persons, including entertainers, who work in or at or render any services directly related to the operation of a public place of adult entertainment which offers, conducts or maintains adult entertainment.
D. “Entertainer” means any person who provides adult entertainment within a public place of adult entertainment as defined in this section whether or not a fee is charged or accepted for entertainment.
E. “Entertainment” means any exhibition or dance of any type, pantomime, modeling or any other performance.
F. “Manager” means any person who manages, directs, administers or is in charge of the affairs and/or the conduct of any portion of any activity involving adult entertainment occurring at any place offering adult entertainment.
G. “Operator” means any person operating, conducting or maintaining a public place of adult entertainment.
H. “Public place of adult entertainment” means any exhibition, performance or dance constituting “adult entertainment” as defined in subsection A of this section which is for the use or benefit of a member or members of the adult public, or advertised for the use or benefit of a member of the adult public, held, conducted, operated or maintained for a profit, direct or indirect. (Ord. 2149-96 § 1, 1996; Ord. 1196-85 § 1(B), 1985)
5.120.030 License fees—Term—Assignment—Renewals.
No public place of adult entertainment shall be operated or maintained in the city, unless the owner or lessee thereof has obtained a license from the city clerk as hereinafter set forth; provided, that it is unlawful for any entertainer, employee or operator to knowingly work in or about, or to knowingly perform any service directly related to the operation of an unlicensed public place of adult entertainment.
A. The license year shall be from January 1st to December 31st of each year. All licenses shall expire on the 31st day of December each year. Except as hereinafter provided, all license fees shall be payable on an annual basis and shall not be refundable. Annual license fees shall be three hundred fifty dollars per year for a public place of adult entertainment license.
B. License fees shall not be prorated, except that if the original application for license is made subsequent to June 30th in any year, the license fee for the remainder of that year shall be one-half of the annual license fee. Licenses issued under this chapter may not be assigned or transferred.
C. Applications for renewal of licenses issued under this chapter shall be filed with the clerk on or before the expiration date provided for in this section in the same manner as the original application providing the clerk with current information and accompanied by payment of the same fees as are in effect for an original application for that license for the license year applied for. (Ord. 1372-87 § 1, 1987; Ord. 1240-86 § 1, 1986; Ord. 1196-85 § 1(C), 1985)
5.120.040 License for managers and entertainers required—Fee.
No person shall work as a manager or entertainer at a public place of adult entertainment without having first obtained a manager’s or an entertainer’s license or permit from the city clerk pursuant to this chapter. The annual fee for such a license shall be fifty dollars. Additionally, each applicant for a manager’s and entertainer’s license shall pay a fee in the amount of five dollars to cover the cost of the picture required by this chapter. (Ord. 2058-95 § 1, 1995: Ord. 1372-87 § 2, 1987; Ord. 1240-86 § 2, 1986; Ord. 1196-85 § 1 (D), 1985)
5.120.050 License applications.
A. Public Place of Adult Entertainment License. All applications for a public place of adult entertainment license shall be submitted in the name of the person or entity proposing to conduct such activity on the business premises and shall be signed by such person or his agent and notarized or certified as true under penalty of perjury. All applications shall be submitted on a form supplied by the city clerk, which shall require the following information:
1. The name, home address, home telephone number, date and place of birth, and social security number of the applicant if the applicant is an individual;
2. The business name, address and telephone number of the establishment;
3. The names, addresses, telephone numbers and social security numbers of partners, corporate officers or shareholders who collectively own fifty-one percent or more of the business;
4. The name, address and telephone number of the owner of the property on which the public place of adult entertainment is located.
B. Application for Manager or Entertainer License. All applications for a manager’s or entertainer’s license shall be signed by the applicant and notarized or certified to be true under penalty of perjury. At the time of application, a picture shall be taken of the applicant by the city clerk. All applications shall be submitted on a form supplied by the city clerk, which shall require the following information:
1. The applicant’s name, home address, home telephone number, date and place of birth, social security number and any stage names or nicknames used in entertaining.
2. With the application and applicant shall present picture identification which shall include:
a. A motor vehicle operator’s license issued by any state bearing the applicant’s photograph and date of birth; or
b. A state-licensed identification card bearing the applicant’s photograph and date of birth.
3. The city clerk shall issue the license promptly upon receipt of the application, the information required to be in the application, the investigation by the police department in accordance with subsection D of this section and the license fee.
C. If the identity of any person or entity defined in subdivision A 3 of this section changes, notice shall be provided in writing to the city clerk forthwith. The information required to be provided pursuant to this section shall be that information required pursuant to subdivision A 3 of this section.
D. The clerk, upon presentation of such applications and before acting upon the same, shall refer such applications to the police department, which shall make a full investigation as to the truth of the statements contained therein. (Ord. 1372-87 § 3,1987; Ord. 1240-86 § 3, 1986; Ord. 1196-85 § 1 (E), 1985)
5.120.060 Attendance.
A licensed manager shall be on the premises of a public place of adult entertainment at all times that adult entertainment is being provided. The licensed manager shall not permit any violations of this chapter to occur. (Ord. 1372-87 § 5, 1987; Ord. 1196-85 § 1 (F), 1985)
5.120.070 Standards of conduct and operations.
The following standards of conduct must be adhered to by employees and entertainers of any public place of adult entertainment which offers, conducts or maintains adult entertainment:
A. No employee or entertainer shall be unclothed or in such costume, attire or clothing as to expose any portion of the male or female pubic region, anus, buttocks, or genitals, any portion of the female breast below the top of the areola, vulva, or male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered, except upon a stage at least eighteen inches above the immediate floor level and removed at least six feet from the nearest patron.
B. No employee or entertainer shall wear or use any device or covering exposed to view which simulates the breast of a female below the top of the areola, vulva or genitals, anus, and/or buttocks, or any portion of the pubic hair except upon a stage at least eighteen inches above the immediate floor level and removed at least six feet from the nearest patron.
C. No employee or entertainer shall touch, fondle or caress any patron for the purpose of arousing or exciting the patron’s sexual desires; sit on a patron’s lap or separate a patron’s legs.
D. No employee or entertainer shall allow a patron to touch an employee or entertainer on the breast, in the pubic region, buttocks or anal region. No patron shall touch, fondle or caress an employee or entertainer for the purpose of arousing or exciting the sexual desires of either party.
E. No employee or entertainer mingling with patrons shall conduct any dance, performance or exhibition in or about the nonstage area of the public place of adult entertainment establishment unless that dance, performance or exhibition is performed at a torso-to-torso distance of no less than four feet from the patron or patrons for whom the dance, performance or exhibition is performed.
F. There shall be posted and conspicuously displayed in the common areas of each place offering adult entertainment a list of any and all entertainment provided on the premises. Such list shall further indicate the specific fee or charge in dollar amounts for each entertainment listed.
G. Every place offering adult entertainment shall be physically arranged in such a manner that:
1. The stage on which adult entertainment is provided shall be visible from the common areas of the premises. Visibility shall not be blocked or obscured by doors, curtains, drapes or any other obstruction whatsoever.
2. No adult entertainment occurring on the premises shall be visible at any time from any public place.
H. A sign shall be conspicuously displayed in the common areas of the premises, and shall read as follows:
THIS ADULT ENTERTAINMENT ESTABLISHMENT IS REGULATED BY THE CITY OF EVERETT;
Entertainers are not permitted to expose any portion of the male or female pubic region, anus, buttocks, or genitals, any portion of the female breast below the top of the areola, vulva, or male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered, except upon a stage at least eighteen inches above the immediate floor level and removed at least six feet from the nearest patron. (Ord. 2149-96 § 2, 1996; Ord. 1372-87 § 6, 1987; Ord. 1196-85 § 1 (G), 1985)
5.120.080 Illumination.
Sufficient lighting shall be provided in and about the parts of the premises which are open to and used by the public so that all objects are plainly visible at all times and all parts of such premises shall be illuminated so that patrons or others on any part of the premises shall be able to read the Washington State Liquor Control Board card or other written instrument, printed in eight-point type. A copy of the Washington State Liquor Control Board card, printed in eight-point type, is attached to the ordinance from which this section derives as Exhibit A. It or an accurate photocopy or other reproduction thereof is presumed admissible in any judicial proceedings commenced under this chapter. (Ord. 2058-95 § 2, 1995: Ord. 1196-85 § 1 (H), 1985)
5.120.085 Minors—Hours—Updating applications required.
A. Minors.
1. No public place of adult entertainment shall employ any person under the age of eighteen years as an entertainer or allow an entertainer on its premises for the purpose of providing adult entertainment if the person is under eighteen years of age.
2. No person under the age of eighteen years shall be admitted to a public place of adult entertainment.
3. No person under the age of eighteen years shall be licensed as a manager or entertainer for a public place of adult entertainment.
B. Business Hours. A public place of adult entertainment establishment shall be closed between two a.m. and eight a.m.
C. Information. It is the duty of all licensees issued licenses or permits under this chapter to keep the information on their license applications current at all times. (Ord. 1372-87 § 7, 1987)
5.120.090 Exemptions.
This chapter shall not be construed to prohibit:
A. Plays, operas, musicals or other dramatic works which are not obscene;
B. Classes, seminars and lectures held for serious scientific or educational purposes; or
C. Exhibitions, performances or dances which are not obscene.
For purposes of this chapter, any activity is obscene:
1. Which the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find, when considered as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest; and
2. Which explicitly depicts or describes patently offensive representations or descriptions of:
a. Ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or stimulated, or
b. Masturbation, fellatio, cunnilingus, bestiality, excretory functions or lewd exhibition of the genitals or genital area, or
c. Violent or destructive sexual acts including but not limited to human or animal mutilation, dismemberment, rape or torture; and
3. Which, when considered as a whole, and in the context in which it is used, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. For purposes of this chapter, an activity is dramatic if the activity is of, relating to, devoted to, or concerned specifically or professionally with current drama or the contemporary theater. (Ord. 2149-96 § 3, 1996; Ord. 1196-85 § 1 (I), 1985)
5.120.110 Issuance of licenses.
A. After an investigation, the clerk shall issue the applicable license or licenses authorized by this chapter if the clerk finds:
1. That the applicant complies with all of the requirements of this chapter; and
2. That the applicant, his or her employee, agent, partner, director, officer, stockholder or manager has not made any false, misleading or fraudulent statement of fact in the application for a license, or in any report or record required to be filed with the clerk.
B. The license application for a public place of adult entertainment license shall be approved or disapproved within five working days from the date of filing a completed application which complies with the requirements of this chapter, unless the applicant agrees to an extension of the time period in writing. The license application for a manager’s or entertainer’s license shall be approved or disapproved as promptly as time and conditions permit, but in no event will it exceed three working days from the date of filing a completed application which complies with the requirements of this chapter unless the applicant agrees to an extension of the time period in writing. Pending the approval/denial of a completed license application, the manager or entertainer will be provided a temporary permit to be a manager or entertainer. Such permit shall automatically expire and become null and void upon the approval/ denial of a license. Any manager or entertainer issued a temporary permit shall comply with the provisions of this chapter and such permit shall be withdrawn by the city in the event the permittee violates any provisions of this chapter. Additionally, any manager or entertainer issued a temporary permit shall be subject to the penalty provisions provided in this chapter.
1. In the event that the city denies a license, the city shall within the aforesaid time period (five days for public place of adult entertainment license, three days for entertainers/managers) notify the applicant of the denial and the reasons therefor. The denial shall be for a period of time not to exceed one year. Such decision of the clerk shall be final and conclusive as of the date of the notification, unless within fifteen days following the notification the applicant obtains a writ of certiorari from the Superior Court of Washington for Snohomish County for purpose of review of the clerk’s denial. If the applicant obtains such a writ of certiorari, the clerk’s denial will be stayed. The applicant will be provided a temporary permit. Such temporary permit will remain in effect until a final judicial determination on the merits is reached. Any manager or entertainer issued a temporary permit shall comply with the provisions of this chapter and such permit shall be withdrawn by the city in the event the permittee violates any provisions of this chapter. Additionally, any manager or entertainer issued a temporary permit shall be subject to the penalty provisions provided in this chapter. (Ord. 2058-95 § 3, 1995: Ord. 1372-87 § 4, 1987; Ord. 1240-86 § 4, 1986; Ord. 1196-85 § 1 (K), 1985)
5.120.120 Suspension or revocation of licenses—Notice—Summary suspension or revocation.
A. The city clerk may suspend or revoke any license issued pursuant to this chapter for a period of time not to exceed one year where one or more of the following conditions exist:
1. The license was procured by fraud or false representation of fact in the application or in any report or record required to be filed with the clerk;
2. The building, structure, equipment, operation or location of the business for which the license was issued does not comply with the requirements or fails to meet the standards of this chapter;
3. The licensee, his or her employee, agent, partner, director, officer or manager has violated or permitted violation of any of the provisions of this chapter.
B. The procedure for revoking or suspending a license under this chapter shall be the following: Upon determining that grounds for revocation or suspension exist, the city clerk shall send the licensee a notice of intent to revoke or suspend the license. Such notice shall set forth the grounds for suspension or revocation and schedule a hearing before the clerk or his/her designee. The hearing shall be held no earlier than ten and no later than thirty days from the date of notice of intent to revoke. The licensee shall be permitted to present evidence in support of his position at the hearing. Within two working days after the hearing, the hearing examiner shall notify the licensee in writing of his/her determination and reasons therefor. Such decision of the hearing examiner shall be final and conclusive as of the date set forth in the decision, unless within fifteen days following the effective date of the hearing examiner’s decision the licensee obtains a writ of certiorari from the Superior Court of Washington for Snohomish County for purpose of review of the hearing examiner’s decision. If the licensee obtains such a writ of certiorari, the decision of the hearing examiner will be stayed until a final judicial determination on the merits is reached. If the licensee fails to obtain such a writ of certiorari within fifteen days following the effective date of the hearing examiner’s decision, the city attorney may invoke the aid of the appropriate court to secure enforcement and compliance with the hearing examiner’s decision. (Ord. 2058-95 § 4, 1995: Ord. 1240-86 § 5, 1986; Ord. 1196-85 § 1(L), 1985)
5.120.130 Licensing—Compliance with other city ordinances—Inspections.
A. All other city approvals and permit issuance other than those specifically set forth in this chapter including but not limited to fire, building and zoning, are separate from the licensing process set forth in this chapter, notwithstanding Chapter 5.04 of this title. The granting of any license or the providing of any approval pursuant to this chapter shall not be deemed to be an approval of any city permit or approval not specifically set forth in this chapter.
B. Licensees operating premises licensed under this chapter shall hold those areas upon the premises which are accessible to the public open for routine regulatory inspections by the city during business hours to ensure compliance with the requirements of this chapter. This section shall not restrict or limit the right of entry vested in any law enforcement agency or the fire department. (Ord. 1196-85 § 1(M), 1985)
5.120.140 Violation a misdemeanor.
Any person knowingly violating any of the provisions of this chapter is guilty of a gross misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars or imprisonment in jail not to exceed ninety days, or both imprisonment and fine. Each separate day or any portion thereof, during which any violation of any provision of this chapter occurs or continues, shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense. (Ord. 1240-86 § 6, 1986; Ord. 1196-85 § 1(N), 1985)