Chapter 5.20
ENTERTAINMENT CLUBS
Sections:
5.20.020 Entertainment club license required.
5.20.030 License application procedures.
5.20.040 Procedures for issuance or denial of license.
5.20.050 Operating rules and regulations.
5.20.055 Restrictions on multi-use facilities.
5.20.060 Access by police officers.
5.20.070 Checking the age of patrons.
5.20.075 Suspension or revocation of licenses.
5.20.080 Penalties for violation.
5.20.010 Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter, and unless the context plainly requires otherwise, the following definitions are adopted:
(1) (a) “Entertainment club” means commercial premises which are open to the public, the primary function of which is to offer patrons an opportunity to engage in social activities such as dancing, or the enjoyment of live or prerecorded music, or the enjoyment of entertainment provided by dancers or other performers. As an incidental function an entertainment club may sell and/or serve food and beverages to its patrons.
(b) The term “entertainment club” does not include the following: premises which serve alcoholic beverages and which are under the jurisdiction of the Washington State Liquor Control Board; theaters where the patrons sit in parallel rows of fixed seats; full-service restaurants where the only entertainment consists of prerecorded background music which is incidental to the primary function of serving food; outdoor performances; a banquet, party or celebration conducted for invited guests which is not open to the public; dances or events sponsored and operated by a governmental entity, an accredited educational institution, or a nonprofit religious, charitable, benevolent, fraternal, or social organization which is recognized by the United States of America as being exempt from federal taxation; an adult motion picture theater, adult drive-in theater, and/or adult cabaret as defined by Chapter 5.80 MMC; an adult panoram establishment as defined by Chapter 5.84 MMC; a bikini club as defined by Chapter 5.88 MMC; a public bath house as defined by Chapter 5.92 MMC; or a body shampoo parlor as defined by Chapter 5.92 MMC.
(2) “Club premises” means any place where an entertainment club is operated or maintained and includes all hallways, bathrooms, parking areas and other adjacent portions of the premises which are accessible to the public during operating hours.
(3) “Teen club” means any entertainment club which permits the entry of persons under the age of 21 years.
(4) “Adult club” means any entertainment club which restricts its admission to persons age 21 years and over. This term does not include facilities regulated under any of the following chapters of the Marysville Municipal Code: Chapter 5.80, 5.84, 5.88, or 5.92.
(5) “Person” means one or more natural persons of either sex, corporations, partnerships, associations, or other entities capable of having an action at law brought against such entity. (Ord. 2070 § 2, 1996; Ord. 1645 § 1, 1988; Ord. 1636 § 2, 1988).
5.20.020 Entertainment club license required.
It is unlawful for any person to own, lease, operate, manage or maintain an entertainment club, in the city without first obtaining an entertainment club license from the city. An entertainment club license is a form of business license as referred to in Chapter 5.02 MMC, and except as modified herein by this reference. For multi-use facilities which include an entertainment club, a separate and additional license must be issued for the entertainment club operation. (Ord. 1645 § 2, 1988; Ord. 1636 § 2, 1988).
5.20.030 License application procedures.
In addition to the application procedures referred to in MMC 5.02.040, an applicant for an entertainment club license shall provide the following:
(1) A written statement setting forth all measures proposed to insure that adequate traffic control, crowd protection and security, both inside and outside the premises, will be maintained, and that the ages of patrons admitted to the club will be monitored;
(2) A statement electing whether the entertainment club will be operated either exclusively as a teen club or exclusively as an adult club, and a statement of the proposed schedule of operating hours and days;
(3) A statement of whether the applicant, or the applicant’s officers, directors, partners or any other person involved in the operation or management of the entertainment club has been convicted within the preceding five years of any crimes involving firearms, controlled substances, sexual offenses, prostitution, assault, or contributing to the delinquency of a minor. (Ord. 1636 § 2, 1988).
5.20.040 Procedures for issuance or denial of license.
After receiving a complete application for an entertainment club license, as specified in MMC 5.20.030, the city shall follow the following procedures:
(1) The city clerk shall forward copies of the application to appropriate city officials for their comments regarding compliance with regulations under their jurisdiction. The city clerk shall consider all materials and comments submitted and shall issue or deny the license within 10 working days after the date on which a completed application was filed unless the applicant agrees to an extension of said time period in writing.
(2) An entertainment club license may only be denied by the city clerk on one or more of the following grounds:
(a) If the business premises do not comply with all applicable regulatory codes of the city, the Snohomish health district and the state of Washington relating to public health, safety and welfare;
(b) If the application is incomplete or if it contains any material misrepresentation;
(c) If the application does not propose adequate measures for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare in terms of traffic control, crowd protection and security, both inside and outside the premises, and the monitoring of the ages of patrons admitted to the club.
(3) If the city clerk denies a license, written notice of said denial stating the reasons therefor shall be sent to the applicant within one working day thereafter. The applicant shall have a period of 10 working days after the date of license denial to appeal the same to the city council. Upon receiving written notice of appeal the city council shall hold a public hearing within 21 days thereafter to consider, de novo, whether to issue or deny the license. The applicant shall be given not less than seven days’ advance notice of the hearing. The decision of the city council shall be announced at the conclusion of the hearing and shall be final, subject only to a petition for writ of certiorari being filed with the Snohomish County Superior Court within 14 days following the date of the city council’s decision. (Ord. 1671 § 1, 1989; Ord. 1636 § 2, 1988).
5.20.050 Operating rules and regulations.*
The following operating rules and regulations shall apply to all entertainment clubs in the city:
(1) The standards of conduct applicable to all businesses in the city, as specified in MMC 5.02.090, shall apply to entertainment clubs.
(2) Persons of the following ages shall not be permitted to enter or remain on the premises of a teen club:
(a) Under the age of 15 years unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian;
(b) Twenty-one years of age or older except for bona fide employees or entertainers hired by the licensee to work in the club.
(3) No person under the age of 21 years shall be permitted to enter or remain on the premises of an adult club unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, except for entertainers hired by the licensee to work in the club.
(4) Teen clubs shall be operated only on Friday and Saturday nights, and shall close at 1:00 a.m.; provided, however, during summer vacation when public schools are not in session, teen clubs may also operate on Wednesday nights; provided further, teen clubs may operate on any night when the following day is a school holiday which is observed by the public school system.
(5) Adult clubs may operate any night of the week and shall close at 2:00 a.m.
(6) It shall be the obligation of the licensee to employ an adequate number of qualified security personnel who will be present on club premises during all operating hours to maintain peace and order and to ensure compliance with the laws of the state of Washington and the city of Marysville which are applicable to the club premises. If the police chief determines that the club operation is directly resulting in an increased demand for police services in the vicinity of the club, the police chief may require the licensee to augment its private security force by hiring commissioned police officers with arrest authority in the city of Marysville to patrol said vicinity during club operating hours.
(7) It shall be the obligation of the licensee to insure that no alcoholic beverages or controlled substances are offered for sale or consumed on the club premises.
(8) It shall be the obligation of the licensee to remove from the club premises any person who is or appears to be under the influence of or affected by the use of alcohol and/or drugs, or whose conduct poses a physical danger to the safety of others present.
(9) It shall be the obligation of the licensee to provide proper and adequate illumination of all portions of the club premises which are available for use by the public. Such illumination shall be not less than 10 foot-candles at floor level at all times when the premises are open to the public or when any member of the public is permitted to enter and remain therein.
(10) It shall be the obligation of the licensee to prevent loitering or the creation of public nuisances or disturbances of the peace by any patrons of the club on club premises, or the immediate vicinity of the same. “Loitering” shall not include walking between the club building and a patron’s vehicle, nor shall it include the act of waiting in line to gain admission to the club.
(11) It shall be the obligation of the licensee to clean up all litter resulting from club operations. The cleanup shall occur within eight hours after the end of each day’s operation and shall extend for a two-block radius around the club.
(12) No person, other than an employee or entertainer, who leaves the club building shall be permitted to return to the club unless that person pays a readmission fee equal to the original price of admission. (Ord. 2244 § 1, 1999; Ord. 1671 § 2, 1989; Ord. 1636 § 2, 1988).
*Code reviser’s note: Ordinance 2244, Section 2, as amended by Ordinance 2291, provides:
“The language amendments to MMC 5.20.050(2)(a) and MMC 5.20.050(4) shall continue in effect for a period of 12 months from the effective date of this ordinance and shall expire on April 5, 2000 unless the Marysville City Council takes action to extend said amendments. This Ordinance shall be in effect from and after October 5, 1999.”
5.20.055 Restrictions on multi-use facilities.
(1) The premises where a teen club is located shall not be used, at any time, as an adult club, or an adult entertainment facility, or a premises which is licensed to serve alcoholic beverages.
(2) A teen club may only be located on the same premises with another licensed business if:
(a) All businesses on the premises comply with the operating rules and regulations of this chapter relating to teen clubs; or
(b) The teen club is physically segregated from the space used by the other businesses and has a separate entrance into the building which is exclusively for the use of its patrons; or
(c) Only one business operates at a time on the premises, and the premises are closed altogether for not less than one hour between the close of one business operation and the opening of another. (Ord. 1671 § 3, 1989; Ord. 1645 § 4, 1988).
5.20.060 Access by police officers.
All peace officers of the city shall have free access to all entertainment clubs for the purpose of inspection and to enforce compliance with the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 1636 § 2, 1988).
5.20.070 Checking the age of patrons.
(1) It is the responsibility of the licensee to require picture identification, or reasonable equivalent, showing the age of each person admitted to an entertainment club. It is unlawful for any person to knowingly or recklessly allow a person to enter or remain on the premises of an entertainment club in violation of the provisions of this chapter.
(2) It is unlawful for any person to affirmatively misrepresent his or her age for the purpose of obtaining admission to, or remaining at, an entertainment club in violation of the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 1636 § 2, 1988).
5.20.075 Suspension or revocation of licenses.
(1) The city council may, at any time, suspend an entertainment club license whenever the licensee, or any manager, officer, director, agent, or employee of the licensee has caused, permitted or knowingly done any of the following:
(a) Failed to keep the building structure or equipment of the licensed premises in compliance with the applicable health, building, fire or safety laws, regulations or ordinances in a way which relates to or affects public health or safety on the entertainment club premises;
(b) Failed to comply with the operating rules and regulations of entertainment clubs specified in MMC 5.20.050.
Such suspension shall remain in effect until the conditions causing the suspension are cured and reasonable measures are taken to ensure that the same will not reoccur, as determined by the city council.
(2) The city council may, at any time, revoke an entertainment club license on any one or more of the following grounds:
(a) Whenever the city learns that the licensee or any manager, officer, director, agent or employee of the licensee made a material false statement or representation, or failed to disclose any material information to the city, in connection with any application for the entertainment club license or any renewal thereof;
(b) Whenever the licensee or any manager, officer, director, agent or employee of the licensee fails within a reasonable time to cure a condition that caused a license suspension;
(c) Whenever the licensee or any manager, officer, director, agent or employee of the licensee knowingly permits conduct on the licensed premises that violates any federal, state or city criminal or penal statute, law or ordinance;
(d) Whenever operation of the entertainment club becomes the proximate cause of a significant increase in criminal activity on the premises or in the immediate vicinity in such a way as to endanger persons or property.
(3) Whenever the city clerk determines that there is probable cause for suspending or revoking an entertainment club license, the clerk shall notify the licensee by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, of such determination. Notice mailed to the address on the license shall be deemed received three days after mailing. The notice shall specify the proposed grounds for suspension or revocation. The notice shall also specify that a hearing shall be conducted by the city council at a time and date denominated in the notice, not more than 21 days thereafter, to determine whether or not the license should be suspended or revoked. The notice shall be mailed to the licensee at least five days prior to the date set for the hearing. The licensee may appear at the hearing and be heard in opposition to such suspension or revocation. The decision of the city council shall be announced at the conclusion of the hearing and shall be final, subject only to a petition for writ of certiorari being filed with the Snohomish County Superior Court within 14 days following the date of the city council’s decision. (Ord. 1677 § 1, 1989; Ord. 1671 § 4, 1989).
5.20.080 Penalties for violation.
The penalties for violating, or failing to comply with, any provision of this chapter are specified in MMC 5.02.140, and the same are incorporated herein by this reference. (Ord. 1636 § 2, 1988).