A.
It is the intent of this regulation to further the
purpose of the zoning regulations. The City, through its planning
and zoning regulations, wishes to provide for its citizens and tourists
the atmosphere that is both safe, healthy and aesthetically pleasing,
one that fosters activities appropriate for visitors of all ages on
its thoroughfares. In addition, the City through its Comprehensive
Plan, recognizes that some residential neighborhoods, because of their
proximity to commercial districts, are more susceptible to the effect
of intensive or obnoxious activities. This regulation aims to preserve
neighborhood integrity while fostering a positive and wholesome image
for visitors from out of the area.
B.
It is further the purpose of this article to promote
the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the City
and to establish reasonable regulations. The provisions of this article
have neither the purpose nor the effect of imposing a limitation or
restriction on the content of any communicative materials, including
sexually oriented materials. Similarly, it is not the intent nor effect
of this article to restrict or deny access by adults to sexually oriented
materials protected by the First Amendment, or to deny access by the
distributors and exhibitors of sexually oriented entertainment to
their intended market. Neither is it the intent nor effect of this
article to condone or legitimize the distributions of obscene material.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any place to which the public is permitted or invited wherein
coin-operated or slug-operated or electronically, electrically or
mechanically controlled still- or motion-picture machines, projectors
or other image-producing devices are maintained to show images to
five or fewer persons per machine at any one time and where the images
so displayed are distinguished or characterized by the depicting or
describing of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas.
A commercial establishment which, as its primary business
purpose, offers for sale or rental for any form of consideration any
one or more of the following: books, magazines, periodicals or other
printed matter, photographs, films, motion pictures, videocassettes,
video reproductions, slides or other visual representations which
depict or describe specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas; or instruments, devices or paraphernalia which are designed
for use in connection with specified sexual activities. This definition
shall not include the video sale or rental establishment which as
its primary business, leases, rents or sells nonadult-oriented materials.
A nightclub, bar, restaurant or similar commercial establishment
which regularly features persons appearing in the state of nudity;
live performances which are characterized by the exposure of specified
anatomical areas or by specified sexual activities; films, motion
pictures, videocassettes, slides, digital imaging, photographic reproductions
or any and all visual media using the most recent technology, which
are characterized by the depiction or description of specified sexual
activities or specified anatomical areas.
A hotel, motel or similar commercial establishment which
offers accommodations to the public for any form of consideration;
provides patrons with closed-circuit television transmissions, files,
motion pictures, videocassettes, slides, digital imaging, photographic
reproductions or any visual media using current technology which are
characterized by the depiction or description of specified sexual
activities or specified anatomical areas; and has a sign visible from
the public right-of-way which advertises the availability of this
adult-type of photographic reproductions; or offers sleeping rooms
for rent four or more times in one calendar day during five or more
calendar days in any continuous thirty-day period.
A commercial establishment where, for any form of consideration,
films, motion pictures, videocassettes, slides or similar photographic
reproductions are regularly shown which are characterized by the depiction
or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas.
A theater, concert hall, auditorium or similar commercial
establishment which regularly features persons who appear in a state
of nudity or live performances which are characterized by the exposure
of specified anatomical areas or specified sexual activities.
Any commercial establishment which, as one of its principal
business purposes, serves and/or sells children and their families
food, apparel, goods, services, play and/or entertainment.
A person who, for consideration, agrees or offers to act
as a companion, guide or date for another person, or who agrees or
offers to privately model lingerie or to privately perform a striptease
for another person.
Any person or business association who furnishes, offers
to furnish or advertises to furnish escorts as one of its primary
business purposes for a fee, tip or other consideration.
The City of Latrobe.
Any place where a person who appears in a state of nudity
or displays specified anatomical areas is provided to be observed,
sketched, drawn, painted, sculptured, photographed or similarly depicted
by other persons who pay money or any form of consideration.
The appearance of a human bare buttock, anus, male genitals,
female genitals or female breast.
Any person in whose name a permit and/or license to operate
a sexually oriented business has been issued as well as the individual
listed as an applicant on the application for a permit and/or license.
An individual, proprietorship, partnership, corporation,
association or other legal entity.
A state of dress in which clothing covers no more than the
genitals, public region and areola of the female breast, as well as
portions of the body covered by supporting straps or devices.
A business or commercial enterprise that, as one of its primary
business purposes, offers for any form of consideration physical contact
in the form of wrestling or tumbling between persons of the opposite
sex; or activities between male and female persons and/or persons
of the same sex when one of more of the persons is in a state of nudity
or seminude.
An adult arcade, adult bookstore or adult video store, adult
cabaret, adult motel, adult motion-picture theater, adult theater,
escort agency, nude model studio or sexual encounter center.
The male genitals in a state of sexual arousal and/or the
vulva or more intimate parts of the female genitals.
Includes any of the following: fondling or other erotic touching
of human genitals, public region, buttocks, anus or female breasts;
sex acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, including intercourse,
oral copulation or sodomy; masturbation, actual or simulated; or excretory
functions as part of or in connection with any other specified sexual
activities.
That increase in floor areas occupied by the business by
more than 25%, as the floor area exists on date of enactment of this
article.
Includes any of the following: the sale, lease or sublease
of the business; the transfer of securities which constitute a controlling
interest in the business, whether by sale, exchange or similar means;
or the establishment of a trust, gift or other similar legal device
which transfers the ownership or control of the business, except for
transfer by bequest or other operation of law upon the death of the
person possessing the ownership or control.
Sexually oriented businesses are classified
as follows:
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Adult arcades.
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Adult bookstores or adult video stores.
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Adult cabarets.
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Adult motels.
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Adult motion-picture theaters.
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Adult theaters.
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Escort agencies.
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Nude model studios.
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Sexual encounter centers.
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A.
Any person who operates a sexually oriented business
without a valid permit issued by the City is guilty of a violation
of the Zoning Chapter.
B.
An application for a permit to operate a sexually
oriented business must be made on a form provided by the Zoning Officer.
Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry approved plans showing
the floor plan and plot plan configuration of the premises, including
a statement of total floor space occupied by the business, must accompany
the application. The sketch or diagram need not be professionally
prepared but must be drawn to a designated scale or drawn with marked
dimensions of the interior of the premises to an accuracy of plus
or minus six inches.
C.
The applicant must be qualified according to the provisions
of this chapter, and the premises must be inspected and found to be
in compliance with the law by the Zoning Officer.
D.
If a person who wishes to operate a sexually oriented
business is an individual, he must sign the application for a permit
as applicant. If a person who wishes to operate a sexually oriented
business is other than an individual, each individual who has a ten-percent-or-greater
interest in the business must sign the application for a permit as
applicant. If a corporation is listed as owner of a sexually oriented
business or as the entity which wishes to operate such a business,
each individual having a direct or indirect interest of 10% or greater
in the corporation must sign the application for a permit as applicant.
E.
The fact that a person possesses other types of City
permits does not exempt the person from the requirements of obtaining
a sexually oriented business permit.
A.
The Zoning Officer shall approve the issuance of a
permit to an applicant within 30 days after receipt of a written application
unless he finds one or more of the following to be true:
(1)
An applicant is under 18 years of age.
(2)
An applicant or an applicant's spouse is overdue in
his payment to the City or any other municipal entity, of taxes, fees,
fines or penalties assessed against him or imposed upon him in relation
to a sexually oriented business.
(3)
An applicant has failed to provide all information
required for issuance of the permit or has falsely answered a question
or request for information on the application form.
(4)
An applicant is residing with a person who has been
denied a permit by the City to operate a sexually oriented business
within the preceding 12 months or residing with a person whose license
to operate a sexually oriented business has been revoked within the
preceding 12 months.
(5)
The premises to be used for the sexually oriented
business have been reviewed and have been disapproved by the Zoning
Officer as not being in compliance with applicable laws and ordinances.
(6)
The permit fee required by this article has not been
paid.
(7)
An applicant of the proposed establishment is in violation
of or is not in compliance with any of the provisions of this article.
(8)
An individual applicant or any individual holding
a direct or indirect interest of more than 10% of a corporate applicant,
or any of the officers and directors of a corporate applicant, if
the applicant is a corporation; or any of the partners, including
limited partners, if the applicant is a partnership; or the manager
or other person in charge of the operation of the applicant's business,
has or have been convicted of an offense involving sexual misconduct
within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including but not limited
to prostitution, obscenity and possession of child pornography, or
convicted of any offense in any jurisdiction other than the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania that would have constituted an offense involving sexual
misconduct if committed within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In
order for approval to be denied pursuant to this subsection, the person
or persons's conviction or release in connection with the sexual misconduct
offense must have occurred within two years of the date of application
in the event of a misdemeanor and within five years of the date of
application in the event of a felony.
B.
The permit, if granted, shall state on its face the
name of the person or persons to whom it is granted, the expiration
date, and the address of the sexually oriented business. The permit
shall be posted in a conspicuous place at or near the entrance to
the sexually oriented business so that it may be easily read at any
time.
C.
The Zoning Officer shall complete the certification
that the premises are in compliance or not in compliance within 30
days of receipt of the application to the Zoning Officer. The certification
shall be promptly presented to the Zoning Officer.
The annual fee for a sexually oriented business
permit shall be set from time to time by the City Council.
A.
An applicant, permittee, or employee of the permittee
shall permit the Zoning Officer to inspect the premises of a sexually
oriented business for the purpose of insuring compliance with the
law at any time that the sexually oriented business is open for business.
B.
A person who operates a sexually oriented business
or his agent or employee violates the Zoning Chapter if he refuses
to permit such lawful inspection of the premises at any time it is
open for business.
A.
Each permit shall expire two years from the date of issuance and may be renewed only by making application as provided in § 166-76. Application for renewal should be made at least 30 days before the expiration date, and, when made fewer than 30 days before the expiration date, the pendency of the application will not prevent the expiration of the permit.
B.
If the Zoning Officer denies renewal of a license,
the applicant shall not be issued a permit for one year from the date
of denial, except that after 90 days having elapsed since the date
of denial, the applicant may be granted a permit if the Zoning Officer
finds that the basis for denial of the renewal permit has been corrected
or abated.
The Zoning Officer shall suspend a permit for
period not to exceed 30 days if he determines that a permittee or
an employee of a permittee has violated or is not in compliance with
any section to this article, refused to allow an inspection of the
sexually oriented business premises as authorized by this chapter
or, knowingly permitted gambling by any person on the sexually oriented
business premises.
A.
The Zoning Officer shall revoke a permit if a cause of suspension set forth in § 166-80 occurs and the permit has been suspended within the preceding 12 months.
B.
The Zoning Officer shall also revoke a permit if he
determines that:
(1)
The permittee, or any of the persons specified in § 166-76, is or has been convicted or the offenses specified in said section.
(2)
The permittee gave false or misleading information
in the material submitted to the City during the application process.
(3)
The permittee or an employee of the permittee has
knowingly allowed possession, use or sale of controlled substances
on the premises.
(4)
The permittee or an employee of the permittee has
knowingly allowed prostitution on the premises.
(5)
The permittee or an employee of the permittee knowingly
operated the sexually oriented business during a period of time when
the permittee's permit was suspended.
(6)
The permittee or an employee of the permittee has
knowingly allowed any act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation,
masturbation or other explicit sexual conduct to occur in or on the
permitted premises.
(7)
The permittee is delinquent in payment to the City
or state of any taxes or fees relating to sexually oriented businesses.
C.
When the Zoning Officer revokes a permit, the revocation shall continue for one year, and the permittee shall not be issued a sexually oriented business permit for one year from the date revocation become effective, except that if the revocation is pursuant to Subsection B(1) above, the revocation shall be effective for two years in the event of a misdemeanor or five years in the case of felony.
D.
To minimize and reduce delay to the applicant or permittee,
and in addition to the appeal time frames and remedies available under
the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101, et seq.,
all permit denial, renewal, suspension or revocation decisions shall
be sent, in writing, to the applicant, licensee or permitee. All such
decisions which deny, refuse to renew, suspend or revoke a permit
shall state specifically the ordinance requirement not met and any
other basis of the decision. After denial of an application, or denial
of a renewal of an application, or after suspension or revocation
of any permit, the applicant or permittee may appeal pursuant to the
procedures of the Local Agency Law (2 Pa. C.S.A. § 101 et
seq.) to the City of Latrobe Zoning Hearing Board, except as modified
herein. Any such appeal must be filed, in writing, with the Zoning
Officer, within 30 days from the date of the mailing of the decision
appealed from and shall specify, in detail, the basis for the appeal.
Failure or refusal to file said appeal or specify the basis of said
appeal with the Zoning Officer shall be deemed a conclusive determination
as to the issue or matters addressed by the written decision. If an
appeal is timely filed, the Zoning Hearing Board will then hold a
Local Agency Law hearing pursuant to 2 Pa. C.S.A. § 101
et seq. within 30 days from the date the appeal is filed and will
render a written decision within 20 days from the date such hearing
concludes. In the case of a denial or renewal, or in the case of a
permit suspension or revocation, the permittee may continue to operate
to the same extent as immediately prior to the suspension or revocation
until the earlier of:
E.
To minimize and reduce delay to the applicant or permittee,
and in addition to the appeal time frames and remedies available under
the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.,
any person aggrieved by a decision of the Zoning Hearing Board may
appeal to a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to the Local
Agency Law (2 Pa. C.S.A. § 101 et seq.) and 42 Pa. C.S.A.
§ 933(a)(2). The Zoning Hearing Board shall, upon filing
of such an appeal, consent to any request by a permit applicant or
permittee to the court to give expedited review of such an appeal.
The Zoning Hearing Board shall certify any record to the court within
20 days after the appeal is filed. In the case of a denial of a permit
renewal, or in the case of a permit suspension or revocation, the
permittee may continue to operate to the same extent as immediately
prior to the denial, suspension or revocation until the earlier of
the expiration of the thirty-day appeal period without filing of an
appeal; or the date of a decision dismissing an appeal by a court
of competent jurisdiction.
A permittee shall not transfer his permit to
another person. A permittee shall not operate a sexually oriented
business under the authority of a permit at any place other than the
address designated in the application.
A.
A person is guilty of a violation of the Zoning Chapter
if he operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business
outside of the district in which a sexually oriented business is a
permitted use. No sexually oriented business shall be located outside
a district in which a sexually oriented business is a permitted use.
Sexually oriented businesses as defined herein shall be permitted
in the I-2 Industrial Zone. Hours of operation shall be from 8:00
a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. No hours of operation,
shall be permitted on Sundays and legal holidays.
B.
A person is guilty of a violation of the Zoning Chapter
if he operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business
within 1,000 feet of a church, a public or private pre-elementary,
elementary or secondary school, a public library, a child-care facility
or nursery school, a public park or playground, a child-oriented business,
a college and/or public or private university, and any residentially
zoned district in the City.
C.
A person is guilty of a violation of the Zoning Chapter
if he causes or permits the operation, establishment, substantial
enlargement or transfer of ownership or control of a sexually oriented
business within 1,000 feet of another sexually oriented business.
D.
For the purposes of this article of the Zoning Chapter
of the Code of the City of Latrobe, measurement shall be made in a
straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects,
from the nearest portion of the building or structure used as a part
of the premises where a sexually oriented business is conducted, to
the nearest property line of the premises of a church, public or private
pre-elementary, elementary or secondary school, public library, child-care
facility, child-oriented business or nursery school, or to the nearest
boundary of an affected public park, college, university or residentially
zoned district.
E.
For the purposes of this section of this article of
the Zoning Chapter of the Code of the City of Latrobe, the distance
between any two sexually oriented businesses shall be measured in
a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects,
from the closest exterior wall of the structure in which each business
is located.
F.
Any sexually oriented business lawfully operating on date of enactment of this article that is in violation of any part of this section (§ 166-83) shall be deemed a nonconforming use. Any preexisting nonconforming use sexually oriented business that is abandoned or is not used as such for a period of at least 12 months loses its preexisting nonconforming status and must thereafter comply with all provision of this article to reopen. At the time of the writing of this article there are no such preexisting uses in the City. If in the event that two or more sexually oriented businesses are within 1,000 feet from one another and otherwise in a permissible location, the sexually oriented business which was first established and continually operating at a particular location is the conforming use and the later-established business is nonconforming.
G.
A sexually oriented business lawfully operating as
a conforming use is not rendered a nonconforming use by the location,
subsequent to the grant or renewal of the sexually oriented business
permit, of a church, public or private pre-elementary, elementary
or secondary school, public library, child-care facility, child-oriented
business, nursery school or public park within 1,000 feet of the sexually
oriented business. This provision applies only to the renewal of a
valid permit and does not apply when an application for a permit is
submitted after a permit has expired or has been revoked.
It is a defense to prosecution under this article
that a person appearing in a state of nudity did so in a modeling
class operated by a proprietary school, licensed by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, or a college, junior college or university supported
entirely or partly by taxation; a private college or university which
maintains and operates educational programs in which credits are transferable
to a college, junior college or university supported entirely or partly
by taxation; in a structure which has no sight visible from the exterior
of the structure and no other advertising that indicates a nude person
is available for viewing; where, in order to participate in a class,
a student must enroll at least three days in advance of the class;
and where no more than one nude model is on the premises at any one
time.
A person who operates or causes to be operated
a sexually oriented business without a valid permit or in violation
of this article is subject to an action in equity or a suit for injunction
as well as citations for violations of the Zoning Chapter.
The provisions of this article are severable,
and, if any section, sentence, clause or part or provision hereof
shall be held illegal, invalid or unconstitutional by any court of
competent jurisdiction, such decision of the court shall not affect
the remaining sections, sentences, clauses, parts or provisions of
this article. It is hereby declared to be in the intent of the Council
that this article would have been adopted if such illegal, invalid
or unconstitutional section, sentence, clause, part or provision had
not been included herein.
