[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Homestead as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-10-1982 by Ord. No. 945]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
- ADULT BOOKSTORE
- Is an establishment or place of business having a significant or substantial portion of its stock-in-trade, including but not limited to books, magazines, periodicals, visual representations, writings, records, recordings, photographs, movies and/or films distinguished or characterized by emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified anatomical areas or to specific sexual activities or sexual conduct or an establishment with a segment or section devoted to the sale or displaying of such materials.
- ADULT MINI MOTION-PICTURE THEATER
- An enclosed building used for presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specific sexual activities or specified anatomical areas for observation by patrons therein.
- ADULT MOTION-PICTURE THEATERS
- Establishment which presents adult motion pictures to its customers, business invitees, patrons (paying customers) in an enclosed building presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas for observation by patrons therein.
- CABARET
- Establishment which presents singing and dancing and showing specific, sexual activities or sexual conduct to its customers, business invitees, patrons (paying customers) with emphasis on matter depicting or describing, specific or relating to specific sexual activities or specified anatomical areas for observation by patrons therein.
- A. Acts of human masturbation;
- B. Sexual intercourse, whether genital-genital, oral-genital, oral-anal, anal-genital or sodomy; human male genitals in a sexual stimulation or arousal;
- C. Any erotic fondling or touching of covered or uncovered genitals, buttocks, pubic area or any part thereof, the breasts of a female. Fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttocks or female breasts;
- SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREAS
- Including but not limited to human genitals, pubic region, buttocks and female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areola.
The Borough of Homestead's business and residential
districts are in serious danger of blight and decay, and concentrations
of adult businesses in the neighborhood discourages people from locating
their homes and businesses nearby. The Borough recognizes and is quite
concerned that there are some business uses, which because of their
very nature and purpose, are recognized as having serious objectionable
operational characteristics, particularly when several of them are
concentrated in certain areas which could have a deleterious effect
upon the adjacent areas. In these instances it becomes quite necessary
that special ordinances and regulations be passed and followed to
ensure that these adverse effects will not contribute to the blighting
or downgrading of the surrounding business and residential neighborhoods.
It is shall be unlawful to establish or maintain
any adult bookstore, adult motion-picture theater, adult mini motion-picture
theater or cabaret within 500 feet of any area zoned for residential
use in the Borough of Homestead.
It shall be unlawful to establish or maintain
any adult bookstore, adult motion-picture theater, adult mini motion-picture
theater or cabaret any closer than 1,000 feet of any of the following
uses:
A.
Adult theater, adult mini motion-picture theater,
amusement enterprise, cabaret, dance hall, hotel or motel, pool hall,
licensed liquor establishment, massage establishment, model studio
or sexual encounter or meditation center.
The Council of the Borough of Homestead, recognizing the above problems as stated in § 85-2 and finding a compelling public interest in the preservation of residential and business areas nevertheless, delegates to its Board of Adjustment the authority that these prohibitions in §§ 89-3 and 89-4 may be waived upon the determination of the following:
A.
That the public health, safety, welfare, order, comfort,
will not be adversely affected by this type of establishment.
B.
That the proposed use will not be contrary to the
public interest or injurious to near or adjacent properties.
C.
That the property located within the distance sought
to be permitted will not be injuriously affected as to continuing
long-term residential occupancy or business expansion or development,
as to value or otherwise, nor contribute, enlarge or encourage the
development of a blighted or downgraded area surrounding residential
neighborhood or business districts.
D.
That the additional regulated use in the area will
not be contrary to any program of neighborhood conservation or business
growth or expansion nor interfere with urban renewal.
E.
That such location will be in conformity with all
federal and state laws and applicable ordinances and regulations.
The proper enforcement of the provisions of
this article shall be controlled/maintained by the Council of the
Borough of Homestead, through its agents, officers, servants and/or
employees. The Borough of Homestead acting through its agents, servants,
officers and employees upon receiving notice of a violation of this
article shall give notice upon the person in charge of the establishment,
including but not limited to owners, tenants, lessees, employees,
occupants of the premises or agent thereof, that such violation shall
cease immediately upon notice.
Any person, including but not limited to tenants,
lessees, employees, occupants or agents and any person who knowingly
commits, participates and permits any such violations, after receiving
notice thereof, shall be convicted of violating or failing to comply
with the provisions of this article before any District Justice or
court of common jurisdiction, be sentenced to pay a fine not more
than $300 for each offense and, in default of payment of said fine
and costs, to be imprisoned in the Allegheny County jail for a period
not exceeding 90 days for each offense. In cases of persons, partnerships,
associations, firms or corporations the penalty may be imposed upon
the parties or members thereof, in case of corporations upon the officers
thereof. The continuation of such violation for each successive day
shall constitute a separate offense and the person or persons allowing
or permitting the continuation of a violation may be punished as provided
above for each separate offense.
[Adopted 11-10-1982 by Ord. No. 946]
As used in this article, the following words
and phrases shall have the following meanings:
- COMMUNITY
- For the purpose of applying the contemporary community standards, means the state.
- HARMFUL TO MINORS
- That quality of any description or representation, in whatever form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sadomasochistic abuse, when it:
- KNOWING
- Having general knowledge of, or reason to know or a belief or ground for belief which warrants further inspection or inquiry of, the character and content of any material described therein which is reasonably susceptible of examination by the defendant.
- KNOWINGLY
- Having general knowledge of, or reason to know, or a belief or ground for belief which warrants further inspection or inquiry of both:
- A. The character and content of any material described herein which is reasonably susceptible of examination by the defendant; and
- B. The age of the minor; provided, however, that an honest mistake shall constitute an excuse from liability hereunder if the defendant made a reasonable bona fide attempt to ascertain the true age of such minor.
- MINOR
- Any person under the age of 18 years.
- NUDITY
- The showing of human male or female genitals, pubic area or buttocks with less than a fully opaque covering or the showing of the female breast with less than a fully opaque covering of any portion thereof below the top of the nipple or the depiction of covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state.
- OBSCENE MATERIALS
- Any literature, including any book, magazine, pamphlet, newspaper, storypaper, comic book or writing and any figure, visual representation or image, including any drawing, photograph, picture or motion picture, if:
- A. The average person applying contemporary community standards would find that the subject matter taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest;
- B. The subject matter depicts or describes in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct of a type described in this section;
- C. The subject matter, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, educational or scientific value.
- SADOMASOCHISTIC ABUSE
- Flagellation or torture by or upon a person clad in undergarments, a mask of bizarre costume, or the condition of being fettered, bound or otherwise physically restrained on the part of one so clothed.
- SEXUAL CONDUCT
- Patently offensive representations or descriptions of ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated and patently offensive representations or descriptions of masturbation, excretory functions and lewd exhibitions of the genitals, acts of homosexuality or sexual intercourse or of physical contact with a person's clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks or breasts if such person is a female.
- SEXUAL EXCITEMENT
- The condition of human male or female genitals when in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal.
- TRANSPORTATION FACILITY
- Any conveyance, premises or place used for or in connection with public passenger transportation, whether by air, rail, motor vehicle or any other method, including aircraft, watercraft, railroad and bus terminals and stations.
No person, knowing the obscene character of
the materials involved shall:
A.
Display or cause or permit the display of any obscene
materials in or on any window, showcase, newsstand, display rack,
billboard, display board, viewing screen, motion-picture screen marquee
or similar place, in such manner that the display is visible from
any public street, highway, sidewalk, transportation facility or other
public thoroughfare.
B.
Sell, lend, distribute, exhibit, give away or show
any obscene materials to any person 18 years of age or older, or offer
to sell, lend, distribute, exhibit or give away or show, or have in
his possession with intent to sell, lend, distribute, exhibit or give
away or show any obscene materials to any person 18 years of age or
older, or knowingly advertise any obscene materials in any manner.
C.
Design, copy, draw, photograph, print, utter, publish
or in any manner manufacture or prepare any obscene materials.
D.
Write, print, publish, utter or cause to be written,
printed, published or uttered any advertisement or notice of any kind
giving information, directly or indirectly, stating or purporting
to state where, how, from whom, or by what means any obscene materials
can be purchased, obtained or had.
E.
Hire, employ, use or permit any minor child to do
or assist in doing any act or other mentioned in this section.
No person shall knowingly disseminate by sale,
loan or otherwise explicit sexual materials to a minor. Explicit sexual
materials, as used in this section, means materials which are obscene
or:
A.
Any picture, photograph, drawing, sculpture, motion
picture film or similar visual representation or image of a person
or portion of the human body which depicts nudity, sexual conduct
or sadomasochistic abuse and which is harmful to minors.
B.
Any book, pamphlet, magazine, printed matter however reproduced, or sound recording which contains any matter enumerated in Subsection A hereof, or explicit and detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual excitement, sexual conduct or sadomasochistic abuse, and which, taken as a whole, is harmful to minors.
No person shall knowingly exhibit for monetary
consideration to a minor or knowingly sell to a minor an admission
ticket or pass or knowingly admit a minor for a monetary consideration
to premises whereon there is exhibited a motion-picture show or other
presentation which, in whole or in part, depicts nudity, sexual conduct
or sadomasochistic abuse, and which is harmful to minors, except that
the foregoing shall not apply to any minor accompanied by his parent.
No person shall knowingly require any distributor
or retail seller as a condition to sale or delivery for resale or
consignment of any literature, book, magazine, pamphlet, newspaper,
storypaper, paper, comic book, writing, drawing, photograph, figure
or image or any written or printed matter or any article or instrument
to purchase or take by consignment for purposes of sale, resale or
distribution any obscene literature, book, magazine, pamphlet, newspaper,
storypaper, paper, comic book, writing, drawing, photograph, figure
or image or any written or printed matter of an obscene nature or
any article or instrument of an obscene nature.
Nothing in this article shall apply to any recognized
historical society or museum accorded charitable status by the federal
government, any county, city, borough, township or town library, any
public library, any library of any school, college or university or
any archive or library under the supervision and control of the Commonwealth
or a political subdivision thereof.
Any person including, but not limited to tenants,
lessees, employees, occupants or agents and any person who knowingly
commits, participates and permits any such violations, after receiving
notice thereof, shall be convicted of violating or failing to comply
with the provisions of this article before any District Justice or
court of common jurisdiction, shall be sentenced to pay a fine not
more than $300 for each offense and, in default of payment of said
fine and costs, to be imprisoned in the Allegheny County jail for
a period not exceeding 90 days for each offense. In cases of persons,
partnerships, associations, firms or corporations, the penalty may
be imposed upon the parties or members thereof, in case of corporations
upon the officers thereof. The continuation of such violation for
each successive day shall constitute a separate offense, and the person
or persons, allowing or permitting the continuation of a violation
may be punished as provided above for each separate offense. The Mayor
or Borough Council may institute proceedings in equity in the Court
of Common Pleas of Allegheny County when any person violates or clearly
is about to violate this article for the purpose of enjoining such
violation.