Exciting enhancements are coming soon to eCode360! Learn more 🡪
Village of Argyle, WI
Lafayette County
By using eCode360 you agree to be legally bound by the Terms of Use. If you do not agree to the Terms of Use, please do not use eCode360.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
A. 
It is a lawful purpose of the Village Board to enact rules and regulations as are necessary for the preservation of health and to prevent the spread of AIDS and other communicable or sexually transmitted diseases in the Village of Argyle. It has been found by localities throughout the State of Wisconsin, particularly Milwaukee, Racine, Waukesha, Delafield, Kenosha and West Allis; as well as communities around the country, including Indianapolis, Indiana; Boston, Texas; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Newport News, Virginia; Marion County, Indiana; Detroit, Michigan; and Seattle, Washington; as well as other communities around the country, that sexually oriented adult entertainment establishments are predisposed to the creation of unsafe and unsanitary conditions; that operators and employees of such businesses tend to participate in sex-related offenses on the premises, creating substantial law enforcement problems, and that the operational characteristics of such businesses have a deleterious effect on surrounding areas, resulting in neighborhood blight and reduced property values, especially when such businesses are concentrated in one area. Many of such establishments install movie viewing booths with doors in which patrons view videotapes, movies, films and other forms of entertainment characterized by their emphasis on depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, and that such booths have been and are being used by patrons to engage in sexual acts resulting in unsanitary, unhealthy and unsafe conditions in said booths and establishments. This chapter is intended to establish standards in order to prevent the spread of AIDS and other communicable or sexually transmitted diseases and to eliminate the deleterious effects described above in the Village of Argyle.
B. 
The Village Board finds that there is an increasing likelihood of commercial exploitation of human sexuality by owners of premises holding "Class B" alcohol beverage licenses in the State of Wisconsin. Such exploitation takes place in the form of employing or permitting persons to perform or exhibit their nude or seminude bodies to other persons as an inducement to other persons to purchase alcohol beverages. The direct result of such exploitation is criminal activity, moral degradation and disturbance of the peace and good order of the community. In addition, this commercial exploitation of such nude and seminude acts is adverse to the public's interest in the quality of life, commercial activity and total community environment in the Village of Argyle.
The following definitions are applicable in this chapter:
ADULT BATHHOUSE
An establishment or business which provides the service of baths of all kinds, including all forms and methods of hydrotherapy, that is not operated by a medical practitioner or a professional physical therapist licensed by the State of Wisconsin and which establishment provides to its patrons an opportunity for engaging in specified sexual activities as defined in this article.
ADULT BODY-PAINTING STUDIO
An establishment or business wherein patrons are afforded an opportunity to paint images on a body which is wholly or partially nude. For purposes of this chapter, an adult body-painting studio shall not be deemed to include a tattoo parlor.
ADULT BOOKSTORE
An establishment having as a substantial or significant portion of its stock and trade in books, magazines and other periodicals which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, as defined herein. This includes an establishment having as its stock-in-trade, for sale, rent, trade, lease, inspection or viewing, books, films, videocassettes, motion pictures, magazines or other periodicals which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matters depicting, describing or relating to specific sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, and in conjunction therewith have facilities for the presentation of adult entertainment, including adult-oriented videotapes, films, motion pictures or other offered entertainment for observation by patrons therein.
ADULT CABARET
A cabaret which features male or female impersonators or similar entertainers.
ADULT ENTERTAINMENT
Any exhibition of any motion pictures, live performance, display or dance of any type, which has a significant or substantial portion of such performance or is distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on any actual or simulated performance of specified sexual activities or exhibition and viewing of specified anatomical areas, as defined herein, appearing unclothed, or the removal of articles of clothing to reveal specified anatomical areas.
ADULT MINI MOTION-PICTURE THEATER
An enclosed building with a capacity for less than 50 patrons, including establishments that have coin-operated video or motion-picture booths, used for presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, as defined herein, for observation by patrons therein.
ADULT MODELING STUDIO
An establishment or business which provides the services of modeling for the purpose of reproducing the human body wholly or partially nude by means of photography, painting, sketching, drawing or otherwise.
ADULT MOTEL
A hotel, motel or similar commercial establishment, which:
A. 
Offers accommodations to the public for any form of consideration; provides patrons with closed-circuit television transmissions, films, motion pictures, videocassettes, slides, or other photographic reproductions which are characterized by the depiction or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, and which may have a sign visible from the public right-of-way which advertises the availability of this adult type of photographic reproductions;
B. 
Offers a sleeping room for rent for a period of time that is less than 10 hours; or
C. 
Allows a tenant or occupant of a sleeping room to subrent the room for a period of time that is less than 10 hours.
ADULT MOTION-PICTURE THEATER
An enclosed building with a capacity of 50 or more persons at which a significant or substantial portion of the material presented is distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, as defined herein, for observation by patrons therein.
ADULT MOTION-PICTURE THEATER (OUTDOOR)
A parcel of land from which individuals may view a motion picture presented out of doors which presents material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activity or specified anatomical areas, as defined herein, for observation by patrons.
ADULT NOVELTY SHOP
An establishment or business having as a substantial or significant portion of its stock and trade in novelty or other items which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on, or designed for, specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, as defined herein, or stimulating such activity.
ADULT-ORIENTED ESTABLISHMENT
An establishment which includes, but is not limited to, adult bookstores, adult motion-picture theaters, adult mini motion-picture theaters, adult bathhouses, adult body-painting studios, adult motels, adult novelty shops or adult cabarets, and further means any premises to which public patrons or members are invited or admitted and which are so physically arranged so as to provide booths, cubicles, rooms, compartments or stalls separate from the common area of the premises for the purposes of viewing adult-oriented motion pictures, or wherein an entertainer provides adult entertainment to a member of the public, a patron or a member, whether or not such adult entertainment is held, conducted, operated or maintained for profit, direct or indirect. An adult-oriented establishment further includes, without being limited to, any adult entertainment studio or any premises that is physically arranged and used as such whether advertised or represented as an adult entertainment studio, rap studio, exotic dance studio, encounter studio, sensitivity studio, modeling studio or any other term of like import.
BOOTH, ROOM or CUBICLE
Such enclosures as are specifically offered to the public or members of an adult-oriented establishment for hire or for a fee as part of a business operated on the premises which offers as part of its business the entertainment to be viewed within the enclosure; which shall include, without limitation, such enclosures wherein the entertainment is dispensed for a fee, but a fee is not charged for mere access to the enclosure. However, booth, room, or cubicle does not mean such enclosures that are private offices used by the owners, managers or persons employed on the premises for attending to the tasks of their employment, which enclosures are not held out to the public or members of the establishment for hire or for a fee or for the purpose of viewing entertainment for a fee, and are not open to any persons other then employees; nor shall this definition apply to hotels, motels or other similar establishments licensed by the State of Wisconsin pursuant to Ch. 50, Wis. Stats.
CHURCH
A building, whether situated within the Village or not, in which persons regularly assemble for religious worship intended primarily for purposes connected with such worship or for propagating a particular form of religious belief.
COMMUNITY
The State of Wisconsin.
CUSTOMER
Any person who:
A. 
Is allowed to enter an adult-oriented establishment in return for the payment of an admission fee or any other form of consideration or gratuity;
B. 
Enters an adult-oriented business and purchases, rents or otherwise partakes of any merchandise, goods, entertainment or other services offered therein; or
C. 
Is a member of and on the premises of an adult-oriented establishment operating as a private club.
DAY-CARE CENTER
A facility licensed by the State of Wisconsin pursuant to § 48.65, Wis. Stats., whether situated within the Village or not.
DOOR, CURTAIN or PORTAL PARTITION
A nontransparent closure device which prevents activity taking place within a booth, room or cubicle from being seen or viewed from outside the booth, room or cubicle.
EMPLOYEE
Any and all persons, including independent contractors, who work in or at or render any services directly or indirectly related to the operation of an adult-oriented establishment.
ENTERTAINER
Any person who provides entertainment within an adult-oriented establishment, as defined in this chapter, whether or not a fee is charged or accepted for entertainment and whether or not entertainment is provided as an employee or independent contractor.
HARMFUL TO MINORS
That quality of any description or representation, in whatever form, of nudity, specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, which taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest in sex, which taken as a whole portrays sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and which taken as a whole does not have serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. Whether a work appeals to the prurient interest and whether it depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and whether it has serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value are to be determined by applying contemporary community standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material for minors.
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 suspect under this section; and
B. 
The age of a 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.
KNOWLEDGE OF MINOR'S AGE
A. 
Knowledge or information that the person is a minor; and
B. 
Reason to know or a belief or grounds for belief which warrants further inspection or inquiry of the age of the minor.
MANAGER
The operator or agent licensed under this chapter, who shall not be licensed as a massage technician.
MASSAGE
Any process or procedure consisting of rubbing, stroking, kneading or tapping, by physical or mechanical means, upon the external parts or tissues of the body of another for consideration.
MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENT
A place of business wherein private massage is practiced, used or made available as a principal use of the premises.
MASSAGE ROOM
The area where private massage is performed.
MASSAGE TECHNICIAN
A person who practices, administers or uses massage for a consideration, and who holds a valid license under this chapter.
MINOR
Any person under the age of 18 years.
NUDITY
The showing of the 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 part of the nipple, or the showing of covered male genitals in a discernible turgid state.
OPERATOR
Any person operating, conducting, maintaining or owning any adult-oriented establishment or massage establishment.
PATRON
Any person who receives a massage under such circumstances that it is reasonably expected that he or she will pay money or give any consideration therefor.
RESIDENTIAL
Pertaining to the use of land, whether situated within the Village or not, for premises such as homes, townhouses, duplexes, condominiums, apartments and mobile homes, which contain habitable rooms for nontransient occupancy and which are designed primarily for living, sleeping, cooking and eating therein. A premises which is designed primarily for living, sleeping, working and eating therein shall be deemed to be residential in character unless it is actually occupied and used exclusively for other purposes. Hotels, motels, boardinghouses, nursing homes and hospitals shall not be considered to be residential.
SADOMASOCHISTIC ABUSE
Flagellation or torture by a person clad in undergarments, a mask or bizarre costume, or the condition of being fettered, bound or otherwise physically restrained on the part of one so clothed.
SCHOOL
A building, whether situated within the Village or not, where persons regularly assemble for the purpose of instruction or education, together with playgrounds, stadia and other structures or grounds used in conjunction therewith. The term is limited to:
A. 
Public and private schools used for primary or secondary education in which any regular kindergarten or grades one through 12 classes are taught; and
B. 
Special educational facilities in which students who have physical or learning disabilities receive specialized education in lieu of attending regular classes in kindergarten or any of grades one through 12.
SEXUAL CONDUCT
The commission of any of the following: sexual intercourse, sodomy, bestiality, necrophilia, human excretion, masturbation, sadism, masochism, fellatio, cunnilingus or lewd exhibition of human genitals.
SEXUAL INTERCOURSE
Physical sexual contact between individuals that involves the genitalia of at least one person, including, but not limited to, heterosexual intercourse, sodomy, fellatio or cunnilingus.
SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREAS
Less than completely and opaquely covered:
A. 
Human genitals, pubic region.
B. 
Buttock.
C. 
Female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola.
D. 
Human male genitals in a discernible turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered.
SPECIFIED SEXUAL ACTIVITIES
Simulated or actual:
A. 
Showing of human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal;
B. 
Acts of human masturbation, sexual intercourse, sodomy, bestiality, necrophilia, sadomasochistic abuse, fellatio, cunnilingus; or
C. 
Fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttock, or female breasts.
SUBSTANTIAL
As used in various definitions, shall mean 50% or more of a business stock-in-trade, display space, floor space or retail sales in any one month during the license year.
WAITING AREA
An area adjacent to the main entrance that is separate from any area where massages are given.
A. 
Any person who, within the Village of Argyle municipal limits, knowingly or intentionally, in a public place, commits public indecency by doing one of the following:
(1) 
Engaging in specified sexual activities;
(2) 
Displaying specified anatomical areas; or
(3) 
Appearing in a state of nudity.
B. 
In addition to any other actions allowed by law or taken by the Village Board and/or committee thereof, including the action of applicable license revocation or nonrenewal, anyone who violates any of the provisions of this section shall forfeit not less than $250 and not more than $2,000, for each offense, together with costs, and if such forfeiture and costs are not paid, such person so convicted shall be subject to such other penalties available by law.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to exhibit for a monetary consideration to a minor or knowingly to sell to a minor an admission ticket or pass or knowingly to 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, or specified sexual activities and which is harmful to minors, unless such minor is accompanied by his parent or legal guardian.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to sell or loan for monetary consideration to a minor:
(1) 
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 specified anatomical areas or shows specified sexual activities and which is harmful to others.
(2) 
Any book, pamphlet, magazine, printed matter, however produced, or sound recording which contains any material enumerated in Subsection B(1) hereof or explicit and detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of specified sexual activities and which, taken as a whole, is harmful to minors.
C. 
It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to admit a minor to any premises whereon there is exhibited nudity or specified sexual activities which is harmful to minors unless such minor is accompanied by his/her parent or legal guardian.
D. 
Any person violating this section shall be subject to the penalty provisions of § 150-9.