Sexually oriented businesses are classified as follows:
A.
No person shall operate a sexually oriented business without a valid
permit.
B.
An application for a permit to operate a sexually oriented business
must be made on a form provided by the Township. The application must
be accompanied by a sketch or diagram showing the floor plan and plot
plan configuration of the premises, including a statement of the total
floor space occupied by the business. 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. Parking facilities must be
specifically identified and shall meet all Zoning Ordinance requirements.
Nonconforming structures and those structures not having the required
parking sites shall not be issued permits unless the sexually oriented
business was in existence as a lawful use prior to the date of this
article.
C.
The applicant must be qualified according to the provisions of this
article, and the premises must be inspected and found to be in compliance
with the law by the Zoning Officer/Building Inspector and the Fire
Marshal.
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 ten-percent
or greater in the corporation must sign the application for a permit
as applicant.
E.
The fact that a person possesses other types of Township permits
does not exempt the person from the requirement of obtaining a sexually
oriented business permit.
A.
The Zoning Hearing Board of the Township of Shaler shall hear and
decide requests for a special exception to operate a sexually oriented
business and shall approve the issuance of a permit to an applicant
within 30 days after receipt of an application and permit fee, unless
it 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 Township 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 information reasonably necessary
for issuance of the special exception and 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 Township 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 either the Zoning Officer/Building
Inspector or the Fire Marshal as not being in compliance with applicable
laws and ordinances and the Zoning Hearing Board affirms such determination.
(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'
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.
If the special exception is granted, the permit 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.
The Township will establish an annual fee for an occupancy permit
for a sexually oriented business.
A.
An applicant or permittee shall permit representatives of the Police
Department, Fire Marshal, the Zoning Officer/Building Inspector, or
other Township departments or agencies to inspect the premises of
a sexually oriented business for the purpose of ensuring compliance
with the law at any time that the sexually oriented business is occupied
or open for business.
B.
A person who operates a sexually oriented business or his agent or
employee violates this Zoning Chapter of the Township if he refuses
to permit such lawful inspection of the premises at any time it is
occupied or open for business.
Each permit shall expire one year from the date of issuance
and may be renewed only by making application to the Zoning Officer.
Applications 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.
The Zoning Officer/Building Inspector or an inspector shall
suspend a permit for a period not to exceed 30 days if he determines
that a permittee or an employee of a permittee has:
A.
Violated or is not in compliance with any section of this article;
B.
Engaged in excessive use of alcoholic beverages while on the sexually
oriented business premises;
C.
Refused to allow an inspection of the sexually oriented business
premises as authorized by this article;
D.
Knowingly permitted gambling by any person on the sexually oriented
business premises; or
E.
Failed to man managers' stations and/or maintain viewing rooms.
A.
The Zoning Officer or Building Inspector shall revoke a permit if
a cause of suspension set forth in this section occurs and the permit
has been suspended within the preceding 12 months.
B.
The Zoning Officer or Building Inspector shall revoke a permit if
he determines that:
(1)
A permittee, or any of the persons specified in § 225-146A(8), is or has been convicted of the offenses specified in § 225-146A(8);
(2)
A permittee gave false or misleading information in the material
submitted to the Township or the Zoning Hearing Board during the application
process;
(3)
A permittee or an employee of a permittee has knowingly allowed
possession, use or sale of controlled substances on the premises;
(4)
A permittee or an employee of a permittee has knowingly allowed
prostitution on the premises;
(5)
A permittee or an employee of a permittee knowingly operated
the sexually oriented business during a period of time when the permittee's
permit was suspended;
(6)
A permittee or an employee of a 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;
or
(7)
A permittee is delinquent in payment to the Township or state
of any taxes or fees relating to sexually oriented businesses.
C.
When the Zoning Officer or Building Inspector 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 became 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 a felony.
D.
After denial of an application, or denial of a renewal of an application,
or suspension or revocation of a permit, the applicant or licensee
or permittee shall have the right to appeal said action and to seek
prompt judicial review of such administrative action in any 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 this chapter if he operates
or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business in any location
in which a sexually oriented business is not a permitted use. No sexually
oriented businesses shall be located outside a location in which a
sexually oriented business is a permitted use. Sexually oriented businesses,
as defined herein, shall be permitted only as a special exception
in an I Industrial District.
B.
A person is guilty of a violation of this chapter if he operates
or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business within the below-listed
distances of the following institutions or residences, and a special
exception shall not be granted and no permit will be issued for any
such sexually oriented business which intends to be located within
the below-listed distances of such institutions or residences:
(1)
A church: 500 feet.
(2)
A public or private pre-elementary, elementary, or secondary
school: 1,000 feet.
(3)
A public library: 500 feet.
(4)
A child-care facility or nursery school: 500 feet.
(5)
A public park adjacent to any residential district: 1,000 feet.
(6)
A child-oriented business: 500 feet.
(7)
A residence: 200 feet.
C.
A person is guilty of a violation of the chapter if he causes or
permits the operation, establishment, substantial enlargement, or
transfer of ownership of control of a sexually oriented business,
and no special exception shall be granted and no permit shall be issued
for any such sexually oriented business intended to be located within
750 feet of another sexually oriented business.
D.
A person is guilty of a violation of the chapter if he causes or
permits the operation, establishment or maintenance of more than one
sexually oriented business in the same building, structure or portion
thereof; or the increase of floor areas of any sexually oriented business
in any building, structure or portion thereof containing another sexually
oriented business.
E.
For the purpose of this article, 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
or nursery school, or to the nearest boundary of an affected public
park or residence.
F.
For purposes of Subsection C of this section, 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.
G.
Any sexually oriented business lawfully operating on date of enactment of this article that is in violation of Subsections A through F of this section shall be deemed a nonconforming use. Such nonconforming uses shall not be increased, enlarged, extended or altered, except that the use may be changed to a conforming use. In the event that two or more sexually oriented businesses are within 750 feet of 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.
H.
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, nursery school, public
park or residence within those distances set forth in this section
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 special exception and a permit is submitted after a permit has
expired or has been revoked.
A.
A person who operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented
business, other than an adult motel, which exhibits on the premises
in a viewing room of less than 150 square feet of floor space a film
or videocassette or other video or other image-production or reproduction
which depicts specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas shall comply with the following requirements:
(1)
The application for a permit to operate a sexually oriented
business shall be accompanied by a floor plan and plot plan diagram
of the premises showing a plan thereof specifying the location of
one or more manager's stations, the location of all viewing rooms,
partitions and doors and the location of all overhead lighting fixtures
and designating any portion of the premises in which patrons will
not be permitted. A manager's station may not exceed 32 square feet
of floor area. The diagram shall also designate the place at which
the permit will be conspicuously posted, if granted. A professionally
prepared diagram in the nature of an engineer's or architect's blueprint
shall not be required; however, each diagram should be oriented to
the north or to some designated street or object and should be drawn
to a designated scale or with marked dimensions sufficient to show
the various internal dimensions of all areas of the interior of the
premises to an accuracy of plus or minus six inches. The Zoning Officer
may waive the foregoing diagram for renewal applications if the applicant
adopts a diagram that was previously submitted and certifies that
the configuration of the premises has not been altered since it was
prepared.
(2)
The application shall be sworn to be true and correct by the
applicant.
(3)
No alteration in the configuration or location of a manager's
station may be made without the prior approval of the Zoning Officer.
(4)
It is the duty of the owners and operators of the premises to
ensure that at least one employee is on duty and situated in each
manager's station at all times that any patron is present inside the
premises.
(5)
The interior of the premises shall be configured in such a manner
that there is an unobstructed view from a manager's station of every
area of the premises to which any patron is permitted access for any
purpose, excluding rest rooms. Rest rooms may not contain video reproduction
or viewing equipment. If the premises has two or more manager's stations
designated, then the interior of the premises shall be configured
in such a manner that there is an unobstructed view of each area of
the premises to which any patron is permitted access for any purpose
from at least one of the manager's stations. The view required in
this subsection must be by direct line of sight from the manager's
station.
(6)
It shall be the duty of the owners and operators, and it shall also be the duty of any agents and employees present on the premises, to ensure that the view area specified in Subsection A(5) remains unobstructed by any doors, walls, merchandise, display racks or other materials at all times and to ensure that no patron is permitted access to any area of the premises which has been designated as an area in which patrons will not be permitted in the application filed pursuant to Subsection A(1) of this section.
(7)
No viewing room may be occupied by more than one person at any
time. No connections or openings to an adjoining viewing room shall
be permitted.
(8)
The premises shall be equipped with overhead lighting fixtures
of sufficient intensity to illuminate every place to which patrons
are permitted access at an illumination of not less than one footcandle
as measured at the floor level.
(9)
It shall be the duty of the owners and operators, and it shall
also be the duty of any agents and employees present in the premises,
to ensure that the illumination described above is maintained at all
times that any patron is present in the premises.
B.
No sexually oriented business, other than an adult motel, shall open
to do business before 10:00 a.m., Monday through Saturday, prevailing
time; and no sexually oriented business, other than an adult motel,
shall remain open after 10:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, prevailing
time. No sexually oriented business, other than an adult motel, shall
be open for business on any Sunday or on a legal holiday as set forth
in the Act of May 31, 1893, P.L. 188, § 1, as amended, 44
P.S. § 11.
It is a defense to prosecution under this section that a person
appearing in a state of nudity did so in a modeling class operated:
A.
By a proprietary school, licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
or a college, junior college or university supported entirely or partly
by taxation;
B.
By 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; or
C.
In a structure:
(1)
Which has no sign visible from the exterior of the structure
and no other advertising that indicates a nude person is available
for viewing; and
(2)
Where, in order to participate in a class, a student must enroll
at least three days in advance of the class; and
(3)
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 Ordinance.
Township of Shaler Ordinance No. 1714 and all other ordinances
or parts of ordinances are repealed insofar as they conflict with
the provisions of this article; however, such repeal shall not affect
any act done or any liability accrued under any such prior ordinance
herein repealed or superseded, and all such liabilities or violations
shall continue and may be enforced in the same manner as if such repeal
or supersession had not been made; and any offense or violation committed
and any penalty or forfeiture incurred under any such ordinance herein
repealed or superseded may be prosecuted in the same manner as if
this article had not been approved.
