[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Woodruff 12-11-2001.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter is adopted pursuant to the authority vested in the Town
Board pursuant to §§ 60.10(2)(c), 60.22(3) and 60.23(23), Wis.
Stats.
It is a lawful purpose of the Town Board to enact regulatory ordinances
protecting and promoting the general welfare, health and safety of the citizens
of this Town. The Town Board deems it necessary to require licensing and regulation
of adult-oriented establishments because many such establishments, by their
nature, design and intended use, are conducive to high-risk sexual behavior
and constitute a potential disturbance to the public peace and good order.
High-risk sexual behavior has the potential of exposing persons to, among
other things, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome (AIDS). AIDS is currently determined to be irreversible and uniformly
fatal. The operation of such establishments, although protected to a certain
degree as an exercise of free speech rights under the State and Federal Constitutions,
is also found to present a potential for disorderly and antisocial behavior
requiring, for the good of the residents of the Town, that the Town Board
regulate this type of activity. This chapter is created to provide minimum
standards for such adult-oriented establishments in order to protect the general
health, safety and welfare of the citizenry by regulating those features of
adult-oriented establishments which tend to facilitate and promote high-risk
sexual behavior and by providing regulations which aid in the surveillance
and detection of unlawful activities within such premises. It is thereby necessary
for the Town Board to protect and promote the public peace and good order
through regulation of the conduct of business of adult-oriented establishments.
In this chapter the following words and phrases shall have the meanings
as indicated, unless the context expressly requires otherwise:
Any exhibition of any videotape, film or motion picture of any type
which has as its dominant theme or is distinguished or characterized by an
emphasis on any actual or simulated specified sexual activities or specified
anatomical areas.
It is not limited to adult bookstores, adult motion-picture theaters
and any other premises to which public patrons or members are invited or admitted
and which is physically arranged so as to provide booths, cubicles, rooms,
compartments or stalls separate from the common areas of the premises for
the purpose of viewing adult-oriented videotapes, films, motion pictures,
or other offered adult entertainment, whether or not such adult entertainment
is held, conducted, operated or maintained for a profit, direct or indirect.
Includes property owned, leased or otherwise controlled by the adult-oriented
establishment and contiguous with the building or other structure housing
the adult-oriented establishment and shall include, but not be limited to,
parking lots or sidewalk approaches.
A nontransparent closure device which prevents activity taking place
within a booth, room or cubicle from being seen or viewed.
Any person operating, conducting, maintaining or owning any adult-oriented
establishment.
Simulated or actual:
Any adult-oriented establishment having available for customers, patrons
or members any booth, room, or cubicle for the private viewing of any adult
entertainment shall comply with all of the following requirements:
A.
Each such booth, room or cubicle shall be totally accessible
to and from aisles and public areas of the adult-oriented establishment and
shall be unobstructed, in total or in part, by any door, curtain or portal
partition.
B.
Each such booth, room or cubicle shall:
(1)
Be separated from all adjacent booths, rooms or cubicles
and any nonpublic areas by a partition. All partitions shall be solid and
without any openings and shall extend from 18 inches off the floor to a height
of not less than six feet. All partitions shall be nonabsorbent, smooth textured
and easily cleanable.
(2)
Have at least one side totally open to a public lighted
aisle so that there is an unobstructed view at all times of anyone occupying
such booth, room or cubicle.
(3)
Have a floor which is light colored, nonabsorbent, smooth
textured and easily cleanable.
(4)
Be lighted in such a manner that a person in the booth,
room or cubicle is reasonably visible from the adjacent public rooms or areas,
but such lighting shall not be of such intensity as to prevent the viewing
of such videotapes, motion pictures or other offered entertainment.
C.
No more than one person shall occupy any such booth,
room or cubicle at any time. No occupant of any such booth, room or cubicle
shall engage in any sexual activity, or cause any bodily discharge, or litter
while in the booth, room or cubicle. No person shall alter, damage or deface
any portion of any such booth, room or cubicle in such a manner that it no
longer complies with the provisions of this chapter.
D.
The premises of the adult-oriented establishment shall
be maintained in a clean and sanitary manner at all times.
No minor shall be allowed to enter or remain inside an adult-oriented
establishment or be permitted to loiter on the business premises. For the
purpose of this chapter the prohibition against loitering on the business
premises shall include situations in which parents, guardians or other physical
custodians enter or remain inside an adult-oriented establishment while leaving
minor children, who are in their care, charge or custody, outside of the building
or structure, in or outside of motor vehicles.
No adult-oriented establishment shall be open between the hours of 2:00
a.m. and 8:00 a.m., Monday through Friday, or between 3:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m.
on Saturdays, or between the hours of 3:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon on Sundays.
No person shall consume alcoholic beverages on the business premises
of an adult-oriented establishment.
A.
No person shall operate, conduct, maintain or own an
adult-oriented establishment without first obtaining an adult-oriented establishment
license. Licenses may be issued only to adult-oriented establishments which
are located at a fixed and certain physical location within the Town of Woodruff.
B.
No license issued under this section may be transferred
to any person, nor shall such license be transferred to another location.
C.
Licensees under this section must comply with the applicable
provisions of this chapter and the Oneida County Zoning Ordinance.
Each adult-oriented establishment shall be open to inspection at all
reasonable times by the Town Police Department, Fire Department and Building
Inspector and the County Health Department.
A.
Application for a license under this chapter shall be
made to the Town Clerk. The application shall be made upon a form provided
by the Town Clerk and shall contain the following information:
(1)
Applicant's full name and address.
(2)
Written evidence that the applicant is at least 18 years of age.
(3)
The address and description of the location of the proposed adult-oriented
establishment.
(4)
If the applicant is a corporation, the name of the corporation,
the date and state of incorporation, the name and address of the registered
agents of the corporation, and the name of the agent of the corporation that
will be operating the adult-oriented establishment.
B.
Applicants will be subject to a criminal and/or background
check.
The Town Board shall review all applications received under this chapter
and grant or deny the license within 30 days after filing of the application.
If the Board denies the license, such decision may be reviewed under Ch. 68,
Wis. Stats., relating to municipal administrative review procedures, which
shall be in full force and effect in the Town of Woodruff for this purpose.
In deciding on whether to issue such license, the Town Board shall consider
the probable impact of the location of the proposed business in the area proposed
to be licensed, the history of the operation of the establishment, if any,
and the overall character of the neighborhood. In addition, the following
requirements must be met:
A.
An individual applicant must be at least 18 years of
age.
B.
All officers and directors of a corporate applicant must
be at least 18 years of age, and an applicant which is a partnership, joint
venture or any other type of organization where two or more persons have a
financial interest must demonstrate that no such person is less that 18 years
of age.
No adult-oriented establishment shall be located on a property that
is located less than 1/2 mile from any residence or residential district,
school, school bus stop, church, child-care center, public park, playground,
U.S. Highway 51 or U.S. Highway 47, or any other adult-oriented establishment.
A license fee as provided in the Town Fee Schedule[1] shall be submitted with the application for a license under this
chapter. Such fee shall authorize up to 20 viewing rooms, booths and cubicles
as described herein. If the application is denied, 1/2 the fee shall be retained
as a processing fee, and the balance shall be returned to the applicant. No
fee shall be prorated except upon such denial.
All licenses issued under this chapter shall expire on March 31 of each
year. A new application shall be made each year, and renewal applications
must be filed not later than January 31. A renewal application shall contain
the same information and data as required for an application for a new license.
A late processing fee as provided in the Town Fee Schedule[1] shall be paid with any renewal application which is made following
January 31 of any year. If the application is denied, no portion of the late
processing fee shall be refunded. No license shall be issued or renewed without
an approval from the Health Department of the county.
If a licensee or a licensee's agent is convicted of an offense under
this chapter, the Town Board may hold a hearing to determine whether such
license should be suspended or revoked. Notice of such hearing, and the grounds
therefor, shall be provided to any such person, who shall be advised of the
time and place of the hearing and the right to call, examine and cross-examine
witnesses and have the proceedings recorded at the person's own expense. Such
license may be suspended for a period of not more than 60 days, or revoked
if the Town Board determines that the public interest so requires. The licensee
shall be given at least 10 days' written notice of the charges prior to the
public hearing. The public hearing must be held within 20 days of the notice
of charges. The transfer of a license, or any interest in a license, shall
immediately and automatically revoke such license.
A.
Every act or omission by an employee or person constituting a violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed the act or omission of the operator if such act or omission occurs either with the authorization, knowledge, or approval of the operator or as a result of the operator's failure to supervise the employee's conduct. In such event, the operator shall be punishable under Subsection B for such act or omission in the same manner as if the operator committed the act or caused the omission.
B.
Any person who violates or who knowingly allows or permits
any violation of any provision of this chapter or any person who operates
or permits the operation of any adult-oriented establishment in violation
of this chapter shall forfeit an amount of not less than $300 per day for
each day of violation. Each day, or a portion thereof, that a violation of
this chapter exists or continues to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
