Alameda Municipal Code § 30-9 Adult Entertainment Activity

The occupancy of any structure for adult entertainment activities shall conform to the provisions of this section, and all other applicable sections of this Article.

(Ord. No. 1849 N.S.)

As used in this section:

Adult book store shall mean an establishment having as a substantial or significant portion of its stock in trade, 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 below), or an establishment with a segment or section devoted to the sale or display of such material.

Adult cabaret shall mean an establishment which features topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators, or similar entertainers.

Adult entertainment activity shall mean an adult book store, adult motion picture theater, peep show, adult cabaret, pool or billiard establishment, amusement hall or fortune-telling establishment.

Adult motion picture theater shall mean an enclosed building or drive-in theater used for presenting material distinguished or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, (as defined below) for observation by patrons therein.

Amusement hall shall mean an establishment in which more than five (5%) percent of the net floor area is devoted to pool tables, coin-operated movie projectors, or similar machines operated by an attendant, excluding pinball machines, video games and other game machines as defined in subsection 30-10.2.

Net floor area shall mean floor area devoted to or capable of being devoted to a lawful permitted or conditional use or uses and related accessory use(s), excluding walls, parking and loading spaces and areas, hallways, stairways, storage areas, bathrooms and mechanical equipment areas necessary for maintenance of the building.

Specified anatomical areas shall mean:

a. Less than completely and opaquely covered: (a) human genitals, pubic region, (b) buttock, and (c) female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola; and

b. Human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state even if completely and opaquely covered.

Specified sexual activities shall mean:

a. Human genitals in a state of sex stimulation or arousal;

b. Acts of human masturbation, sexual intercourse or sodomy;

c. Fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttock or female breast.

Peep show shall mean a building used for the same purpose as outlined above, but in which movies are shown in individual cubicles or booths by separate coin-operated movie projectors.

Massage establishment is defined in subsection 6-46.2 of the Alameda Municipal Code.

(Ord. No. 1849 N.S.; Ord. No. 2150 N.S.; Ord. No. 2290 N.S.; Ord. No. 2330 N.S.; Ord. No. 2454 § 1; Ord. No. 2920 N.S. § 25)

(Ord. No. 3047 N.S., § 3, 6-6-2012)

Adult entertainment activities are permitted in C-2 and less restrictive districts, with or without PD overlays, subject, except for adult book stores and theaters, to compliance with the conditional use requirements of subsection 30-21.3 of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 1849 N.S.; Ord. No. 2316 N.S.; Ord. No. 2454 N.S. § 1)

Adult entertainment activities are not permitted within five hundred (500') feet of any area zoned for residential use or within one thousand (1,000') feet of the same type of adult entertainment activity.

(Ord. No. 1849 N.S.; Ord. No. 2316 N.S.; Ord. No. 2454 § 1)

Adult entertainment activities shall not be displayed so that specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas are visible from public places.

(Ord. No. 2316 N.S.)

Within one (1) year after the effective date of this section* all nonconforming adult book stores, adult motion picture theaters, peep shows, and cabarets shall be discontinued or made to conform, except that such activities may continue for up to an additional two (2) years upon the granting of a conditional use permit pursuant to subsection 30-21.3 of this article, except that the Planning Board must find, in lieu of the requirements of subsection 30-21.3, that the use, if conditioned, would not create a public nuisance and that the activity is either obligated by written lease of the premises exceeding one (1) year of the effective date of this section,* or that the activity involves investment of money in leasehold or other improvements such that a longer period is necessary to prevent undue financial hardship.

(Ord. No. 1849 N.S.; Ord. No. 2316 N.S.; Ord. No. 2454 N.S., § 1)

(Ord. No. 3047 N.S., § 4, 6-6-2012)

*Editor's Note: As amended by Ordinance No. 2316 N.S., effective February 20, 1987.