Azusa Municipal Code Div. 2 Adult Business Licenses for Operators

A. A person commits a misdemeanor, subject to punishment in accordance with section 1-10 of this Code, if he or she operates an adult business within the city without obtaining all applicable adult business licenses and permits required by the city pursuant to this Code.

B. An application for a license must be made on a form provided by the city. The application must be accompanied by a sketch or diagram showing the configuration of the premises, including a statement of 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. The application shall include at a minimum the street address of the principal place of business where business records are kept and any location current or proposed for the adult business in the city. Post office boxes or postal annex addresses shall not be sufficient to meet this requirement.

Notwithstanding the fact that an application filed hereunder may be a "public record" under Government Code Section 6250 et seq., certain portions of such application contain information vital to the effective administration and enforcement of the licensing and/or permit scheme established herein which information is personal, private, confidential or the disclosure of which could expose the applicant to a risk of harm. Such information includes, but is not limited to, the applicant's residence address and telephone number, the applicant's date of birth and/or age, the applicant's driver's license and/or Social Security Number, and/or personal financial data. The city council in adopting the application and licensing and/or permit system set forth herein has determined in accordance with Government Code Section 6255 that the public interest in disclosure of the information set forth above is outweighed by the public interest in achieving compliance with this chapter by ensuring that the applicant's privacy, confidentiality or security interests are protected. The city clerk shall cause to be obliterated from any copy of a license application made available to any member of the public, the information set forth above.

C. An adult use planning permit application must also be concurrently filed with the license application. The license application shall contain the same information required of the adult use planning permit. The adult use planning permit application will be processed in accordance with the time limits of Section 88-1708, 88-1710 and Section 88-1714 of this Code. Before a business regulated by this article may commence operation, the applicant must have been issued a valid adult use planning permit—or interim adult use planning permit pursuant to article XXI of title 88 of this Code.

D. The applicant must be qualified according to the provisions of this title and the premises must be inspected and found to be in compliance with the law by the city and by the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

E. Any person who wishes to operate an adult business must sign the application for the license as the applicant. If the applicant consists of multiple persons, a firm, corporation, partnership, association or other for of business ownership, then the president or other officer authorized by the incorporation documents or bylaws shall sign the application.

F. The fact that a person possesses any other valid license issued by the city or the county does not exempt the person from the requirement of obtaining all licenses required by this Code for an adult business. A person who operates an adult business and possesses any other city or county license shall comply with the requirements and provisions of this chapter and all city codes as well as the requirements and provisions of such other license.

(Ord. No. 04-04, § 4, 3-1-04)

A. Upon receipt of a license application, the city manager or designee shall determine whether it is complete and contains all information required by this section within two days of its receipt. If the application is incomplete, the city manager or designee shall deny the application and immediately inform the applicant in writing of the items needed to complete the application.

B. The city manager, or designee thereof, shall issue or deny the issuance of a license to an applicant within ten days after receipt of a properly completed and executed application and the concurrently filed and completed application for an adult use planning permit—including an interim adult use planning permit—which shall be processed pursuant to sections 88-1708, 88-1710 and Section 88-1714 of this article. The city manager, or designee thereof, shall issue the license unless he/she finds one or more of the following to be true:

1. An applicant is under 18 years of age;

2. An applicant is overdue in payment to the city of fees owed by the applicant in relation to the adult business which is the subject of the application;

3. An applicant has failed to completely fill out the application for the license or has provided materially false information on the application;

4. The license fee required by this article has not been paid;

5. The premises to be used for the adult business has not been approved by the city and the fire department, as being in compliance with applicable laws and ordinances, including the issuance of an adult use planning permit or interim adult use planning permit pursuant to sections 88-1708, 88-1710 and section 88-1714 of this article;

6. The applicant is operating the adult business without a license in violation of this Code;

7. That an applicant has been convicted of a specified criminal act for which:

a. Less than five years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement, whichever is the later date, if the conviction is of a misdemeanor offense for the specified criminal acts which are sexual crimes against children; sexual abuse; rape; or crimes connected with another adult business including, but not limited to, distribution of obscenity; distribution, display or sale of material harmful to minors; solicitation of prostitution and prostitution; or pandering,

b. Less than five years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement, whichever is the later date, if the conviction is of a felony offense; for the specified criminal acts which are sexual crimes against children; sexual abuse; rape; or crimes connected with another adult business including, but not limited to, distribution of obscenity; distribution, display or sale of material harmful to minors; solicitation of prostitution or prostitution; or pandering,

c. Less than five years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement, whichever is the later date, if the convictions are of two or more misdemeanors for the specified criminal acts which are sexual crimes against children; sexual abuse; rape; or crimes connected with another adult business including, but not limited to, distribution of obscenity; distribution, display or sale of material harmful to minors; solicitation of prostitution or prostitution; or pandering; convictions of any such offense occurring within 24 months prior to the application;

8. The premises contain one or more private viewing areas.

The city's decision to grant or deny license shall not be based upon information authorized or required to be kept confidential pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 600-900.

C. Within ten days of the receipt of a completed application in accordance with the requirements of this section, the city manager, or designee thereof shall refer the application to the chief of police to investigate and verify the information contained in the application. The chief of police may refer the application to any law enforcement body or authorized law enforcement contractor to assist in this determination. In the event the information requested pursuant to this section of this Code is not available within the ten-day period, the chief of police shall—if the application otherwise meets the requirements of this Code—issue a status report on the issuance of the adult business license, whereupon, the city manager, or designee thereof, shall issue the same within ten days of the receipt of the application. Should the information obtained from the chief of police vary in a material degree from that set forth by the applicant in the application, such variance shall be cause to deny, suspend or revoke the license in accordance with this Code. Any license issued prior to the city receiving the background information required by this section shall state clearly on its face that the license is subject to suspension or revocation pursuant to this Code.

D. The license shall state on its face the name of the person or persons to whom it is issued, the expiration date, and the address of the adult business. The license shall be posted in a conspicuous place at or near the entrance to the adult business so that it may be easily read at any time.

E. The city clerk shall send to the applicant or licensee, by certified mail, return receipt requested, written notice of the action to issue or deny the license within ten days of the receipt of the completed application by the city manager. The decision of the city manager, or designee thereof, to issue or deny issuance of the license shall be subject to appeal in accordance with the following procedures:

1. The appeal shall be submitted to and received by the city clerk within ten days of the date of such action for which the appeal is made. The appeal must be in writing on forms provided by the city, together with an appeal fee established by resolution of the city council, which may be amended from time to time. All appeals shall set forth the reason for asserting the appeal.

2. When a timely appeal is filed, the city council shall hear the matter or appoint a hearing officer to conduct a hearing on the matter. The hearing officer may be such person or body designated by the city council to perform all or a portion of their duties, or may be another official or body from another city or agency, or other person qualified to conduct a review of the matter. The hearing for an appeal shall take place within ten business day of the receipt of the appeal. All parties involved shall have the right to offer testimonial, documentary and tangible evidence bearing on the issues; and may be represented by counsel. Any relevant evidence may be admitted that is the sort of evidence upon which reasonable persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs. Any hearing under this section may be continued for a reasonable time for the convenience of a party or a witness.

3. The city council or hearing officer shall render a written decision on the matter within five days of the close of the hearing on the appeal. In no event may the appeal hearing be continued for longer than 30 days, unless the applicant consents to a longer period of time.

F. The decision of the city council or hearing officer concerning the appeal of a denial of a permit shall be final. The applicant or permittee may seek prompt judicial review of such administrative action in a court of competent jurisdiction as provided by law, pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.5 et seq. The city shall make all reasonable efforts to expedite judicial review in accordance with Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.8.

(Ord. No. 04-04, § 4, 3-1-04)

The initial application fee, the initial license fee, and the annual renewal fee for an adult business license shall be set by resolution of the city council.

(Ord. No. 04-04, § 4, 3-1-04)

An applicant or licensee shall permit representatives of the city, the city's police department, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, the County Fire Department, the city building and safety department, and the community development department to inspect the premises of an adult business for the purpose of insuring compliance with the provisions of this chapter at any time the premises is open for business, provided reasonable and normal business operations shall not be interfered with and the inspection is conducted in the same manner as an inspection for other businesses.

(Ord. No. 04-04, § 4, 3-1-04)

Each license shall expire one year from the date of issuance and may be renewed only by making application upon penalty of perjury that there has been no material change in the business or its operation. Applications for renewal shall be filed at least 30 days before the expiration date; the application for renewal shall not extend the license beyond the expiration date. The city manager, or designee thereof, shall issue the license or deny the application for renewal within ten days of the receipt of a completed application. If in reviewing the application for renewal of the license, the city manager, or designee thereof, determines that the application will likely be denied, then the city manager, or designee thereof, shall cause an administrative hearing to be held within the same ten-day period at which time the applicant may present evidence supporting the application or contradicting the evidence presented by the city. The decision of the city manager, or designee thereof, to deny renewal of the license shall be subject to appeal to the city council by following the same procedures as set forth in section 18-1253(E) of this article.

(Ord. No. 04-04, § 4, 3-1-04)

The city manager or his/her designee, or the city council may initiate proceedings to consider the suspension or revocation of an existing adult business license as may be necessary to assure the preservation of the public health and safety. Such proceedings shall include a hearing wherein the license holder is provided the opportunity to refute any evidence or findings of the city. If the evidence presented at the hearing establishes that one or more of the conditions exist as set forth in section 18-1258 then suspension shall be ordered; and, if the conditions set forth in section 18-1259 exist, then revocation of the adult business license shall be ordered.

(Ord. No. 04-04, § 4, 3-1-04)

An adult business license shall be suspended if the evidence at the hearing establishes any one or more of the following conditions exist:

A. The conduct of the adult business does not comply with all applicable laws, including, but not limited to, the city's fire, building, zoning, or health and safety codes; or the locational criteria or design and performance standards set forth in this article and in Article XXI of Title 88 of this Code are violated or not complied with by the adult business;

B. There was not a responsible person over 18 years of age on the premises to act as a manager at all times during which the adult business was open;

C. The licensee, manager or any agent or employee of the licensee or manager knows or should have known that the adult business has been used as a place where sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, masturbation, prostitution, assignation or other lewd acts occur or have occurred;

D. The licensee, his or her employees, agent, partner, director, officer, controlling stockholder or manager with management of day-to-day operations has violated any provision of this title or this article;

E. The licensee or manager has failed to remove all materials harmful to minors, including but not limited to—wrappers, covers, labels, packaging, bags and magazines—that have been discarded upon the grounds within 1,000 feet of the premises of the adult business;

F. The adult business is being operated, managed or conducted in violation of any condition of approval or performance standard of the adult business license, or adult use planning permit, if required;

G. The licensee, manager or any agent or employee of the licensee or manager refused to allow the lawful inspection of the premises by a city inspector or official, the police department, the county fire department, city code enforcement officer, director of community development, or county health department or any designee thereof;

H. The licensee, manager or any agent or employee of the licensee or manager knowingly permitted gambling on the premises;

I. The manager or person acting in that capacity was found to be intoxicated or under the influence of a controlled substance while on duty at the adult business;

J. The adult business is operating in violation of the permitted hours of operation;

K. The adult business is operating without a city business license;

L. The adult business is operating so as to constitute a nuisance pursuant to the Azusa Municipal Code.

The suspension shall be for a period of up to 30 days or until the violation is corrected, whichever is longer.

(Ord. No. 04-04, § 4, 3-1-04)

An adult business license shall be revoked and no new adult business license may be requested by the licensee for any location within the city or by any other person for that same location within a one-year period following revocation if the evidence presented at the hearing on the revocation of the license establishes that one or more of the following conditions exists:

A. The licensee, his or her employee, agent, partner, director, officer, controlling stockholder or manager has knowingly made any false, misleading or fraudulent statement of material facts in the application for a license or permit, or in any report or record required to be filed with the city's police department, county health department, or any other city department or office in connection with the operation of the business;

B. The licensee, manager or any agent or employee of the licensee or manager has been convicted of a felony in a court of competent jurisdiction in conjunction with or as a result of the operation of the adult business;

C. The licensee, manager or any employee of the licensee or manager knowingly or with reckless disregard of the requirements of this title allows any minor into the establishment, permits the use of the facilities by a minor, and/or sells adult materials to a minor and/or material harmful to a minor;

D. The approved adult business has been expanded, or partially or wholly converted to another adult business without the required city approvals and permits;

E. There have been two suspensions of an adult business license within a one-year period;

F. The licensee or manager knowingly or with reckless disregard of the requirements of this title and state and federal law allowed the sale of controlled substances or allowed acts of prostitution on or about the premises;

G. The licensee or manager continued to operate the adult business during a suspension period of the adult business license;

H. The licensee or manager has been convicted of a specified criminal act for which the required time period has not yet elapsed;

I. That on two or more occasions within a 12-month period, a person or persons committed an offense, occurring in or on the licensed premises, constituting a specified criminal act for which a conviction has been obtained, and the person or persons were employees of the adult business at the time the offenses were committed;

J. The licensee or manager is operating more than one adult business in the same building;

K. The adult business contains one or more private viewing areas as defined herein;

L. The adult business has failed to provide, inaccurately provided, or failed to keep current approved configuration of the adult business or the location of any adult business in the city in accordance with section 18-1252(B) of this Code; or

M. The licensee, manager or any agent or employee of the licensee or manager of the adult business knowingly or with reckless disregard of the requirements, violates or permits the violation any of the prohibited conduct described in section 18-1263 of this Code on three or more occasions within a 12-month period, regardless of whether a suspension or suspensions have been issued for such violations.

(Ord. No. 04-04, § 4, 3-1-04)

A. The city manager or designee thereof shall conduct all initial hearings concerning the suspension or revocation of licenses. If the city manager, or designee thereof, suspends or revokes a license, the city clerk shall send to the applicant or licensee, by both certified mail, return receipt requested, and regular first-class mail, written notice of the action. The decision to suspend or revoke the license shall be effective 20 days after the notice of the decision has been deposited in the U.S. Mail.

B. An appeal of the decision to suspend or revoke the license may be made in accordance with requirements of section 18-1253(E) by filing a notice of the same with the city clerk prior to the date on which the decision becomes effective. A properly filed application for appeal stays the decision to suspend or revoke the license until a decision is rendered on the appeal.

C. The appeal proceedings shall be conducted pursuant to section 18-1253(E) of this Code. The decision of the city council or hearing officer concerning the appeal shall be final. The permittee may seek prompt judicial review of such administrative action in a court of competent jurisdiction as provided by law, pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.5 et seq. The city shall make all reasonable efforts to expedite judicial review in accordance with Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.8.

(Ord. No. 04-04, § 4, 3-1-04)

Any license shall be immediately void if the licensee attempts to transfer the license to another person or location. The attempted transfer of the adult business license includes the transfer of ownership or control of the adult business by any of the following:

A. The sale, lease or sub-lease of an adult business;

B. The transfer of securities which constitute a controlling interest in the business, whether by sale, exchange or similar means; or

C. The establishment of a trust, gift or similar legal device which transfers the ownership or control of the business, except for transfer by bequest or other operation of law upon the death of the person possessing the ownership or control.

(Ord. No. 04-04, § 4, 3-1-04)

The permitted location of an adult business shall be as provided in Article XXI, Title 88 of this Code.

(Ord. No. 04-04, § 4, 3-1-04)

A. No person shall operate or cause to be operated an adult business, regardless of whether or not a permit has been issued under this Code, knowingly, or with reason to know, permitting, suffering or allowing any employee:

1. To engage in a couch dance or straddle dance with a patron at the business;

2. To contract or otherwise agree with a patron to engage in a couch dance or straddle dance with a person at the business;

3. To intentionally touch any patron at an adult business while engaged in the display or exposure of a specified anatomical area or engaged in or simulating a specified sexual activity;

4. To voluntarily be within six feet of any patron while engaged in the display or exposure of any specified anatomical area or engaged in or simulating a sexual activity.

B. No person at any adult business, regardless of whether or not said business is permitted under this Code, shall intentionally touch an employee who is displaying or exposing any specified anatomical area or engaging in or simulating a specified sexual activity at the adult business.

C. No person at any adult business, regardless of whether or not said business is permitted under this Code, shall engage in a couch dance or straddle dance with an employee at the business who is displaying or exposing any specified anatomical area or engaging in or simulating a specified sexual activity.

D. No employee of an adult business, regardless of whether or not a permit has been issued for said business under this article, shall engage in a performance, solicit a performance, make a sale, solicit a sale, provide a service or solicit a service between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. of any particular day.

(Ord. No. 04-04, § 4, 3-1-04)

A person who operates or causes to be operated an adult business without a valid license is subject to a suit for injunction as well as prosecution for criminal violations."

(Ord. No. 04-04, § 4, 3-1-04)