§ 13-69. Purpose and Findings.

A. 

Purpose.

(1) 

Pursuant to the authority granted in the Borough Code to prohibit nuisances; to promote the health, welfare, cleanliness, comfort and safety of the citizens of the Borough of Aspinwall; and to regulate the time of opening and closing, and the conduct of places of public entertainment, amusement and recreation, the Borough of Aspinwall enacts this Part to minimize and control the adverse secondary effects of an adult oriented businesses and thereby protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens; protect the citizens from increased crime; preserve the quality of life; preserve the property values and character of surrounding neighborhoods; and deter the spread of blight.

(2) 

The Borough Council has determined that licensing is a legitimate and reasonable means of accountability to insure that operators of adult oriented businesses comply with reasonable regulations and to insure that operators do not knowingly allow their establishments to be used as places of illegal sexual activity or solicitation.

(3) 

The Borough Council does not intend this Part to suppress any speech activities protected by the First Amendment, but to enact a content neutral ordinance which addresses the secondary effects of adult oriented businesses.

B. 

Legislative Findings. The Borough Council finds:

(1) 

Adult oriented businesses have adverse secondary effects which should be regulated to protect the public health, safety and welfare. These secondary effects include, but are not limited to, the spread of communicable diseases, performance of sexual acts in public places, presence of discarded adult oriented materials on public and private property, sexual harassment, obscenity, prostitution and other illegal sexual activities, crime and neighborhood deterioration.

(2) 

A reasonable licensing procedure is an appropriate mechanism to place the burden of that reasonable regulation on the owners and the operators of the adult oriented businesses. Further, such a licensing procedure will place a heretofore nonexistent incentive on the operators to see that the adult oriented business, fully in possession and control of the premises and activities occurring therein.

(3) 

Removal of doors on viewing booths and requiring sufficient lighting on premises with viewing booths advances a substantial governmental interest in discouraging the illegal and unsanitary sexual activity occurring in adult theaters.

(4) 

Requiring licensees of adult oriented businesses to keep information regarding current employees and certain past employees will help reduce the incident of certain types of criminal behavior by facilitating the identification of potential witnesses or suspects and by preventing minors from working in such establishments.

(5) 

The disclosure of certain information by those persons ultimately responsible for the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the adult oriented businesses will help limit and control the adverse secondary effects of such businesses.

(6) 

It is desirable in the prevention of the spread of communicable disease to obtain a limited amount of information regarding certain employees who may engage in the conduct which this Part is designed to prevent or who are likely to be witnesses to such activity.

(7) 

The fact that an applicant for a adult oriented business license has been convicted of a adult related crime leads to the rational assumption that the applicant is likely to engage in that conduct in contravention of this Part.

(8) 

The barring of such individuals from the management of adult oriented businesses for a period of years serves as a deterrent to and prevents conduct which leads to the transmission of adult transmitted diseases.

(9) 

The general welfare, health and safety of the citizens of the Borough will be promoted by the enactment of this Part.

(10) 

Limitation of operating hours of adult oriented businesses to 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, and closure of such businesses on Sundays and holidays reduces the adverse secondary effects of such businesses, including particularly but not limited to late night noise levels, crime and adult offensive materials and activities in public areas, and further promotes the public health, safety and welfare.

Ord. 950, 4/14/1999, § 1; as amended by Ord. 995, 12/10/2003