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[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Hainesport 8-24-1999 by Ord. No. 1999-6-7. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
The purpose of this chapter is to protect and preserve the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Township of Hainesport and the patrons of sexually oriented businesses.
B. 
It is accepted that certain sexually oriented activities may include prohibited acts and criminal offenses and these uses, by their very nature, are recognized as having serious objectionable operational characteristics, particularly when located near residential zones or in other inappropriate locations or without sufficient showing that such uses in a specified location will comply with the conditions and standards for the location and operation of such uses.
C. 
It is further recognized that sexually oriented businesses, due to their nature, have a deleterious effect on existing businesses around them or in close proximity to one another, thereby contributing to urban and rural blight and adversely affecting the quality of life in the adjacent area. The Township Committee desires to minimize and control these adverse effects to 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 potential community blight.
D. 
It is not the intent of this chapter to suppress any speech activities protected by the First Amendment, but to enact content-neutral regulations which address the secondary effects of sexually oriented businesses. It is also not the intent of the Township Committee to condone or legitimize the promotion of obscene material, and the Committee recognizes that, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:34-3, New Jersey State law prohibits "the dissemination of obscene materials to a person 18 years of age or younger either by sale, distribution, rental or exhibition and expects and encourages state enforcement officials to enforce the obscenity statutes against any such illegal activities" in Hainesport Township.
[Amended 12-8-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-8]
E. 
The purpose and intent of this chapter is to regulate sexually oriented businesses to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the Township of Hainesport, as well as the patrons of such businesses, and to establish reasonable regulations to prevent adverse effects of sexually oriented businesses within the Township. The provisions of this chapter have neither the purpose nor effect of imposing a limitation or restriction on the content of any communicative material or speech activity, including sexually oriented materials or expressive speech activity. Similarly, it is not the intent nor effect of this chapter to restrict or deny access by adults to sexually oriented materials or activity protected by the First Amendment, or to deny access, distribution or the legal exhibition of these wares to their intended market.
The definitions set forth herein are adopted from N.J.S.A. 2C:33-12.2
PERSON
An individual, proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity.
SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESS
A. 
A commercial establishment which as one of its principal business purposes offers for sale, rental or display any of the following: books, magazines, periodicals or other printed material, or photographs, films, motion pictures, videocassettes, slides or other visual representations which depict or describe a specified sexual activity or specified anatomical area; or still or motion-picture machines, projectors or other image-producing devices which show images to one person per machine at any one time, and whether the images so displayed are characterized by the depiction of a specified sexual activity or specified anatomical area; or instruments, devices or paraphernalia which are designed for use in connection with a specified sexual activity; or
B. 
A commercial establishment which regularly features live performances characterized by the exposure of a specified anatomical area or by a specified sexual activity, or which regularly shows films, motion pictures, videocassettes, slides or other photographic representations which depict or describe a specified sexually activity or specified anatomical area.
SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREA
A. 
Less than completely and opaquely covered human genitals, pubic region, buttock or female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areola; or
B. 
Human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if covered.
SPECIFIED SEXUAL ACTIVITY
A. 
The fondling or other erotic touching of covered or uncovered human genitals, pubic region, buttock or female breast; or
B. 
Any actual or simulated act of human masturbation, sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse.
A. 
A sexually oriented business shall be permitted as a conditional use in the Industrial-1 District.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
B. 
A sexually oriented business is permitted in the Industrial-1 District, provided that it is not located within 1,000 feet of:
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
(1) 
A church or place of religious worship.
(2) 
A public or private elementary or secondary school.
(3) 
A child-care facility.
(4) 
A public park.
(5) 
Another sexually oriented business.
(6) 
Any area zoned for residential use.
C. 
For the purposes of Subsection B, 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 or place of religious worship, or public or private elementary or secondary school, or to the nearest boundary of an affected public park, residential district or residential lot.
D. 
Every sexually oriented business shall be surrounded by a perimeter buffer of at least 50 feet in width with plantings, fence or other physical divider along the outside of the perimeter sufficient to impede the view of the interior of the premises in which the business is located. All such shrubs shall be at least six feet high at the time of planting along any common property line.
E. 
Any sexually oriented business lawfully operating in violation of the above as of the enactment into law of this chapter, although nonconforming, shall be permitted to continue, within the parameters set forth herein, unless it is voluntarily discontinued for a period of 30 days or more.
F. 
A sexually oriented business lawfully operating is not rendered illegal by the location, subsequent to the grant or renewal of the appropriate mercantile license, of a church or place of religious worship, public or private elementary or secondary school or public park. This provision applies only to the renewal of a valid license and does not apply when an application for a license is submitted after a license has expired or has been revoked.
G. 
No sexually oriented business shall violate or suffer or permit or have upon its premises a person convicted of a violation of a crime, any statute, ordinance or regulations involving sexually oriented businesses or violate any other law pertaining to the operation of the premises or violate the provisions of this chapter. Any such infraction shall cause legal action against the mercantile license of such business as set forth in the General Ordinances of the Township of Hainesport.
H. 
Sexually oriented businesses within the Township of Hainesport are subject to the rules and regulations as set forth in the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., and any expansion, alteration, change, etc., shall be subject to the restrictions set forth under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d, and local ordinances, including § 104-74 of the Hainesport Township Zoning Ordinances.
A. 
A person who operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business shall comply with the following requirements:
(1) 
The applicant shall apply for a mercantile license to operate a sexually oriented business. If the applicant is an individual, he or she must sign the application for a license as applicant and provide his/her full name, address and telephone numbers. If the applicant is a partnership, the partners' names, addresses and telephone numbers must be listed on the application. If the applicant is a corporation, the applicant shall disclose the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the appropriate registered agent, corporate officers, shareholders and the name of the person or persons who are or will be primarily responsible for the management and operation of the sexually oriented business. Upon application for a mercantile license, the application shall be accompanied by a diagram of the premises showing a plan thereof specifying the location of one or more manager's stations and the location of all overhead lighting fixtures and designating any portion of the premises in which patrons will not be permitted. The diagram shall also designate the place at which the license will be conspicuously posted, if granted. 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. The Township Committee may waive the foregoing diagram or 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.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
(2) 
No alteration in the configuration or location of a manager's station may be made without the prior approval of the Construction Official or his designee.
(3) 
It is the duty of the owners and operator 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.
(4) 
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 restrooms. Restrooms may not contain video reproduction equipment or otherwise serve as viewing areas for patrons. 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. View booths must be separated at least 12 inches from the exterior walls of any other view booths.
(5) 
It shall be the duty of the owners and operator, and it shall also be the duty of any agents and employees present in the premises, to ensure that the area specified in Subsection A(4) remains unobstructed by any doors, walls, merchandise, display racks or other materials at all times that any patron is present in the premises 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.
(6) 
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, and which otherwise satisfy site plan review standards.
(7) 
It shall be the duty of the owners and operator, 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.
(8) 
A sexually oriented business operating without a New Jersey alcoholic beverage license shall be permitted to conduct the sexually oriented business only between the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. A sexually oriented business operating with a New Jersey alcoholic beverage license shall be subject to the hours of operation of licensed liquor establishments as set forth in the General Ordinances.[1] This subsection governs the operation of the sexually oriented business as defined in this chapter and does not control the hours of operation of other permitted uses on the premises. (Authority: N.J.S.A. 2C:33-12.2.)
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 47, Alcoholic Beverages, Art. I, Sale and Distribution; Licensing.
(9) 
For the prevention of the spread of sexually transmitted disease, no partitions between subdivisions of a room, portion or part of a building, structure or premises may have an aperture which is designed or otherwise constructed to encourage sexual activity between persons on either side of the partition.
(10) 
No booths, stalls or partitioned portions of a room, or individual rooms, used for the viewing of motion pictures or other forms of entertainment shall have doors, curtains or portal partitions, but all such booths, stalls, partitioned portions of a room or individual rooms so used shall have at least one side open to an adjacent public room so that the area inside is visible to persons in the adjacent public room. All such described areas shall be lighted in such a manner that the persons in the areas used for viewing motion pictures or other forms of entertainment are visible from the adjacent public rooms, but such lighting shall not be of such intensity as to prevent the viewing of the motion pictures or other offered entertainment.
(11) 
Each applicant for a business license shall, upon the filing of the application and payment of the filing fee, place signs (at lest 24 inches by 36 inches in size) which provide notification and information specifically stating SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESS LICENSE APPLICATION PENDING and the date on which the application was filed. All lettering on the signs must be at least one and one-half inches by two inches in size for each letter of the sign. The signs must be of sufficient quantities to be placed upon the property so as to identify it as being subject to a proposed sexually oriented license. It shall be the duty of each applicant as to each particular application to erect said signs along all the property's public road or highway frontage.
(12) 
Publication of notice of application.
(a) 
Every applicant for a sexually oriented business license shall give notice of the application by publication at its own expense in two consecutive issues of the official newspaper of Hainesport Township. The notice shall be printed in twelve-point boldface type and shall include:
[1] 
The fact that a sexually oriented business license has been applied for;
[2] 
The exact location of the place of business for which the license is sought;
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
[3] 
The names of each owner of the business and, if the business is operated under an assumed name, the trade name, together with the names of all owners; and
[4] 
If the applicant is a corporation, the names and titles of all officers.
(b) 
Such notice shall be printed not less than 14 days after the application is filed with the Municipal Clerk.
(13) 
All employees of a sexually oriented business are required to be listed on the application form, delineating each person's age, address and social security number. All employees must be at least 18 years of age. No person may work for any sexually oriented business without having on his/her person at all times while at work an appropriate identification card showing that he/she is an employee of the licensee. Such identification shall be available at all times for inspection and shall be worn on the left breast of said employee during working periods. Application forms will be provided by the Municipal Clerk, and the determination of compliance must be made by the Township Committee within 45 days from the time of the filing of the application.
(14) 
The fact that a person possesses any other valid license required by law does not exempt him/her from the requirement of obtaining a sexually oriented business license. A person who operates a sexually oriented business and possesses another business and/or alcoholic license shall comply with the requirements and provisions of this chapter as well as the requirements and provisions of the laws concerning the other licenses.
(15) 
All trash, refuse, articles or any matter to be disposed of shall be shredded, cut or rendered in such a fashion so that the remains are not readable, legible or discernible.
B. 
A person having a duty under Subsection A(1) through (15) above commits an offense if he or she knowingly fails to fulfill that duty.
C. 
Issuance of license.
(1) 
All licenses for the operation of a sexually oriented business shall be granted/denied by the Hainesport Township Committee. If granted, the license shall be issued by the Township Clerk. The license shall be renewed and reissued annually effective January 1 of each year after the payment of the required fees and submission of the application form to the Clerk. The license, when issued, shall be posted and conspicuously displayed in the place of business of the applicant. The Municipal Clerk shall also issue all identification cards required by the licensee and/or its employees at the same time that the license issued. The fee for each identification card shall be $25 per calendar year. The license shall state on its face the name of the person to whom it is granted, the expiration date and the address of the sexually oriented business. The license 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.
(2) 
The annual fee for a sexually oriented business shall be $1,000, to be submitted with the application.
(3) 
The Township Committee shall approve the issuance of a license to an applicant within 60 days after receipt of an application unless it finds one or more of the following to be true:
(a) 
An applicant or its employee is under 18 years of age.
(b) 
An applicant is overdue in its payment to the Township of taxes, fees, fines or penalties assessed against it or imposed upon it in relation to a sexually oriented business.
(c) 
An applicant has failed to provide information reasonably necessary for the issuance of the license or has falsely answered a question or request for information on the application form.
(d) 
An applicant has been convicted of a violation of a provision of this chapter, other than the offense of operating a sexually oriented business without a license, within two years immediately preceding the application.
(e) 
The premises to be used for the sexually oriented business has not been approved by the Zoning Officer and/or the Township Construction Official as being in compliance with this chapter.
(f) 
The license fee required by this chapter has not been paid.
(g) 
An applicant has been employed in a sexually oriented business in a managerial capacity within the preceding 12 months and has demonstrated that he or she or it is unable to operate or manage a sexually oriented business premises in a peaceful and law-abiding manner, which necessitated repeated action by police officers.
(h) 
The premises does not have at least two emergency fire exits.
(i) 
The premises has not been inspected as to fire prevention and fire safety and approved by the fire subcode official and/or County Fire Marshal. Said inspections and/or approvals must be completed and forwarded to the Township within 30 days of the date that the license application has been filed.
(j) 
An applicant has been convicted of a crime involving any of the following offenses as described in N.J.S.A. 2C:34-1 et seq. and N.J.S.A. 2C:34-2 et seq.:
[1] 
Prostitution.
[2] 
Promotion of prostitution.
[3] 
Compelling prostitution.
[4] 
Obscenity.
[5] 
Sale, distribution or display of harmful material to minors.
[6] 
Sexual performance by a child.
[7] 
Possession of child pornography.
[8] 
Criminal attempt, conspiracy or solicitation to commit any of the foregoing offenses.
(4) 
Removal of disqualification. An applicant who has been convicted of an offense listed above may qualify for a sexually oriented business license only when such conviction has preceded the date of the application by five years or more and the Township Committee grants a request for removal of the disqualification for good cause shown.
A. 
A person commits an offense if, in a sexually oriented business establishment open to persons under the age of 18 years, he permits obscene material to be disseminated to persons under the age of 18 years pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:34-3 et seq.
B. 
In this section, "display" means to locate an item in such a manner that, without obtaining assistance from an employee of the business establishment:
(1) 
It is available to the general public for handling and inspection; or
(2) 
The cover or outside packaging on the item is visible to members of the general public.
C. 
Defenses to prosecution under this section are provided in N.J.S.A. 2C:34-3, Subsection e, and shall be incorporated herein as if fully set forth.
[Amended 12-8-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-8]
This chapter shall be enforced by the Zoning Officer, Code Enforcement Officer and/or any law enforcement officers of the State of New Jersey.
[Amended 5-23-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-5-4; 12-8-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-8]
Any person(s) who is found to be in violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a penalty as specified in § 1-1 of the Township Code.