§ 3-24. Findings of fact.

Based on evidence and testimony presented at public hearings before the board of county commissioners and on the findings incorporated in the United States Attorney General's Commission on Pornography (1986); the publication entitled "Protecting Communities from Sexually Oriented Businesses," by Len L. Munsil, Southwest Legal Press, Inc. (1996); the publication entitled "Local Regulation of Adult Businesses," by Jules B. Gerard, West Group, Inc. (2000); "A Summary of a National Survey of Real Estate Appraisers Regarding the Effect of Adult Bookstores on Property Values," conducted by the Division of Planning, Department of Metropolitan Development, Indianapolis, January 1984; the publication entitled "Evidence of Secondary Adverse Effects of Sexually Oriented Businesses" prepared by the Florida Family Association, Inc. located in Tampa, Florida; the "Report to: The American Center for Law and Justice on the Secondary Impacts of Sex Oriented Businesses," by Peter R. Hecht, Ph.D. (1996); the Report of the Attorney General's Working Group on the Regulation of Sexually Oriented Businesses (Minnesota, June 6, 1989); and on the substance of and findings made or incorporated in studies accomplished in other communities and ordinances enacted in other communities including but not limited to Phoenix, Arizona; Garden Grove, California; Los Angeles, California; Whittier, California; Indianapolis, Indiana; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Cleveland, Ohio; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Amarillo, Texas; Austin, Texas; Beaumont, Texas; Houston, Texas; Seattle, Washington; and Orange County, Florida; the Board of County Commissioners hereby finds:

(1)

Establishments exist or may exist within the county where adult material constitutes a substantial portion of the material displayed, exhibited, distributed, rented or sold, or offered for rent or sale.

(2)

Establishments exist or may exist within the county and other nearby cities or counties in Central Florida where adult entertainment activities in the form of nude, semi-nude, or topless dancers, entertainers, performers, or other individuals, who, for commercial gain, perform or are presented while displaying or exposing specified anatomical areas or engage in straddle dancing or touching the customers.

(3)

Establishments exist or may exist within the county and other nearby cities or counties in Central Florida where sexually oriented services are offered for commercial or pecuniary gain in the form of commercial physical contact, escort services, or private modeling. The workers of such sexually oriented businesses operating in Central Florida engage in physical contact or touching with customers, including acts of prostitution, or encourage or entice the customers to engage in lewdness.

(4)

The activities described in subsection (1), (2) and (3) occur at establishments which operate primarily for the purpose of making a profit and, as such, are subject to regulation by the county in the interest of the health, safety, economy, property values, and general welfare of the people, businesses, and industries of the county. A major industry which is important to the community's welfare is tourism by persons seeking to bring children to visit attractions and attend events who wish to stay in a community with a family atmosphere not dominated by commercialized sexual themes.

(5)

When the activities described in subsection (1), (2) and (3) are present in establishments, other activities which are illegal, unsafe or unhealthful tend to accompany them, concentrate around them, and be aggravated by them. Such other activities include, but are not limited to, prostitution, pandering, solicitation for prostitution, lewd and lascivious behavior, exposing minors to harmful materials, possession, distribution and transportation of obscene materials, sale or possession of controlled substances, and violent crimes against persons and property.

(6)

When the activities described in subsection (1), (2) and (3) are competitively exploited in establishments, they tend to attract an undesirable number of transients, blight neighborhoods, adversely affect neighboring businesses, lower real property values, promote the particular crimes described above, and ultimately lead residents and businesses to move to other locations.

(7)

The establishments in which the activities described in subsection (1), (2) and (3) occur are often constructed, in part or in whole of substandard materials, maintained in a manner reflecting disregard for the health and safety of the occupants, and have exterior signs or appearances that lower the surrounding property values and contribute to urban decline.

(8)

The activities described in subsection (1), (2) and (3) sometimes occur in establishments concurrent with the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages which leads to a further increase in criminal activity, unsafe activity, disturbances of the peace and order of the surrounding community, creates additional hazards to the health and safety of customers and workers and further depreciates the value of adjoining real property harming the economic welfare of the surrounding community and adversely affecting the quality of life, commerce, and community environment.

(9)

In order to preserve and safeguard the health, safety, property values and general welfare of the people, businesses, and industries of the county it is necessary and advisable for the county to regulate the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages at establishments where the activities described in subsection (1), (2) and (3) occur.

(10)

Physical contact or touching within establishments at which the activities described in subsection (1), (2) and (3) occur between workers exhibiting specified anatomical areas and customers poses a threat to the health of both and promotes the spread of communicable and social diseases.

(11)

In order to preserve and safeguard the health, safety and general welfare of the people of the county, it is necessary and advisable for the county to regulate the conduct of owners, managers, operators, agents, workers, entertainers, performers, and customers at establishments where the activities described in subsection (1), (2) and (3) occur.

(12)

The potential dangers to the health, safety and general welfare of the people of the county posed by permitting an establishment at which the activities described in subsection (1), (2) and (3) occur to operate without first meeting the requirements for obtaining a license under this article are so great as to require the licensure of such establishments prior to their being permitted to operate.

(13)

Requiring operators of establishments at which the activities described in subsection (1), (2) and (3) occur to keep records of information concerning workers and certain recent past workers will help reduce the incidence of certain types of criminal behavior by facilitating the identification of potential witnesses or suspects, and by making it difficult for minors to work in such establishments.

(14)

Prohibiting establishments at which the activities described in subsection (1), (2) and (3) occur from operating within set distances of educational institutions, religious institutions, residences, areas zoned or designated for residential use, and parks, at which minors are customarily found, will serve to protect minors from the adverse affects of the activities that accompany such establishments.

(15)

Straddle dancing, unregulated private performances, and enclosed adult booths in establishments at which the activities described in subsection (1), (2) and (3) occur have resulted in indiscriminate commercial sex between strangers and poses a threat to the health of the participants and promotes the spread of communicable and sexually transmitted diseases. Straddle dancing is primarily conduct rather than communication or speech.

(16)

Workers at adult entertainment establishments and sexually oriented businesses engage in a higher incidence of certain types of unhealthy or criminal behavior than workers of other establishments including a very high incidence of illegal prostitution or engaging in lewdness in violation of F.S. Ch. 796, operation without business tax receipts, and illegal unlicensed massage.

(17)

The practice of not paying workers at sexually oriented businesses and requiring them to earn their entire income from tips or gratuities from their customers who are predisposed to want sexual activity has resulted in an extremely high, nearly universal, incidence of prostitution and crimes related to lewdness by workers.

(18)

Sexually oriented businesses involve activities that are pure conduct engaged in for the purpose of making a profit, rather than speech or expressive activity and, therefore, are subject to and require increased regulation to protect the health, welfare and safety of the community.

(19)

Requiring sexually oriented businesses to post a listing of services provided and restrict services to those listed as well as maintaining worker records will discourage incidents of criminal behavior such as lewdness and prostitution thereby further safeguarding the health of both workers and customers and will assist facilitating the identification of potential witnesses or suspects if criminal acts do occur.

(20)

A high incidence of lewd acts by customers and lewd or obscene acts by workers occurs during private performances at adult entertainment establishments when such performances take place in an area not occupied by a group of customers and the performers and customers are confident that law enforcement personnel will not identify them or observe their illegal activities.

(Ord. No. 2000-106, § 3, 11-7-00; Ord. No. 2007-27, § 2, 6-5-07)