Laredo |
Code of Ordinances |
Chapter 18A. REGULATION AND LICENSING OF SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES |
Article III. OFFENSES |
§ 18A-51. Additional regulations for exhibition of sexually explicit films or videos.
(a)
A person who operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business, other than an adult motel, which exhibits on the premises in a viewing room of less than one hundred fifty (150) square feet of floor space, a film, video cassette, or other video reproduction which depicts specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, shall comply with the following additional requirements:
(1)
Upon application for a sexually oriented business 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. A manager's station may not exceed thirty-two (32) square feet of floor area. The diagram shall also designate the place at which the license will be conspicuously posted, if granted. A professionally prepared diagram in the nature of an engineer's or architect's blueprint shall not be required; however, 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 to an accuracy of plus or minus six (6) inches. The chief of police may waive the foregoing diagram for 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.
(2)
The application shall be sworn to be true and correct by the applicant.
(3)
No alteration in the configuration or location of any walls or doors or of a manager's station may be made after a license is granted without the prior approval of the chief of police or his designee.
(4)
It is the duty of the owner 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 any part of the premises which can be viewed from each manager's station.
(5)
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. If the premises has two (2) 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 (1) of the manager's stations. The view required in this subsection must be by direct line of sight from the manager's station.
(6)
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 view area specified in subsection (5) 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 (1) of this section.
(7)
The premises shall be equipped with overhead lighting fixtures of sufficient intensity to illuminate every place in which patrons are permitted access at an illumination of not less than one (1.0) foot-candle as measured at the floor level.
(8)
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.
(b)
A person having a duty as provided in subsections (1) through (8) of subsection (a), above, commits an offense if he or she knowingly fails to fulfill that duty.
(Ord. No. 2002-O-212, § 1, 9-3-02)