[Added 12-15-1987 by L.L. No. 11-1987; amended 5-24-2005 by L.L. No. 9-2005]

The Town Board has conducted an extensive review of land use studies concerning secondary effects of sexually oriented businesses in other municipalities, including the Town of Huntington, Town of Islip and the City of New York, and has further prepared maps to set forth the locations where adult uses would be permissible pursuant to certain proposed regulations. From a review of these studies, and the testimony of its residents, the Town Board finds the following:

A. Some uses, due to their very nature, have characteristics which cause, or tend to cause, secondary adverse impacts upon the community and have a deleterious effect on both surrounding businesses and residential areas, such as increased crime and downgraded property values. Said impacts are heightened by concentration of such uses in any one area, thereby aggravating deleterious effects on adjacent areas and other uses.

B. Among such uses are sexually oriented businesses, which have serious objectionable characteristics, particularly when operated in close proximity to each other, thereby contributing to crime, lower property values, blight and downgrading of the quality of life in adjacent areas. Special regulation of such uses is necessary to ensure that said adverse secondary impacts do not contribute to blighting or downgrading of surrounding neighborhoods or land uses.

C. Location of such uses in relation to residential and other areas where youth may regularly assemble and/or congregate, the general atmosphere around their operation and their downward impact of property values, resulting in disinvestment with concomitant social and economic deterioration, is of great concern to the Town of Babylon.

D. The special regulations set forth hereinbelow are intended to ameliorate adverse secondary impacts of such uses on adjacent areas and other land uses, to prevent concentration of such uses in any one area and to dissuade accessibility to such uses by minors.

As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

ADULT BOOKSTORE An establishment having as a substantial or significant portion of its stock-in-trade books, magazines, other periodicals, films, slides and videotapes and which establishment is customarily not open to the public generally but excludes any minor by reason of age.

ADULT DRIVE-IN THEATER A drive-in theater that customarily presents motion pictures, which is not open to the public generally but excludes any minor by reason of age.

ADULT ENTERTAINMENT CABARET A public or private establishment which presents topless dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators or exotic dancers or other similar entertainments and which establishment is customarily not open to the public generally but excludes any minor by reason of age.

ADULT MOTEL A motel which is not open to the public generally but excludes minors by reason of age or which makes available to its patrons in their rooms films, slide shows or videotapes which, if presented in a public movie theater, would not be open to the public generally but would exclude any minor by reason of age.

ADULT THEATER A theater that customarily presents motion pictures, films, videotapes or slide shows, which is not open to the public generally but excludes any minor by reason of age.

MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENT Any establishment having a fixed place of business where massages are administered for pay, including but not limited to massage parlors, sauna baths and steam baths. This definition shall not be construed to include a hospital, nursing home or medical clinic or the office of a physician, surgeon, chiropractor, osteopath or duly licensed physical therapist or barbershops or beauty salons in which massages are administered only to the scalp, face, neck or shoulders. This definition also shall exclude health clubs which have facilities for physical exercise, such as tennis courts, racquetball courts or exercise rooms, and which do not receive their primary source of revenue through the administration of massages.

PEEP SHOW A theater which presents material in the form of live shows, films or videotapes, viewed from an individual enclosure, for which a fee is charged and which is not open to the public generally but excludes any minor by reason of age.

SUBSTANTIAL OR SIGNIFICANT PORTION

A. "Substantial or significant portion" shall be determined using the following considerations:

(1) Amount of floor area and basement space accessible to customers and allotted to adult entertainment of any type, generally, or as compared to the total floor area and basement space accessible to customers; and/or

(2) Amount of adult entertainment stock-in-trade of any type accessible to customers, generally, or as compared to total stock accessible to customers; and/or

(3) Revenues derived from adult entertainment of any type, generally, or as compared to total revenues; and/or

(4) Advertising devoted to adult entertainment of any type, generally, or as compared to total advertising; and/or

(5) Use of the establishment for adult entertainment of any type, generally, or as compared to total use thereof.

B. However, notwithstanding the above considerations, the following shall be conclusive in determining substantial or significant portion:

(1) Forty percent or more of floor area and basement space accessible to customers allotted to adult entertainment of any type; and/or

(2) Forty percent or more of its stock-in-trade in adult entertainment materials of any type; and/or

(3) Forty percent or more of its gross income derived from adult entertainment of any type; and/or

(4) Forty percent or more of its advertising devoted to adult entertainment of any type; and/or

(5) Forty percent or more of its business, generally, engaged in adult entertainment of any kind.

The adult uses as defined in § 213-377 above are to be restricted as to location in the following manner in addition to any other requirements of this Code:

A. Adult uses shall be allowable only in industrial zoned districts and subject to the regulations set forth in this article.

B. The lot line of any of the above uses shall not be located within a one-thousand-foot radius of the lot line of any lot zoned for residential use. For purposes of this subsection, cemetery property shall be deemed not zoned residential.

C. The lot line of any of the above uses shall not be located within a five-hundred-foot radius of the lot line of another such legal adult use.

D. The lot line of any of the above uses shall not be located within a one-thousand-foot radius of any school, library, church or other place of religious worship, park, playground or playing field.

No more than one of the adult uses as defined above shall be located on any lot.

A. Any adult use legally existing with a certificate of occupancy specifically authorizing the adult use prior to the adoption of this article may apply to the Nonconforming Use Board pursuant to Article III of Chapter 213 of the Babylon Town Code for nonconforming status.

B. Any application for an adult use pending as of April 26, 2005, before the Town of Babylon shall be considered using the criteria set forth herein, except the lot line of the adult use shall not be within a five-hundred-foot radius of the lot line zoned for residential use.

A. The provisions of this article are severable. The invalidity of any word, section, subsection, clause, phrase, paragraph, sentence, part or provision of this article shall not affect the validity of any other part of this article which can be given effect without such invalid part or parts.

B. If any portion of this article is found to be in conflict with any other provision of any other local law or ordinance of the Code of the Town of Babylon, the provision which establishes the higher standard shall prevail.

**Webmasters Note: The previous Article has been amended as per Local Law No. 9-2005.