ORDINANCE NO. 971193
Amending Chapter 80, Code of Ordinances, by repealing
Section 80-156, District C-X (adult entertainment), and enacting in lieu
thereof a new section of like number and subject matter.
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council of the City of
Kansas City, Missouri, find that a substantial need exists to amend its
existing zoning regulations regarding definitions of adult businesses within
the City of Kansas City; and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in Young v.
American Mini Theaters, Inc., 427 U.S. 50 (1976) held that adult business uses
of property may be subject to carefully tailored municipal regulations that
seek to minimize the adverse land use impacts of such adult business uses, and
that the zoning power of local governments may legitimately be utilized to
regulate such uses by establishing zones where adult business uses are most
compatible with other uses and/or surrounding neighborhoods and prohibiting
such adult business uses in certain zoned areas and between said adult uses and
other uses of property that are affected by said uses; and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in City of
Renton v. Playtime Theater, Inc., 475 U.S. 41 (1986) held that local governments
may rely upon the experiences of other cities in enacting local legislation to
regulate adult business uses and may regulate said uses through
content-neutral, time, place, and manner restrictions, so long as said
regulations are designed to serve the government interest and do not
unreasonably omit avenues of communication, and are aimed not at the content of
protected speech within said establishments but rather at the secondary effects
of said establishments on the surrounding communities; and
WHEREAS, the Georgia Supreme Court in Chambers d/b/a
Neon Cowboy v. Peach County, Georgia, 266 Ga. 318 (1996) held that local
governments may adopt ordinances designed to combat the undesirable secondary
effects of sexually explicit adult businesses and further held that a governing
authority seeking to regulate adult business establishments must rely upon
evidence of a relationship between the proposed regulations and the undesirable
secondary effects it seeks to control; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council of the City of
Kansas City have considered said secondary effects of these adult businesses in
the past when regulating said businesses and thereby reiterate their grave
concern over secondary effects from said adult businesses as one of the basis
for regulating these businesses; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council have obtained
copies of studies regarding secondary effects of adult businesses on
surrounding communities from the cities of Phoenix, Arizona; Tucson, Arizona;
Garden Grove, California; Los Angeles, California; Whittier, California;
Indianapolis, Indiana; Minneapolis, Minnesota; St. Paul, Minnesota; Cleveland,
Ohio; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Amarillo, Texas; Austin, Texas; Beaumont, Texas;
Houston, Texas; Newport News, Virginia; and Seattle, Washington; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council find that these
studies are of direct relevance to the problems confronting the citizens of the
City of Kansas City regarding the secondary effects on the surrounding communities
of said adult business uses and believe that the regulations which currently
exist and which follow are aimed at reducing these pernicious secondary
effects; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council have provided a
forum for testimony and comments from the public and from affected businesses
regarding these proposed regulations and have reviewed the evidence presented
at public hearing from the City Plan Commission, the Kansas City Police
Department, the public, and other interested parties which evidence further
establishes a direct link between adult businesses and secondary effects upon
surrounding communities that are deleterious to said community and establish
further need for regulations of these adult business establishments; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council, from a review
of other cities' studies, have found convincing documented evidence that
sexually oriented businesses because of their very nature have a deleterious
effect on surrounding residential areas causing adverse secondary effects; and
WHEREAS, all of this evidence and documentation
provides a sound foundation for the existing and following regulations that
seek to advance the public health, safety, and welfare by providing neutral
regulations governing the location of adult businesses within the City of
Kansas City; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
Section A. That Chapter 80, Code of Ordinances of
the City of Kansas City, Missouri, 1996, commonly known as the Zoning
Ordinance, is hereby amended by repealing Section 80-156, District C-X (adult
entertainment), by enacting in lieu thereof a new section of like number and
subject matter, to read as follows:
Sec. 80-156. District C-X (adult entertainment).
(a) Purpose. The purpose of district C-X is to
identify and prescribe specific requirements and conditions for the location of
certain defined adult entertainment activities. The district is designed as an
overlay district in certain zoning districts based on the regional character of
the activities. Adult entertainment uses do not occur on a frequent basis and
require separate and specifically designed regulations for their development.
Such adult entertainment uses are recognized as having serious objectionable
operational characteristics, particularly if several of such uses are
concentrated, thereby having a deleterious effect upon adjacent areas. The
location of such uses has an additional deleterious effect upon adjacent areas
and could contribute to the blighting and downgrading of the surrounding
neighborhood. The special regulation of adult entertainment uses is necessary
to ensure that the adverse effect of such uses will not contribute to the
blighting or downgrading of surrounding neighborhoods, whether residential or
nonresidential, by location or concentration, and to ensure the stability of
such neighborhoods.
(b) Definitions. The definitions stated in this
subsection shall apply for purposes of this section:
(1) Adult bookstore or adult novelty store means an
establishment having a substantial or significant portion of its
stock in trade in books, photographs, magazines, films for
sale or viewing on the premises by use of
motion picture devices or other coin-operated means, or other periodicals which
are distinguished or characterized by their
principal emphasis on matters depicting,
describing or relating to specified sexual
activities, as the term is defined in this
section; or sexual aids or novelties depicting
a breast, penis, or clitoris; or sexual aids or
novelties which graphically describe,
through words or pictures on the packaging,
specified sexual activities as the term is
defined in this section. Substantial or
significant portion means an establishment
having twenty percent (20%) of its stock in
trade in the above-described materials,
having twenty percent (20%) of its gross sales
in the above-described materials or
having twenty percent (20%) of its floor area
devoted to the sale, rental or storage of
the above-described materials.
(2) Adult entertainment facility means any
building, structure or facility which contains or is used for
commercial entertainment, including theaters used for presenting live
presentations, videotapes or films
predominantly distinguished or characterized by
their principal emphasis on matters depicting,
describing or relating to specified
sexual activities, as the term is defined in
this section, and exotic dance facilities,
regardless of whether the theater or facility
provides a live presentation, videotape
or film presentation, where the patrons either:
a. Engage in personal contact with or allow
personal contact by employees,
devices or equipment or by personnel
provided by the establishment which
appeals to the prurient interest of the
patrons; or
b. Observe any live presentation, videotape
or film presentation of persons
wholly or partially nude with their
genitals or pubic region exposed or
covered only with transparent or opaque covering
or, in the case of female
persons, with the areola and nipple of the
breast exposed or covered only with
transparent or opaque covering, or observe
specified sexual activities, as the
term is defined in this section.
(3) Bathhouse means an establishment or business
which provides the services of baths of all kinds, including all
forms and methods of hydrotherapy, unless operated by a
medical practitioner or professional physical
therapist licensed by the state.
(4) Day care facility means an establishment or
business which provides supervision of facilities for preschool
children or provides before or after or summer care for
schoolage children.
(5) Massage shop means an establishment which has a
fixed place of business having a source of income or compensation
derived from the practice of any method of
pressure on or friction against, or stroking,
kneading, rubbing, tapping, pounding,
vibrating or stimulation of, external parts of
the human body with the hands or with
the aid of any mechanical, electric apparatus
or appliances with or without such
supplementary aids as rubbing alcohol,
liniments, antiseptics, oils, powders, creams,
lotion, ointment or other similar preparations
commonly used in the practice of
massage, under such circumstances that it is
reasonably expected that the person to
whom the treatment is provided or some third
person on his or her behalf will pay
money or give any other consideration or
gratuity; provided that this term shall not
include any establishment operated by a medical
practitioner or professional physical
therapist licensed by the state.
(6) Modeling studio means an establishment or
business which provides the services of modeling for the purpose of
reproducing the human body wholly or partially in the
nude by means of photography, painting,
sketching, drawing or otherwise.
(7) Museum means any government or nonprofit
institution devoted to the procurement, care and display of objects
of lasting interest or value which is open to the general
public.
(8) Park means any city, county, state or federal
public park.
(9) Residential district means, for the purposes of
this section, areas zoned for residential use are defined as
districts R-1, RA, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-4-O, R-5, R-5-O, R-6, GP-7,
GP-6, GP-5, GP-4, GPA, GPR-1 and GPR-2.
(10) Residential building means a building which is
primarily designed and devoted for human habitation, excluding motels
and hotels.
(11) Specified sexual activities means sexual
conduct, being acts of masturbation, homosexuality, sexual
intercourse or physical contact with a person's unclothed
genitals, pubic area, buttocks or, if such
person is a female, her breasts; sexual
excitement, being the condition of human male
or female genitals when in a state of
sexual stimulation or arousal; or
sadomasochistic abuse, being flagellation or torture
by or upon a person or the condition of being
fettered, bound or otherwise physically
restrained.
(c) Establishment of overlay district. An overlay
district C-X shall be established as follows:
(1) District C-X shall be established only by
amendment of the zoning maps in accordance with section 80-360, and
in accordance with the provisions of sections
80-330, 80-335 and 80-355, provided that the
city plan commission shall recommend
and the city council shall find that the
proposed district C-X meets all of the
requirements without exception described in
subsections (c), (d) and (e) of this
section, and further that the proposed use to
be constructed or operated will neither
negatively impact nor materially injure property
within 1,000 feet of the proposed
district boundaries.
(2) No district C-X shall be established without
the submission and approval of a site development plan. Failure to
comply with the plan so approved and established as
part of the district C-X shall be deemed to be
a violation of this chapter and
enforceable under sections 80-400, 80-410 and
80-420.
(3) A district C-X shall be established as an
overlay district and only in districts C-3, C-4, M-1, M-2 and M-3.
(4) A district C-X shall be established only if the
boundaries of the district are a minimum of 1,000 feet from any
church or place of worship, day care facility, park,
educational institution, library, museum,
community center, residential district,
children's amusement park or residential
building.
(d) Location and site requirements for permitted
uses. Any adult bookstore, adult novelty store, adult entertainment facility,
bathhouse, massage shop or modeling studio shall meet the following location
and site requirements:
(1) Not more than two of such uses, excluding any
uses having a certificate of legal nonconformance, shall be located
within 1,500 feet of each other (regardless of
whether such uses are located in the same
facility or separate facilities) as measured
in a straight line from the lot line of the
affected properties.
(2) All access shall be provided from a major thoroughfare.
(3) The property on which such use is located shall
have a minimum of 50 feet of street frontage.
(4) The property on which the use is located shall
be screened by a solid masonry wall at least six feet in height along
the side and rear property lines provided that the
parking lot devoted to said use may be screened
by decorative fencing such as
wrought iron or brick and need not be screened
by a solid masonry wall.
(5) The facility on which the use is located and
the parking for such facility shall have a front yard setback of 20
feet, a side yard setback of ten feet, and a rear yard setback
of ten feet provided that where the use is
proposed in an existing building and
parking lot, the setback requirements need not
be met.
(6) The parking requirements as provided in section
80-444 shall be met, as well as the loading requirements of section
80-445 provided that the council may approve a
development plan without the required section
80-444 parking where the parking
provided is consistent with solid planning
principles in consideration of anticipated
use, mass transit accessibility and off-site parking
availability. The parking provided
on the development plan shall remain available
and shall be the basis of a violation
if not provided.
(7) If the parking and maneuvering space of any
parking lot exceeds 7,500 square feet, at least five percent of the
lot area shall be maintained as landscaped area; provided
that a credit toward the overall required
landscaped area may be provided if the
landscaping provides for trees either at least
15 feet in height or at least three inches
in diameter for each 2,000 square feet of
required landscaped parking area.
Additionally, 15 percent of the entire lot
area, including parking area, shall be
maintained as an open landscaped area with a
20-foot landscape buffer along all
street frontage. Provided that the council may
approve development plan where an
appropriate alternative is proposed for an
existing building and parking lot such as
decorative wrought iron or brick fencing.
(8) The facility in which the use is located shall
be designed in such a fashion that all openings, entries and windows
prevent view into such facilities from any pedestrian
sidewalk, walkway, street or other public area
provided that the development plan
may provide for openings into such facility
where needed for security reasons
provided no merchandise or pictures can be
viewed from the sidewalk in front of the
building.
(9) The facility in which such use is located shall
be limited to one wall-mounted sign no greater than one square foot
of sign area per linear foot of wall length, not to
exceed a total of 50 square feet provided that
the council may approve the location
of up to three signs which collectively shall
not exceed a total of 50 square feet in
area. The signs(s) shall not flash, blink or
move by mechanical means and shall not
extend above the roofline of the building.
Further, no merchandise or pictures of
products or entertainment on the premises shall
be displayed in window areas or any
area where such merchandise or pictures can be
viewed from the sidewalk in front
of the building. No flashing lights or lighting
which leaves the impression of motion
or movement shall be permitted.
(e) Site plan. The site plan accompanying the
application for approval of an overlay district C-X shall include the following
information:
(1) The site plan shall be drawn at a scale of one
inch equals 100 feet or larger.
(2) The site plan shall delineate the property
lines of the proposed project.
(3) The site plan shall delineate existing
rights-of-way and easements.
(4) The site plan shall delineate the general
location and width of all proposed streets and public rights-of-way,
such as alleys, pedestrian ways and easements.
(5) The site plan shall delineate the solid masonry
screening as provided in subsection (d) of this section.
(6) The site plan shall delineate the proposed
building layout with the front, side and rear building setbacks as
required in subsection (d) of this section.
(7) The site plan shall characterize the proposed
usage of the building and description of the proposed use by type,
character and intensity.
(8) The site plan shall delineate the location and
number of parking spaces, and the proposed parking and loading ratio
and its location requirements in accordance with
subsection (d) of this section.
(9) The site plan shall delineate all points of
access and egress in accordance with subsection (d) of this section.
(10) The site plan shall present, in tabular form,
the proposed net density of the use, providing the number of seats,
employees or other applicable unit of measure.
(11) The site plan shall delineate the gross floor
area of the building or structure.
(12) The site plan shall detail the proposed stages
of construction for all land in development and improvements with the
proposed district.
(13) The site plan shall describe the landscaping to
be provided.
(14) The site plan shall delineate the proposed
exterior lighting in accordance with subsection (d) of this section.
(15) The site plan shall delineate the proposed
architectural details of the facility in accordance with subsection
(d) of this section.
(16) The site plan shall indicate the signage in
accordance with subsection (d) of this section.
(17) The site plan shall set forth any other
information necessary for determination of the suitability of the
proposed use for the site.
(f) Location of uses outside C-X district. No adult
bookstore, adult novelty store, adult entertainment facility, bathhouse,
massage shop or modeling studio shall be permitted except within district C-X,
subject to the provisions of section 80-230.
Section B. That the Council finds and declares that
before taking any action on the proposed amendment hereinabove, all public
notices and hearings required by the Zoning Ordinance have been given and had.
_________________________________________________________________
I hereby certify that as required by Chapter 80,
Code of Ordinances, the foregoing ordinance was duly advertised and public
hearings were held.
_____________________________________
Secretary, City Plan
Commission
Approved as to form:
_____________________________________
Assistant City Attorney