(a)
Purpose.
The purpose of this division is to regulate certain types of businesses including,
but not limited to, adult entertainment establishments as defined herein, to the end
that the many types of criminal activities frequently engendered by such businesses
and the adverse effect on property values and on the public health, safety, and welfare
of the city, and on its citizens and property, and on the character and preservation
of its neighborhoods and development will be curtailed. This division is not intended
as a de facto prohibition of legally protected forms of expression. This division
is intended to represent a balancing of competing interests: reduced criminal activity
and protection of the neighborhoods and development through the regulation of adult
entertainment establishments versus any legally protected rights of adult entertainment
establishments and patrons. This division is not intended to allow or license any
business, establishment, or activity which would otherwise be unlawful.
(b)
Findings.
Based on the experience of other counties and municipalities, including, but not limited
to, Atlanta, Georgia; Fulton County, Georgia; Dekalb County, Georgia; Richmond County,
Georgia; Floyd County, Georgia; Amarillo, Texas; Austin, Texas; Garden Grove, California;
Houston, Texas; Renton, Washington; Phoenix, Arizona; Augusta, Georgia; LaGrange,
Georgia; Dalton, Georgia; Whitfield County, Georgia; Carrollton, Georgia; Smyrna,
Georgia; Rome, Georgia; Bartow County, Georgia; and Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach,
Florida, which experiences are believed to be relevant to the problems faced by the
city, the mayor and city council take note of the notorious and self-evident conditions
attendant to the commercial exploitation of human sexuality, which do not vary greatly
among generally comparable communities within our country. Moreover, it is the findings
of the mayor and city council that public nudity (either partial or total) under certain
circumstances, particularly circumstances related to the sale and consumption of alcoholic
beverages, begets criminal behavior and tends to create undesirable community conditions.
Among the acts of criminal behavior identified with nudity and alcohol are disorderly
conduct, prostitution, and drug trafficking and use. Among the undesirable community
conditions identified with nudity and alcohol are depression of property values in
the surrounding neighborhood, increased expenditure for and allocation of law enforcement
personnel to preserve law and order, increased burden on the judicial system as a
consequence of the criminal behavior hereinabove described, and acceleration of community
blight by the concentration of such establishments in particular areas. Therefore
the limitation of nude conduct in establishments licensed within the city limits of
the city and prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in said establishments
is in the public welfare and it is a matter of governmental interest and concern to
prevent the occurrence of criminal behavior and undesirable community conditions normally
associated with establishments which serve alcohol and also allow and/or encourage
nudity. Based on these findings, this division is adopted to regulate certain types
of businesses and to establish where such activity may or may not be conducted.
