§ 12-156. 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 Orange County, Florida, Adult Entertainment Code, Ordinance No. 87-06, Jacksonville Municipal Code, Chapter 410, Ord. 77-257-266, Section 1, the Los Angeles Municipal Code, Section 12.70, Ord. 156509 (1982), the Detroit Zoning Ordinance, 66,000, Ord. 742-G, Section 1, 10-24-72, and "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 board hereby finds:

(1)

Establishments exist or may exist within Okaloosa County where books, magazines, motion pictures, prints, photographs, periodicals, records, novelties and/or devices which depict, illustrate, describe or relate to specified sexual activities are possessed, displayed, exhibited, distributed and/or sold.

(2)

Establishments exist or may exist within Okaloosa County:

a.

Where the superficial tissues of one person are manipulated, rubbed, stroked, kneaded, and/or tapped by a second person, accompanied by the display or exposure of specified anatomical areas;

b.

Where dancers, entertainers, performers, or other individuals, who, for any form of commercial gain, perform or are presented while displaying or exposing specified anatomical areas; or

c.

Where straddle dancing occurs.

(3)

The activities described in subsections (1) and (2) occur at establishments for the purpose of making a profit, and, as such, are subject to regulation by Okaloosa County in the interest of the health, safety and general welfare of the people of Okaloosa County.

(4)

When the activities described in subsections (1) and (2) are present in establishments within Okaloosa County, other activities which are illegal, immoral or unhealthful tend to accompany them, concentrate around them, and be aggravated by them. Such other activities include, but are not limited to 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.

(5)

When the activities described in subsections (1) and (2) are present in establishments within Okaloosa County, they tend to attract an undesirable number of transients, blight neighborhoods, adversely affect neighboring businesses, lower property values, promote crime, particularly the kinds detailed in subsection (4) and ultimately lead residents and businesses to move to other locations.

(6)

The establishments in which the activities described in subsections (1) and (2) occur are usually constructed, in part or in whole, of substandard materials, and are usually maintained in a manner reflecting disregard for the health and safety of the occupants.

(7)

The activities described in subsections (1) and (2) frequently occur in establishments concurrent with the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages.

(8)

The concurrence of the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages with the activities described in subsections (1) and (2) leads to an increase in criminal activity, moral degradation, and disturbances of the peace and order of Okaloosa County.

(9)

The concurrence of the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages with the activities described in subsections (1) and (2) is hazardous to the health and safety of those persons in attendance, depreciates the value of adjoining property, harms the economic welfare of Okaloosa County, and adversely affects the public's interest in the quality of life, tone of commerce, and community environment in Okaloosa County.

(10)

In order to preserve and safeguard the health, safety, and general welfare of the people of Okaloosa County, it is necessary and advisable for Okaloosa County to regulate the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages at establishments where the activities described in subsections (1) and (2) occur.

(11)

Employees of establishments at which the activities described in subsections (1) and (2) occur engage in a higher incidence of certain types of criminal behavior than employees of other establishments.

(12)

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

(13)

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

(14)

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

(15)

[Requiring identification] will help reduce the incidence of certain types of criminal behavior by facilitating the identification of potential witnesses or suspects, by preventing minors from working in such establishments, and by making it easier for health officials to control the spread of communicable and social diseases in such establishments.

(16)

Prohibiting establishments at which the activities described in subsections (1) and (2) occur from operating within close proximity of educational institutions, religious institutions, areas zoned for residential use, and parks, at which children are customarily found, will serve to protect children from the adverse effects of the activities that accompany such establishments.

(17)

Personal advertising within close proximity of public thoroughfares poses a traffic hazard and a threat to the safety of people using those thoroughfares.

(18)

Straddle dancing does not contain any element of communication, and is therefore conduct rather than expression.

(19)

Straddle dancing in establishments poses a threat to the health of the participants and promotes the spread of communicable and social diseases.

(Ord. No. 88-26, § 1A-16, 7-26-88; Ord. No. 04-69, § 1, 11-2-04)

Editor's note

Ord. No. 04-69, § 1, adopted Nov. 2, 2004, was not specifically amendatory of the Code and has been treated as amending subsection (15) to read as herein set out. Formerly, said subsection required employees of establishments at which the activities described in subsections (1) and (2) occur to obtain an adult entertainment permit before beginning to work in such establishments.