§ 2.5-1. Purpose.

The purpose of this chapter is to further regulate certain types of business, including but not limited to adult entertainment establishments. The city council considered specific evidence of the undesirable secondary effects of sexually explicit businesses by reviewing extensive reports prepared by the cities of Austin, Texas, New York, NY, Houston, Texas, and St. Paul, Minnesota concerning adult oriented businesses in those cities. Regardless of the findings of detrimental effects on surrounding commercial and residential property values and a marked increase in crime, especially sexually related crime, in areas where these type businesses are found, the City of Clarkston recognizes that regulation cannot amount to prohibition as a protected form of expression would vanish. Recognizing their duty to the citizens of Clarkston to provide regulations which protect their property values, neighborhoods, safety, and well being, as well as their duty to protect the rights of adult entertainment establishments and their patrons, the city council has sought to balance those competing interests through passage of the following ordinance regulating adult entertainment establishments. Adult entertainment establishments include adult bookstores, adult businesses, adult dancing establishments, adult motion picture theaters, adult mini-motion picture theaters, adult hotels or motels, adult motion picture arcades, adult video stores, erotic dance establishments, encounter centers and rap establishments, escort bureaus and introduction services, and explicit media outlets as said terms are hereinafter defined.

(Ord. No. 222, § 1, 7-7-98)