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In this Article, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. Adult arcade means any place to which the public is permitted or invited wherein coin-operated or slug-operated or electronically, electrically, or mechanically controlled still or motion picture machines, projectors, or other image-producing devices are maintained to show images to five or fewer persons per machine at any one time, and where the images so displayed are distinguished or characterized by the depicting or describing of "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas."

2. Adult cabaret means a nightclub, bar, restaurant, escort bureau, nude model studio, or similar commercial establishment that, during any part of any two or more days within any continuous thirty calendar day period, features live performances or activities on the business premises that are characterized by the exposure of "specified anatomical areas" or by "specified sexual activities." The term "adult cabaret" is intended to apply to businesses that emphasize and seek, through the conduct of one or more dancers or performers, to arouse or excite the patron’s sexual desires. Nothing in the definition of "adult cabaret" shall be construed to apply to the presentation, showing, or performance of any play, drama, or ballet in any theater, concert hall, fine arts academy, school, institution of higher education, or other similar establishment as a form of expression of opinion or communication of ideas or information, as differentiated from the promotion or exploitation of nudity for the purpose of advancing the economic welfare of a commercial or business enterprise.

3. Adult cabaret performer means any employee who performs either semi-nude or in a state of nudity on the business premises, except an employee who:

a. Performs only upon a stage upon which no patrons are then present, and

b. While on that stage does not make physical contact with any patron other than incidental hand-to-hand contact that may occur during the act of tipping.

For purposes of this definition, a patron is considered to be present on a stage if the licensee, or any employee of the licensee, knowingly permits any part of the body of a patron, other than the patron’s hands and arms, to be supported by the surface of the stage.

4. Adult motel means a hotel, motel or similar commercial establishment that:

a. Offers accommodations to the public for any form of consideration; provides patrons with closed-circuit television transmissions, films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides, or other photographic reproductions that are characterized by the depiction or description of "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas"; and has a sign visible from the public right of way that advertises the availability of this adult type of photographic reproductions; or

b. Offers a sleeping room for rent for a period of time that is less than ten hours; or

c. Allows a tenant or occupant of a sleeping room to subrent the room for a period of time that is less than ten hours.

5. Adult theater means a commercial establishment, or portion of a commercial establishment, that offers, for any form of consideration, during any part of any two or more days within any continuous thirty calendar day period, films, motion pictures, video cassettes, or other video reproductions that depict explicit sexual activity in a viewing room of one hundred fifty square feet of floor space or greater. Multiple viewing rooms of one hundred and fifty feet of floor space or greater located on the same business premises shall be considered one adult theater.

6. City Clerk means the City Clerk of the City Clerk Department of the City of Phoenix or the City Clerk’s designee.

7. Column means a building component used primarily to support axial compressive load that is no wider, including aesthetic features and decorative attachments, than two feet at its widest point and is separated from the closest point of the next closest column by at least ten feet.

8. Dancing pole means a vertical pole that is regularly used by adult cabaret performers during performances that occur upon a stage and that is no wider than four inches at its widest point, provided that no vertical pole located within three feet of another vertical pole shall qualify as a dancing pole.

9. Direct line of sight means a straight line between the observer and the object being observed, unobstructed by any wall, curtain, glass, partition, or other physical barrier of any description, excluding a dancing pole and a guardrail.

10. Employ or employment shall mean the act of hiring, or engaging, or authorizing the services of, an employee.

11. Employee means an individual who is hired, engaged or authorized to perform any service on the premises of a sexually oriented business on a full-time, part-time or contract basis, whether or not the individual is denominated an employee, independent contractor or otherwise. "Employee" includes an individual who is authorized to perform any service on the licensed premises for no compensation and an individual who is authorized to perform any service on the licensed premises in exchange for the payment of any form of consideration to the licensee. "Employee" does not include an individual exclusively on the premises for repair or maintenance of the premises or for the delivery of goods to the licensee, nor an attorney, accountant or other person whose primary function is to provide professional advice and assistance to the licensee.

12. Erotic entertainer shall have the meaning as prescribed at Section 6-15

13. Escort means any person who for monetary consideration in the form of a fee, commission or salary, is held out to the public as available for hire to consort with or to accompany another or others to social affairs, places of amusement or entertainment, within any place of public resort, or within any private quarters.

14. Escort bureau means a person who for a fee, commission, profit, payment or other monetary consideration, furnishes, refers, or offers to furnish or refer, escorts, or provides, or offers to introduce, patrons to escorts.

15. Established or establishment mean and include any of the following:

a. The opening or commencement of any sexually oriented business as a new business;

b. The conversion of an existing business, whether or not a sexually oriented business, to any sexually oriented business;

c. The addition of any sexually oriented business to any other existing sexually oriented business; or

d. The relocation of any sexually oriented business.

16. Explicit sexual activity means the clearly visible insertion of the human penis into the mouth, anus or vagina of any person.

17. General patron area means that portion of the business premises, excluding lobbies and restrooms, that is available to any member of the general public lawfully on the premises.

18. Guardrail means a guardrail required to be present by applicable codes or regulations, with components evenly distributed throughout, that does not obstruct more than thirty percent of the view within the outer perimeter of the guardrail.

19. Knowingly means, with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by an ordinance defining an offense, that a person is aware or believes that his or her conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists. It does not require any knowledge of the unlawfulness of the act or omission.

20. License means the license required by this Article as a condition to operating a sexually oriented business.

21. Licensee means a person in whose name a license to operate a sexually oriented business has been issued, as well as the individual or individuals listed as an applicant on the application for a sexually oriented business license.

22. Manager means any employee of an adult cabaret, an adult arcade, an adult motel, or an adult theater, who is authorized by the licensee to exercise overall operational control of the business, to supervise employees, or to fulfill any of the functions required of a manager by this Article.

23. Manager’s station means that location or locations designated by the business for purposes of placing a manager to observe employee performances and patron conduct.

24. Non-porous excludes any wood, plywood, composition board or other porous material.

25. Nude model studio means any place where a person appears semi-nude, in a state of nudity, or displays specified anatomical areas, and is provided to be observed, sketched, drawn, painted, sculptured, photographed, or similarly depicted, by other persons for any form of consideration. "Nude model studio" does not include a proprietary school that is licensed by this state, a college, community college or university that is supported entirely or in part by taxation, a private college or university that maintains and operates educational programs in which credits are transferable to a college, community college or university that is supported entirely or in part by taxation or a structure to which all of the following apply:

a. A sign is not visible from the exterior of the structure and no other advertising appears indicating that a nude or semi-nude person is available for viewing; or

b. Where in order to participate in a class a student must enroll at least three calendar days in advance of the class; and

c. Where no more than one nude or semi-nude model is on the premises at any one time.

26. Nudity or a state of nudity means:

a. The appearance of the cleft of the buttocks, anus, male genitals, female genitals, or areola of the female breast; or

b. A state of dress that fails to opaquely cover the cleft of the buttocks, anus, male genitals, female genitals, or areola of the female breast.

27. Open room means a room or space inside of a building that: (a) meets the following test: each point within the room or space is visible to all other points within the room or space, measured at a height just above fifty-four inches and ignoring all items not considered to be a wall pursuant to this definition, (b) is nine hundred square feet or more in area, (c) has a level floor, and (d) contains no walls. For purposes of this paragraph, a wall is any wall, curtain, room divider, furniture, plant or planter, railing, barrier or other solid object, including transparent glass, that rises higher than fifty-four inches from the level of the floor, provided that the following shall not be considered a wall: (a) a column, (b) a dancing pole, (c) a guardrail, (d) a stage, (e) a vending machine and (f) an individual. The interior space to be measured shall include only the general patron area, all stages used for performances, and all managers’ stations provided that the manager’s station has no wall higher than fifty-four inches from the level of the floor. For purposes of this paragraph, the room or space to be measured may include contiguous levels of higher elevation if they meet both of the following requirements: (a) the level is no higher than thirty-two inches from the level of the lowest finished floor, and (b) the level contains no wall higher than fifty-four inches from the level of the lowest finished floor.

28. Operate or causes to be operated means to: (a) cause to function or to put or keep in operation, or (b) participate directly and regularly in decisions relating to the operation of the business, with the authority to hire managers. A person may be found to be operating or causing to be operated a sexually oriented business whether or not that person is an owner, part owner, manager or licensee of the business. Any individual with the authority to hire managers may be presumed to be operating the business for purposes of this definition.

29. Oral sexual contact means oral contact with the penis, vulva or anus.

30. Permit means the permit required by this Article to work as a manager of certain sexually oriented businesses.

31. Person means an individual, proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity.

32. Physical contact shall mean direct or indirect physical contact that occurs between two individuals, including contact that occurs through clothing or by means of any object.

33. Sexually oriented business means an adult arcade, adult cabaret, adult motel, or adult theater.

34. Semi-nude means a state of dress that shows the female breast below a horizontal line across the top of the areola at its highest point, or which shows the male or female buttocks. This definition shall not include any portion of the cleavage of the female breast exhibited by a dress, blouse, leotard, bathing suit, or other wearing apparel, provided that the areola is not exposed in whole or in part.

35. Sexual contact means any direct or indirect touching, fondling or manipulating of any part of the unclothed genitals or unclothed anus by any part of the body or by any object or causing a person to engage in such contact.

36. Sexual intercourse means penetration into the penis, vulva or anus by any part of the body or by any object or masturbatory contact with the penis or vulva.

37. Specified anatomical areas means: (a) Human genitals in a state of sexual arousal; (b) the appearance of the anus, male or female genitals, or areola of the female breast; or (c) a state of dress that fails to opaquely cover the anus, male or female genitals, or areola of the female breast.

38. Specified sexual activities means and includes any of the following:

a. The fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, anus, or female breasts;

b. Sex acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, including intercourse, oral copulation, or sodomy;

c. Masturbation, actual or simulated; or

d. Excretory functions as part of or in connection with any activities set forth in (a) through (c) above.

39. Stage means that portion of the business premises that has been designated as a stage by the licensee pursuant to the provisions of this Article, or that portion of the business premises that is principally used for employees to perform either semi-nude or in a state of nudity without the presence of patrons. In either case, a "stage" shall include all stairs or ramps leading thereto.

40. Topless bar shall have the meaning as prescribed at Section 6-15

41. Transfer of ownership or control of a sexually oriented business means any of the following:

a. The sale, lease, or sublease of the business;

b. The transfer of securities that constitute a controlling interest in the business, whether by sale, exchange, or similar means; or

c. The establishment of a trust, gift, or other similar legal device that transfers the ownership or control of the business, except for transfer by bequest or other operation of law upon the death of the person possessing the ownership or control.

42. Vending machine means a machine regularly used to dispense small items for a consideration that is operational and in use, including an automatic teller machine, provided that the rear of the machine is located no more than one foot from a perimeter wall and the front of the machine extends no farther than five feet from that same perimeter wall.

43. Viewing room means the room, booth, or area where a patron of a sexually oriented business would ordinarily be positioned while watching a film, motion picture, video cassette, or other video reproduction. (Ord. No. G-3671, § 2; Ord. No. G-3683, § 31; Ord. No. G-3718, § 2; Ord. No. G-3775, § 1; Ord. No. G-3876, § 1; Ord. No. G-3894, § 1; Ord. No. G-4142, §§ 2, 3, 1998; Ord. No. G-4143, §§ 1, 2, 1998; Ord. No. G-4410, § 1, 2002; Ord. No. G-4622, §§ 1—3, 2004; Ord. No. G-5531, § 11, 2010)

Cross reference—Definitions and rules of construction generally, § 1-2.