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Home My WebLink AboutRES 3338 CITY OF RENTON, WASHINGTON RESOLUTION NO. 3 3 3 8 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF RENTON, WASHINGTON EXTENDING A MORATORIUM ON THE PERMITTING OF ADULT BOOK STORES, AS DEFINED IN THIS RESOLUTION, WITHIN SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS, AND ESTABLISHING A TERMINATION DATE FOR THE MORATORIUM. WHEREAS, the City of Renton presently has ordinances regulating adult motion pictures theaters, nude dancing establishments, and similar adult uses; and WHEREAS, the present City regulations do not regulate adult businesses whose predominant trade is the sale, use, rental, depiction or other use of merchandise distinguished or characterized by predominant emphasis on matters depicting, describing, simulating or relating to "specified sexual activities" or"specified anatomical areas" as defined by City Code section 4-31- 2 under the definition of Adult Motion Picture Theater(hereinafter adult bookstore); and WHEREAS, the term "merchandise" as used above includes but is not limited to books, magazines, posters, cards, pictures, periodicals or other printed material; prerecorded video tapes, disks, film or other such media, instruments, devices, equipment, paraphernalia, novelties or other such products; and WHEREAS, a new adult business selling adult books, magazines, movies and novelties has opened within the City of Renton; and WHEREAS, the opening of such business has resulted in substantial public comment detailing perceived negative secondary effects of the business or similar businesses; and WHEREAS, on July 28, 1997, by Resolution No. 3271, the City imposed a moratorium, and on January 26, 1998, by Resolution No. 3300, the City extended the moratorium on the issuance of any license or permit for an adult bookstore, and permitted the extension of such moratorium; and 1 RESOLUTION NO. 3 3 3 8 WHEREAS, the moratorium resolution was intended to be prospective in its application; and WHEREAS, City staff has learned that other cities in the surrounding metropolitan area and nationally have ordinances regulating this type of business, ostensibly based upon studies of the negative secondary effects of such uses; and WHEREAS, City staff are attempting to obtain information regarding the studies used by other cities to determine their breadth; and WHEREAS, City staff has obtained some public comment regarding the location of adult bookstores and wants to insure that affected businesses, as well as other members of the public, have an adequate opportunity to provide input regarding the existence or lack of negative secondary effects of such uses; and WHEREAS, City staff is attempting to identify all adult bookstores in the City limits in order to insure they obtain notice of upcoming public meetings; and to consider their location when determining what regulations may be needed, if any, and to insure the most narrowly drafted legislation, if any; and WHEREAS, the City of Renton understands that a portion or all of the materials sold by adult bookstores are protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article 1, Section 5 of the Washington State Constitution; and WHEREAS, the City of Renton does not intend, by this resolution, to impermissibly impact any party's free speech rights; and WHEREAS, the purpose of this resolution is to provide, during the moratorium period, a reasonable area to accommodate protected expression and to make any geographical restriction of free speech rights a reasonable time, place and manner restriction, and to that end urges any court reviewing this resolution to interpret it in such a manner as to give it such a constitutional interpretation; and 2 RESOLUTION NO. 3338 WHEREAS, the City of Renton wishes to have adequate time to conduct a study to determine whether or not there is a substantial governmental interest in regulating such land uses and to determine whether or not any negative secondary effects that the City may determine, by study, are reasonably related to these land uses and whether or not reasonable regulations imposed upon such land uses would mitigate any negative secondary effects of such land use; and WHEREAS, the City of Renton does not intend to adopt any ordinance regulating adult bookstores until it has established the existence of negative secondary effects relating to such land uses; and WHEREAS, the City of Renton wishes to establish by this study the least restrictive means available by which the City map regulates this type of use; and WHEREAS, City staff need additional time to complete their study and analysis; and WHEREAS, during the period of the initial moratorium there have been no license or permit applications for businesses which would be affected by this moratorium; and WHEREAS, during the initial moratorium and extended moratorium the City staff has made substantial progress in surveying the case law and other studies and analyzing the least restrictive means available to regulate this type of use, and the topic is now ready for City Council study and recommendation on how to proceed; NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RENTON, WASHINGTON, DO RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: SECTION I. The above recitals are found to be true and correct in all respects. SECTION H. There is hereby declared a moratorium on the issuance of any business license or other permit for an adult bookstore. SECTION III. There has been a public hearing on July 20, 1998, to accept public testimony to establish facts on whether or not the City should continue this moratorium. 3 RESOLUTION NO. 3 3 3 8 SECTION IV. This moratorium shall be in place for a period of six months, which moratorium may be extended or renewed for one or more six month period(s), but only if a subsequent public hearing is held and findings of fact are made prior to each renewal. SECTION V. During this six month moratorium the City Attorney's office and the planning staff of the City are requested to survey existing evidence to determine what negative secondary effects may be associated 'with this type of land use, ways to mitigate negative secondary effects of such land use in the least restrictive manner, and to provide alternative, available geographical areas within the City to provide a reasonable means to accommodate access to protected material such that any regulation ultimately adopted is a reasonable time, place and manner restriction. The City Attorney's office and City planning staff are to make recommendations to the City Council, or subcommittee thereof, on regulations which could be adopted to satisfy these goals. SECTION VI. Any adult bookstore that is covered by this resolution which satisfies the underlying zoning criteria may be permitted outright despite the terms of this moratorium provided that such is not located: 1. Within one thousand feet (1,000') of any residential zone (RC, R-1, R-5, R-8, R- 10, R-14, RMF, COR, or RMH) or any single-family or multiple-family residential use. 2. One thousand feet (1,000') of any public or private school. 3. One thousand feet (1,000') of any church or other religious facility or institution. 4. One thousand feet(1,000') of any public park, P-1 zone or P suffix zone. SECTION VII. Any such business separated from residential zones, public or private schools, religious facilities or institutions, or public park by man-made or naturally occurring features which increase(s) the most direct travel distances beyond 1,000 feet such that the business believes that any potential negative secondary effects of the adult bookstore are unlikely to affect those protected uses may apply to the City Council for a temporary permit to operate an adult bookstore pending adoption of any final regulation of that business. If such 4 1 RESOLUTION NO. 3 3 3 8 request is received at least three business days before a City Council meeting, the City Council shall act on such request at its next regularly scheduled meeting. If received after that time the request will be considered at the second regularly scheduled Council meeting after receipt of the request. If the business is still aggrieved it may notify the City of its grievance within ten days of the City Council action and the City shall, within ten days of such notification, file a declaratory judgment or similar action to review the decision in King County Superior Court. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL this 20thday of July , 1998. „*.Pv Marilyn J. PeUsen, City Clerk APPROVED BY THE MAYOR this 2 0 thday of July , 1998. apvy...e.."--.., Je anner, Mayor Ap oved as to form: a/uo-,,,auc...P a-7,44--.7."124...-- . Lawrence J. Warren, City Attorney RES.663:as. 5