Bowling Green, KY Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing sections
- Bowling Green Code of Ordinances Secs. 24-3.07 to 24-4.01
- Buffer from schools/churches/parks
- 750 feet from nearest property line
- Buffer from residential zones
- 750 feet
- Buffer from another such business
- 500 feet between entrances
- License fee
- $50 investigation fee to the Director
- First-offense penalty
- Misdemeanor fine $100-$500 or up to 6 months jail
- Licensing authority
- City Director (Chief Financial Officer)
Summary
In the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Chapter 24 requires anyone operating a sexually explicit entertainment establishment, bookstore, arcade, escort service or cabaret to obtain a license from the City's Director (Chief Financial Officer) and pay a $50 investigation fee. Sec. 24-3.07 through 24-3.09 keep such businesses 750 feet from schools, churches, parks and residential zones, and 500 feet from each other.
24-3.07 The public entrance to a sexually explicit entertainment establishment shall not be located nearer than seven hundred fifty (750') feet from any church, synagogue or other permanent place of worship, licensed day care center, ... elementary, middle or secondary school ... or any park, mall or park-like area of open space under the control of a governmental agency. ... 24-3.08 The public entrance to a sexually explicit entertainment establishment shall not be located nearer than seven hundred fifty (750') feet from any area zoned residential. ... 24-3.09 The public entrance to a sexually explicit entertainment establishment shall not be located nearer than five hundred (500') feet from the public entrance of another sexually explicit entertainment activity establishment. ... 24-4.01 ... All applications must be accompanied by a fifty ($50.00) dollar investigation fee. ... 24-8.01 Any person who violates any provision of this Chapter ... shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and for the first offense be fined not less than one hundred ($100.00) dollars and not more than five hundred ($500.00) dollars, or be imprisoned ... for not more than six (6) months or both.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 24 of the Bowling Green Code of Ordinances licenses and restricts sexually explicit amusement arcades, bookstores, motion picture theaters, stage-show theaters, cabarets, video cassette centers, escort services and similar sexually oriented businesses. Under Sec. 24-3.07, a covered business's public entrance cannot sit within 750 feet of any church, synagogue, licensed day care, elementary through secondary school, college, park or governmental open space, measured in a straight line from the nearest property line. Sec. 24-3.08 imposes the same 750-foot buffer from any residentially zoned area, and Sec.
24-3.09 requires 500 feet between the entrances of two such businesses. The same Chapter bars alcohol on the premises entirely, confines nudity to a designated entertainment area, and keeps performers a minimum distance from patrons and spectators during any performance. To operate, the owner or operator must apply for a license from the Director, the City's Chief Financial Officer, under Sec. 24-4.01, filing identifying information for owners, managers and employees along with a $50 investigation fee; a separate license is required for each name a business operates under.
Sec. 24-8.01 makes an unpenalized violation of the Chapter a misdemeanor, with a first offense fined $100 to $500 or up to six months in jail, and penalties that increase for a second or later offense; the Chapter also orders forfeiture of property, such as books, films and tapes, used in committing a violation.
Violations & Fines
A first violation of Chapter 24 is a misdemeanor fined $100 to $500, or up to six months in jail, or both; penalties increase for repeat offenses. Corporate officers responsible for a violation can be imprisoned as well. Property used in the violation, such as books, films or tapes, is subject to forfeiture. Operating a sexually oriented business closer than the required 750-foot or 500-foot buffer, or without a license and $50 investigation fee on file with the Director, is itself a chargeable violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How close can a sexually oriented business be to a school or church in Bowling Green?
Can two adult businesses operate next to each other?
What does it cost to license an adult business in Bowling Green?
What happens if a sexually oriented business violates Chapter 24?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bowling Green
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