Brunswick County, NC Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

S. 3 lists 'Adult and Sexually Oriented Business' as requiring a Special Use Permit ('SUP') and allows it in only one zoning district, I-G (Industrial General); every other district, including every residential and commercial district, leaves the cell blank. A(4) then layers a 1,500-foot spacing buffer on top of that single-district limitation: no such business may locate within 1,500 feet, measured in any direction, of a dwelling, another adult or sexually oriented business, a church or other house of worship, a public school or state-licensed day care, a public playground, swimming pool or park, or any publicly owned facility.

No more than one adult business may occupy the same building, structure or lot, and all minimum lot requirements of the I-G district must independently be met. Promotional displays cannot be visible from sidewalks, walkways or streets outside permitted signage. A business lawfully operating before May 1, 2007 that is later rendered nonconforming may continue for up to two years without expansion; if a nonconforming use later shuts down for 180 days or more, it cannot reopen at that location.