Caldwell, ID Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Caldwell City Code Section 10-12-03-2 regulates adult businesses in recognition of Idaho Code's authorization for local buffer zones. No adult bookstore, adult novelty store, adult video store, adult motel or hotel, adult motion picture theater, or adult theater or cabaret may locate within 1,000 feet of an existing adult entertainment business, a church or place of worship, any education facility, school bus stop or youth organization, or any residential district boundary. Because Caldwell's residential districts (RS-1, RS-2, R-1, R-2, R-3) and its many churches and schools are distributed throughout the city, this buffer effectively confines adult businesses to a narrow set of commercial or industrial parcels.

Any operator must submit a site plan with a Special Use Permit application demonstrating compliance with the distance separations before the Planning and Zoning Commission will act on the request; the permit is not administrative. Signage is separately restricted: adult business signs must follow the general sign rules of Section 10-02-06 and cannot emphasize adult content through movement, pictures, or other display. Every adult business must also post a legible door sign at each entrance, no smaller than one-half square foot and no larger than one square foot, stating that persons under 18 are not permitted, and a depiction of that sign must accompany the Special Use Permit, building permit, or business license application.

The definitions of 'adult bookstore,' 'adult motel,' 'adult motion picture theater,' and 'adult theater/cabaret' are set out in Section 10-01-10 and hinge on whether the establishment's stock, revenue, or programming emphasizes specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.