Canton, OH Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Canton Codified Ordinances § 787.09(a) bars sexually oriented businesses from operating within 1,000 feet of an extensive list of sensitive uses: a church, school, public park or recreational area, residential district, any lot containing a residential structure including multi-family dwellings, another sexually oriented business, nursing home, convalescent home, extended care facility, library, museum, historic site, historic landmark, residential social service facility, any area designated open space or a community service district, bar, tavern or other liquor establishment, and any teen club or youth-oriented establishment. Subsection (b) fixes the measurement rule: the 1,000-foot distance is measured in a straight line, without regard to any intervening structures, from the closest property line of the sexually oriented business to the closest property line of the sensitive use, so buildings, fences or streets in between do not shorten the distance.

Section 787.10 addresses businesses already operating when the location rule took effect: a lawfully operating business that ends up in violation of the spacing rule is treated as a nonconforming use under Zoning Code § 1127.07, and every sexually oriented business had 180 days from the effective date to bring its operation and interior configuration into compliance with the rest of Chapter 787, even though the spacing rule itself grandfathers existing locations. Chapter 787 defines the covered businesses broadly at § 787.01, reaching adult arcades, adult cabarets, adult media stores and adult model studios, among others, and the chapter was enacted by Ordinance 91-03, passed May 19, 2003.