Cocoa, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

5-18(a) prohibits operating or enlarging an adult entertainment establishment within 500 feet of a preexisting religious institution, educational institution, residentially zoned area, an area designated residential on the comprehensive plan's future land use map but not yet zoned that way, a park, or a commercial establishment that sells alcohol for on-premises consumption. Enlarging an existing establishment's floor size by more than 10 percent counts as an 'enlargement' triggering the same distance check. Subsection (b) layers a separate zoning restriction on top of the distance rule, limiting adult entertainment locations entirely to the M-I Light Industrial and Warehouse District under Appendix A, Article XI, section 16.

These distance and location rules operate independently of, and do not replace, whatever distance rules apply to alcoholic beverage establishments elsewhere in the code. A board of adjustment variance from the 500-foot distance requirement is available under the same procedures and criteria used for other zoning variances. 5-8, which the community development department inspects for zoning and building code compliance, the police department verifies for accurate applicant information, and the fire department inspects for fire code compliance; operating without that license is unlawful and grounds for closing the establishment.