Coeur d'Alene, ID Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required
- Special use permit, Chapter 17.09, Article III
- Distance from residential zone, school, church, park
- 1,000 feet, measured from property lines
- Distance between adult uses
- 1,000 feet
- Prohibited zones
- DC Downtown Core and DO-N, DO-E, MO overlays
- Special use permit zones
- C-17, LM and M districts
- Misdemeanor fine cap
- $1,000 or 180 days, under § 1.28.010
Summary
In the City of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, an adult entertainment use needs a special use permit in a designated zone and cannot be located within, or closer than 1,000 feet to, any residential zone, school, church or public playground/park. Two adult entertainment uses must also stay 1,000 feet apart, under § 17.07.405.
A. Special Use Permit Requirement: Adult entertainment uses are permitted in the designated zones upon the granting of a special use permit pursuant to the special use permit procedure at chapter 17.09, article III of this title. B. Location: 1. No adult entertainment use shall be located within, nor closer than one thousand feet (1,000') measured from the property lines to the boundary of any residential zone, school, church or public playground/park. 2. No adult entertainment use shall be closer than one thousand feet (1,000') to any other adult entertainment use.
Full Breakdown
Coeur d'Alene Municipal Code § 17.07.405 is the whole adult entertainment article of the zoning ordinance, and it has two parts. Subsection A requires a special use permit: adult entertainment uses are permitted in the designated zones only upon the granting of a special use permit under the special use permit procedure in Chapter 17.09, Article III. Subsection B sets the spacing. No adult entertainment use can be located within, nor closer than 1,000 feet measured from the property lines to the boundary of, any residential zone, school, church or public playground/park. No adult entertainment use can be closer than 1,000 feet to any other adult entertainment use.
The zoning ordinance defines the term in § 17.03.060. Adult entertainment means activities, whether conducted intermittently or full time, that primarily involve the display, exhibition or viewing of people and/or materials distinguished by an emphasis on human sex acts or on male or female genitals, buttocks or female breasts, typical of adult motion picture theaters, adult mini-motion picture theaters and adult motion picture arcades, and including massage parlors and bathhouses as defined by Chapter 5.28. Adult entertainment retail sales, meaning primarily the sale of books, magazines, films, photographs or other such materials, is defined separately in § 17.03.050.
The zone lists decide where the special use permit is even available. Adult entertainment sales and service is listed as a special use permit use in the C-17 district (§ 17.05.520), and adult entertainment is a special use permit use in the LM district (§ 17.05.760) and the M district (§ 17.05.840). It is a prohibited use in the DC Downtown Core district (§ 17.05.660), and it is expressly prohibited in all three infill overlay districts, DO-N, DO-E and MO (§ 17.07.915).
Parking is set in Chapter 17.44: adult entertainment theaters or minitheaters need 1 space for each 10 fixed seats, and bookstores or arcades need 1 space for each 330 square feet of floor area. Special use permits are decided by the Planning Commission, which can revoke one after notice and hearing for a violation of Title 17 or a failure to meet a condition (§ 17.09.235).
Violations & Fines
An adult entertainment use opened without a special use permit, or inside the 1,000 foot distances, violates Title 17. Under § 1.28.010 that is a misdemeanor unless an infraction penalty is provided: a fine of not more than $1,000, up to 180 days in jail, or both, and each day is a separate offense. The Planning Commission can also revoke a special use permit under § 17.09.235.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an adult entertainment business need a permit in the City of Coeur d'Alene?
How far must an adult entertainment use be from a school or church?
Can two adult entertainment businesses be next to each other?
Are massage parlors covered?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Coeur d'Alene
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