Columbus regulates sexually oriented businesses through City Code Chapter 2331 and Title 33 zoning. Operators need a Sexually Oriented Business Permit from the License Section, with mandatory buffer distances from schools, parks, churches, and residential zones, plus employee permits and conduct rules.
Columbus City Code 2331 defines adult cabarets, bookstores, motion-picture theaters, and arcades, requiring a Sexually Oriented Business Permit issued by the City Treasurer's License Section. Title 33 zoning limits SOBs to specific commercial and manufacturing districts and imposes 1,000-foot buffer separation from schools, churches, public parks, libraries, day-cares, and residential zones, and 500 feet from another SOB. Each performer and employee must obtain a separate worker permit, and on-premises consumption of alcohol is prohibited at adult cabarets under City Code and Ohio Liquor Control Commission rules. Closing-hour, lighting, and no-touch performer rules apply. Background checks disqualify recent felony or sex-offense convictions. Annual renewal is required.
Operating without a Sexually Oriented Business Permit, violating buffer distances, or allowing no-touch and lighting violations triggers permit revocation, misdemeanor charges under City Code 2331.99, and Title 33 zoning enforcement. Employee permit violations bring separate fines and disqualification.
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