St. Tammany Parish, LA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Sec. 400-8.A.1 sets the core distance rule: any adult use must sit at least 1,000 feet, "measured in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures," from the nearest property line of a residential district or dwelling to the nearest point of the adult use's own property line, or the property it shares with other businesses, whichever distance is greater. Paragraph 2 applies the identical 1,000-foot straight-line measurement between any two adult uses. Paragraph 3 extends the same 1,000-foot buffer to any existing school, child care center, church or place of worship, park or recreational area, public library, museum, or community center.

Beyond spacing, Sec. 400-8.A layers on operating conditions. Paragraph 4 requires every adult use to comply with Chapter 6 (alcoholic beverages) and Chapter 28 (offenses and miscellaneous provisions) and to hold all necessary state and parish licenses and permits. Hours of operation must conform to established uses in the neighborhood and can be adjusted by the Zoning Commission or the Parish Council. Live entertainment is allowed only where it will not adversely affect the surrounding neighborhood through noise, crowds, or similar impacts, exterior neon or similar lighting is capped at one sign unit that meets the UDC's other sign standards and cannot advertise products or services, and the premises plus the public right-of-way within 100 feet must stay clean and orderly. An adult theater is further restricted to operating only as a theater, barred from also functioning as a cabaret, store, massage parlor, or escort agency.