El Cajon, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Chapter 17.45 requires any adult entertainment establishment (adult bookstores, cabarets, theaters, model studios, peep show arcades, and similar uses defined in Section 17.45.040) to obtain an adult entertainment permit from the planning commission before opening, expanding by more than 50 percent, or transferring ownership (Section 17.45.050). The permit issues only if the use meets every standard in Section 17.45.070: it must sit in a C-G or C-R zone (adult bookstores may also use C-N), stay at least 1,000 feet from any other adult entertainment establishment, at least 500 feet from residentially zoned land, and at least 600 feet from a courthouse, day nursery, public playground or park, religious facility, or school. Distance is measured in a straight line from the closest exterior wall of the establishment to the other use's closest exterior wall or property line, ignoring anything in between (Section 17.45.080).

Interior sight lines into the business from the public street or sidewalk are barred (Section 17.45.070(F)(1)), adult bookstore peep booths are capped at 20 percent of floor area with no more than one patron per 25 square feet (Section 17.45.070(F)(2)), and adult cabarets must also hold a cabaret license under Chapter 5.24 (Section 17.45.070(F)(4)). Establishments operating lawfully before May 12, 1981 are exempt from abatement based solely on proximity to a residential, religious, school, park, or another adult use (Section 17.45.090(B)). A denied or revoked permit can be appealed to the city council under Chapter 17.30 (Section 17.45.140).