Carroll County, MD Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

154 of the Carroll County Code of Ordinances draws two separation zones around adult entertainment businesses, massage establishments, and striptease businesses. Under subsection (A), none of these uses may locate within 1,000 feet of a religious establishment, a public or private school, a public park or public recreational facility, a public library, a childcare home, childcare institution, or family day care home licensed or registered under state law, or a lot zoned residentially or devoted primarily to residential use. Subsection (B) layers on a second buffer: an adult entertainment business, massage establishment, or striptease business cannot locate within 2,500 feet of another business in that same category, which prevents any clustering of these uses anywhere in the unincorporated county.

Because six separate protected-use categories plus a 2,500-foot inter-business buffer are stacked together, the practical effect is to confine these businesses to a narrow set of parcels distant from residential neighborhoods, schools, and other adult businesses alike. 156), and it is enforced the same way as any other zoning use restriction in the chapter. There is no on-site design or hours-of-operation standard in this section; it governs location only, and a proposed use must satisfy the applicable zoning district's own permitted-use table in addition to clearing both distance buffers.