Escambia County, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

14(B)17 of the Escambia County Land Development Code. Meeting the zoning test is not enough: the same section bars the establishment from sitting within 1,000 feet of a pre-existing adult entertainment establishment, place of worship, educational institution, or public park or playground; within 500 feet of residential uses or areas zoned residential; or within 300 feet of a pre-existing commercial establishment that sells or dispenses alcohol for on-premises consumption. These distance minimums stack on top of, and are independent of, any separate distance rules that apply to alcoholic beverage establishments.

Section 18-390 fixes how the distance is measured: a straight line drawn between the closest property lines of the two uses, not a walking or driving route. Section 18-391 grandfathers establishments already operating on March 7, 1999, the date the ordinance was first published, but only if the nonconforming use has not sat idle for 90 or more consecutive days; a lapse that long is deemed abandonment, and the site reverts to uses otherwise permitted there. An owner can seek relief only through the board of adjustment, which under section 18-392 may recommend a variance from the distance requirements using the same procedures and criteria that apply to any other variance request under the Land Development Code.