Texas counties have very limited zoning power, so Dallas County does not run a sexually oriented business licensing program. Each Dallas County city, including Dallas, Irving, Garland, and Mesquite, regulates SOBs under municipal code and Texas Local Government Code Chapter 243 secondary-effects authority.
Texas Local Government Code Chapter 243 authorizes counties to regulate sexually oriented businesses only in unincorporated areas, and Dallas County has not adopted a comprehensive SOB ordinance. Almost the entire county sits inside an incorporated city, where the municipality enforces its own SOB code under Chapter 243 and Penal Code Chapter 43. Dallas regulates SOBs under City Code Chapter 41A with 1,000-foot buffers, employee permits, and stage rules; Irving, Garland, Mesquite, Richardson, Carrollton, and Grand Prairie maintain similar ordinances. Dallas County Sheriff enforces Penal Code obscenity and prostitution statutes countywide. The Dallas County District Attorney prosecutes SOB-related criminal cases such as compelling prostitution under Penal Code 43.05.
Operating an unlicensed SOB is enforced by the city in which the business sits. Penal Code 43 obscenity, prostitution, and compelling prostitution charges are filed by the Dallas County DA. Sheriff enforcement applies in unincorporated pockets only.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Garland, TX
Amplified sound in Garland is regulated under Chapter 32; sound 'plainly audible' more than 50 feet from the source after 10 PM is a violation.
Garland, TX
Garland restricts construction noise to daytime hours, with most loud work prohibited overnight and limited on Sundays under Chapter 32 of the Code of Ordina...
Garland, TX
Garland permits leaf blower use under its general noise ordinance, restricting operation to daytime hours with no specific gas-powered ban.
Garland, TX
Garland regulates noise from industrial uses along the I-30 and IH-635 corridors through zoning performance standards and the Code of Ordinances Chapter 32 n...
Garland, TX
Garland generally allows overnight on-street parking in residential areas, but restricts vehicles parked continuously in the same spot for more than 48-72 ho...
Garland, TX
Garland follows Texas Transportation Code Chapter 683, defining vehicles as junked or abandoned if inoperable, unregistered, wrecked, or left on public prope...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Dallas County.
See how Garland's adult entertainment rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.