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

To apply, the owner submits a signed permit application, a nonrefundable processing deposit set by city council resolution, a letter of justification explaining how the site meets Section 5.92.060's standards, and a site plan with a dimensional floor plan under Section 5.92.040(C). The director of licensing and code enforcement has twenty city business days to approve or deny a complete application under Section 5.92.050, and the decision is final. Section 5.92.060 sets the spacing rule: no adult business within 500 feet of a residential zone or use, 1,000 feet of a religious institution, public park or K-12 school, 1,000 feet of another adult business under different ownership, or 500 feet of a property holding an on-sale or off-sale alcohol license, and the use must sit in the M-2 zone under Section 17.34.020.

Operating standards under Section 5.92.060(J) add a uniformed security guard on the grounds whenever the business is open, exterior lighting, sound insulation so noise is not audible off the premises, opaque window coverings, sign limits banning nude imagery, minimum twenty-footcandle interior lighting, and a bar on anyone under eighteen entering. Section 5.92.030 requires businesses to keep segregated gross-receipts records for at least three years and open them to the director on request. Permits are nontransferable under Section 5.92.100, and any change from one type of adult business to another voids the permit.