Hudson, NH Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Hudson Town Code Article XVII (added 1999, readopted 2001 by Amdt. No. 7) confines sexually oriented businesses to the Industrial Zone under § 334-85, and only if every other regulation of that zone is also met. The same section bars establishment within 500 feet of a long list of protected uses: a church, place of worship, parish house or convent; a public, parochial or private school; a state-approved day-care center; another sexually oriented business or one that has already applied for a building permit; a residence; any business where minors make up more than half the patrons; a public park, recreation or sports facility; the Town's own boundaries; or buildings the Town owns and operates for government use.

Section 334-85 defines 'establishment' broadly to catch both a brand-new business and the conversion of an existing business into a sexually oriented one. Section 334-86 fixes the measurement rule for that buffer: the 500-foot setback runs from the protected use's property line to the sexually oriented business's existing or proposed parking lot or structure, not to a building corner or entrance. Before any such business can open, § 334-87 requires site plan approval from the Hudson Planning Board, which may impose conditions on buffers, outdoor lighting, signage, parking, ingress and egress, pedestrian movement, landscaping and building aesthetics, and can require merchandise displays to conform with NH RSA 571-B.

Section 334-84 states the Town's purpose is to stop the concentration and resulting blight of these businesses, not to restrict First Amendment-protected content or deny adults or distributors access to sexually oriented materials, and it disclaims any intent to condone obscene material.