Jefferson County, WI Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Chapter 22, Article III, Division 3 (Sections 22-549 through 22-551) regulates First Amendment Protected Adult-Oriented Establishments, defined broadly to include adult arcades, bathhouses, body painting studios, bookstores, cabarets, massage parlors, motels, theaters, and any other commercial establishment presenting adult entertainment where alcohol is not served (Sec. 22-549). The county board adopted the spacing rule after reviewing secondary-effects studies from cities such as Phoenix, Minneapolis, and Seattle and the Wisconsin case East of the River Enterprises II v. City of Hudson, finding a link between these establishments and increased crime, prostitution, and declining property values (Sec.

22-550). Sec. 22-551 makes an adult-oriented establishment a permitted use only in the B business district and prohibited in every other zoning district, and even there it may not open until the town or municipality that requires such a license has granted one. The 1,000-foot buffer runs in a straight line from the structure to the nearest residential district line, park or playground lot line, church, school, youth facility, another adult-oriented establishment, or any structure holding an alcohol license, measured to the farthest projecting point of the building, including overhanging roofs.

A later-arriving school or church within 1,000 feet of an existing adult business does not put that business in violation. The spacing and licensing rule in Sec. 22-551 is the county's only local control on this topic.