Josephine County, OR Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- Operator's and employee licenses, JCC § 5.20.040
- Zones allowed
- Rural commercial or rural industrial only
- School spacing
- 1,200 feet
- Church, residential lot, other SOB spacing
- 1,500 feet
- Park spacing
- 1,000 feet
- License term
- One year, renew 45 days ahead
- Unlicensed operation penalty
- Fine up to $1,000 per incident
Summary
Unincorporated Josephine County requires every sexually oriented business to hold an operator's license from the Director, and every worker there to hold an employee license, before opening or working. Operating unlicensed, or violating the chapter's spacing rules, draws a fine of up to $1,000 per incident and possible injunction.
It shall be unlawful: ... 1. For any person to operate a sexually oriented business without a valid sexually oriented business operator's license ("operator's license") issued by the Director pursuant to this chapter ... Violation of any provision within subsection (A) of this section shall constitute a violation punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 per incident. ... Sexually oriented businesses shall be permitted in any rural commercial or rural industrial zone provided that: A. The sexually oriented business may not be operated within: 1. One thousand five hundred feet of a church, synagogue, mosque, temple or building which is used primarily for religious worship and related religious activities; 2. One thousand two hundred feet of a public or private educational facility ...
Full Breakdown
040(A)). 190 apply. 060. 130, a sexually oriented business is permitted only in a rural commercial or rural industrial zone, and even there may not operate within 1,500 feet of a church or other place of worship, 1,200 feet of a school (including day cares, preschools and colleges), 1,000 feet of a public park or recreation area, 1,500 feet of a residentially zoned and used lot, or 1,500 feet of another sexually oriented business; two such businesses may not share the same building. 130(C)-(D)). m.
230). 140, and an existing licensee is not knocked out of compliance just because a church, school, park or residential district later moves within 1,500 feet, so long as the license stays current.
Violations & Fines
Operating, or employing/working, without the required license under JCC § 5.20.040 is a violation carrying a fine of up to $1,000 per incident, with each day of continued operation a separate offense. Operating in violation of the § 5.20.130 spacing rules exposes the operator to a suit for injunction plus other sanctions under JCC § 5.20.260. The Director may also revoke a license for cause, barring reissuance for one year, subject to appeal to the Board of Commissioners or its designated Hearings Officer under JCC § 5.20.050(I).
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can a sexually oriented business locate in unincorporated Josephine County?
Do employees need their own license?
What happens if I operate without a license?
Can a business already open stay if new development moves in nearby?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Josephine County
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