La Plata County, CO Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Section 73-17 of the La Plata County Code regulates sexually oriented businesses through the land use permit process. It applies to applications proposing a new sexually oriented business or the modification of an existing one. Section 66-7 lists sexually oriented businesses under section 73-17 among the developments that require a major land use permit, and every major land use permit project first completes sketch plan review unless it is exempt.

The Board of County Commissioners states the purpose in the section itself: to protect the quality of life and vitality of the county as a tourist destination, place of business, and home to its residents, through reasonable time, place and manner restrictions that do not prohibit sexually oriented businesses or constitutionally protected speech.

Subsection III.A sets the spacing. The minimum setbacks apply to all facilities associated with the business, and each is measured from a property line. It must be 1,000 feet from a lot or parcel containing another sexually oriented business, 1,000 feet from a lot or parcel containing one or more dwelling units or otherwise designated for residential use, and 1,000 feet from a lot or parcel containing any school, childcare center, religious institution, public park or playground, or building owned or operated by a governmental entity providing services to the general public. The residential test covers land designated for residential use as well as land that already has a dwelling on it.

Subsection III.B controls what passersby can see and hear. Advertisements, signs, displays, live displays and other promotional materials showing a specified sexual activity or a specified anatomical area cannot be visible or audible outside the building. Each building entry, window and doorway must be located, covered or screened so the interior cannot be viewed from outside. Most of the county outside the Animas Valley is unzoned, so these spacing rules apply countywide through the Land Use Code rather than by zone district. The section took effect on October 1, 2020, under Res. No. 2020-30.