Lacey, WA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Bookstore, novelty and video stores
- General Commercial and Light Industrial zones only
- Arcades and live entertainment centers
- Light Industrial zone only
- Store spacing
- Three hundred thirty feet from other adult facilities and sensitive uses
- Arcade and live center spacing
- Six hundred sixty feet from each other and sensitive uses
- License fee
- $500 until the city council sets a fee by resolution
- Required closing hours
- 12:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
Summary
In the City of Lacey, Washington, adult bookstores, novelty stores and video stores are limited to the General Commercial and Light Industrial zones, while adult arcades and live entertainment centers are limited to Light Industrial. Spacing runs three hundred thirty feet or six hundred sixty feet depending on the use. Each business also needs a Lacey license.
A. Adult entertainment facilities falling under the definitions of adult bookstores, adult novelty stores, adult video stores or other similar adult uses may be permitted in the following zones subject to the standards and requirements of LMC 16.67.040 and spacing requirements identified below: 1. Land use zones permitted: a. General Commercial; and b. Light Industrial. 2. Spacing and buffering requirements: a. No such adult entertainment facility shall be located closer than three hundred thirty feet from another adult entertainment facility, whether such other facility is located within or outside the city limits; ... B. Adult arcades and adult live entertainment facilities shall be permitted in the following zones ... 1. Land use zones permitted: Light Industrial. ... a. No adult arcade or adult live entertainment center shall be located closer than six hundred sixty feet from another adult arcade or adult live entertainment center nor closer than three hundred thirty feet from any other adult entertainment facility, whether such other business is located within or outside the city limits.
Full Breakdown
Lacey regulates sexually oriented businesses in two places: licensing in Title 5 and location in the zoning code at Chapter 16.67.
Licensing. Section 5.40.030 bars operating an adult arcade, adult bookstore, adult novelty store or adult video store without a license from the Director of Finance. The application fee is nonrefundable and set by city council resolution, and it is $500 until a resolution sets it. Licenses expire December 31, and a renewal application cannot be submitted before September 1. Adult live entertainment centers have their own license under § 5.42.040, issued within thirty days unless planning, building or police report a zoning, code or criminal-history problem, and entertainers need an entertainer's license with a nonrefundable fee of fifty dollars (§ 5.42.050). Licensed stores and centers must be closed between 12:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. (§§ 5.40.080, 5.42.030).
Location. Bookstore-type uses go through full administrative review, and arcades and live entertainment centers go through quasi-judicial review, both under Chapter 11.04 LMC (§ 16.67.020). Section 16.67.030 allows bookstore-type uses in General Commercial and Light Industrial, with three hundred thirty feet from another adult entertainment facility and from any sensitive land use or zone. Arcades and live entertainment centers are allowed only in Light Industrial, with six hundred sixty feet from each other and from sensitive uses and three hundred thirty feet from any other adult entertainment facility. Facilities inside or outside the city limits count. Section 16.67.090 forbids all of these uses in every other zone in the City of Lacey.
Sensitive uses (§ 16.67.050) include public and private schools, public parks, public libraries, state-certified day care, community teen centers, churches and cemeteries, residential and lodging uses and property zoned LD, MD or HD. Distances run in a straight line from the nearest point of the parcel (§ 16.67.060). A shorter distance requires a waiver from a hearings examiner (§ 16.67.070). Lighting, fencing, no electronic reader boards and plain facades are required (§ 16.67.040).
Violations & Fines
Under § 5.40.100, violating any provision of Chapter 5.40 is a misdemeanor, and each day a violation is committed, continued or permitted is a separate offense. Section 5.40.090 declares contrary activity a public nuisance that the City Attorney or another interested person can enjoin. The Director of Finance revokes a license for false application statements, violations of the chapter or disqualifying convictions, and appeals go to the hearings examiner (§ 5.40.060).
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can an adult bookstore locate in the City of Lacey?
Where are adult arcades and live entertainment centers allowed in Lacey?
What counts as a sensitive land use near an adult business in Lacey?
Can a business get a waiver from the spacing distances in Lacey?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lacey
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