Laguna Niguel, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Division 5 of Title 5, adopted by Ordinance No. 98-100 on March 17, 1998, regulates adult arcades, adult bookstores, adult cabarets, adult hotels/motels, adult motion picture theaters, adult theaters and modeling studios as defined in Section 5-5-2. Section 5-5-3(a) makes it unlawful to operate an adult-oriented business in the city without an adult-oriented business regulatory permit, and subsection (b) separately requires performers in live specified-sexual-activity shows to hold an adult-oriented business performer permit. Applications go to the police chief under Section 5-5-11 with a nonrefundable filing fee.

Section 5-5-12(h) requires a certificate and straight-line drawing, prepared within 30 days of application, showing the property lines of any other adult-oriented business within 1,000 feet of the primary entrance, any church, school or park within 1,000 feet, and any residential zone or use within 500 feet. Under Section 5-5-13, the police chief and community development department investigate within 60 days and the planning commission holds a public hearing before granting a permit, which requires meeting the locational criteria of Section 9-1-703 and the development and performance standards of Section 5-5-21, including hours limited to 8:00 a.m. to midnight, opaque window coverings, sound insulation and a posted notice barring anyone under 18.

Section 5-5-14 requires denial if an applicant was convicted within the past three years of specified state penal code offenses. Permits expire annually under Section 5-5-15 and are nontransferable under Section 5-5-16 absent police chief approval. Denials, suspensions and revocations may be appealed to the city council under Section 5-5-20.