Madera, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Allowed zones
- C-2 Heavy Commercial and I Industrial only
- Business-to-business buffer
- 1,000 feet
- Buffer from residential/park/church/school
- 1,000 feet
- Distance measured
- Radius from primary entrance
- Nonconforming use phase-out
- 5 years, extension possible
Summary
Madera confines adult-oriented businesses to its C-2 Heavy Commercial and I Industrial zones and requires a 1,000-foot buffer from any other adult business, residential zone, park, church or school.
No adult-oriented business shall be established or located in any zone in the city other than the C-2, Heavy Commercial Zone, or the I, Industrial Zone, or within 1,000 feet of certain specified land uses or zones as set forth below: (A) No such business shall be established or located within 1,000 feet of any other adult-oriented business. (B) No such business shall be established or located within 1,000 feet of any existing residential zone or use, park, church or school. (C) The distances set forth above shall be measured as a radius from the primary entrance of the adult-oriented business to the property lines of the property so zoned or used without regard to intervening structures.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2024 S-50: Current through Ordinance 1010 C.S., passed 6-5-24).
Full Breakdown
03, Minimum proximity requirements, states the city's purpose directly: no adult-oriented business may be established or located in any zone other than the C-2, Heavy Commercial Zone, or the I, Industrial Zone, or within 1,000 feet of certain specified land uses or zones. 01 identifies as driving crime, transient activity, and neighborhood deterioration. Subsection (B) adds a use-based buffer, barring location within 1,000 feet of any existing residential zone or use, park, church, or school. Subsection (C) fixes how that distance is measured: as a radius from the primary entrance of the adult-oriented business to the property lines of the property so zoned or used, without regard to any intervening structures, so a building or fence between the two sites does not shorten the required distance. 05 following an application filed 90 to 180 days before the termination deadline.
Violations & Fines
An adult-oriented business operating outside the C-2 or I zones, or within the 1,000-foot buffer from another adult business, a residential zone, a park, a church or a school, is not a permitted use and is subject to the permit denial, suspension and revocation procedures set out later in this chapter for adult-oriented business use permits and performer permits. A nonconforming use that misses its five-year amortization deadline without an approved extension under § 10-7.05 must terminate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can an adult-oriented business legally operate in Madera?
How close can two adult businesses be to each other in Madera?
What happens to an adult business that no longer meets Madera's spacing rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Madera
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