Santa Barbara County, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Article VIII of Chapter 35 (Ord. No. 4306) restricts sexually oriented businesses (SOBs) to the C-3 general commercial, C-S service commercial, and M-1 light industry zones countywide in the unincorporated area; no land use permit can issue for an SOB proposed anywhere else. Section 35-805(b) layers a 500-foot buffer, measured in a straight line from the SOB's nearest exterior wall to the nearest property line, from any public or private school, day care center, public park or recreational facility, church or place of worship, and any residential use or residential zone.

A separate 500-foot buffer applies between two SOBs, measured wall to wall. Two permits are required before opening: a land use permit under Section 35-806, decided by the zoning administrator within 30 days without a public hearing if the application and fees are complete, and a business license under Section 35-807, issued by the sheriff within 20 days if the applicant is 18 or older, the application is truthful, and no SOB license held by the applicant was revoked in the preceding 12 months. The license must be renewed annually with a current list of employee names and addresses.

Section 35-808 sets an escalating suspension schedule for development-standard violations: correction within 72 hours of written notice, a 10-day suspension for a second violation of the same provision, and revocation on a third violation within 12 months, with a one-year bar on obtaining a new SOB license in the county after revocation. An applicant may pay a $500 fine per day in lieu of a suspension.