Passaic, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Buffer distance
- 1,000 feet from other regulated use, church, school, or residential zone
- Approval required
- Planning Board conditional use approval
- Minor age limit
- Under 18 barred from premises at all times
- Max fine
- $500 per day of violation
- Max jail term
- 90 days
- Adopted
- March 16, 1995, Ord. No. 1324-95
- Governing chapter
- Code of the City of Passaic Ch. 70
Summary
Passaic Code Chapter 70 tightly controls adult bookstores and adult motion-picture theaters: every regulated use needs Planning Board conditional-use approval and must sit at least 1,000 feet from any other regulated use, church, school, or residentially zoned area. Minors are barred from the premises entirely, and violators face jail and daily fines.
§ 70-3. Restrictions and regulations. The following restrictions and regulations shall apply to all uses regulated herein: A. No regulated use may be located within 1,000 feet of any other regulated use or within 1,000 feet of a church or other religious institution or a public or private school. No regulated use may be located within 1,000 feet of any residentially zoned area. All distances shall be measured along a straight line from the nearest boundary line on the lot on which the proposed regulated use is to be located to the nearest point on a property boundary line on which is located any other regulated use, church or other religious institution, public or private school or residential zone. C. No owner shall permit any minor under the age of 18 years of age to be on the premises at any time. § 70-4. Conditional use approval required. All adult bookstores, adult motion-picture theaters and adult mini-motion-picture theaters shall be subject to conditional use approval by the Planning Board.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4978046; v41 updated 2026-07-01; through 07-01-2026).
Full Breakdown
City Code § 70-1 singles out three trades for "strict control and regulation": adult bookstores, adult motion-picture theaters, and adult mini-motion-picture theaters (under-50-seat venues), finding they carry "serious objectionable characteristics" that can blight surrounding neighborhoods. Section 70-2 defines an adult bookstore as an establishment excluding minors whose stock-in-trade or a distinct section is substantially devoted to material emphasizing "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas," with theaters split by seating capacity (under 50 vs. 50 or more). The operative spacing rule, § 70-3A, bars any regulated use from locating within 1,000 feet of any other regulated use, a church or other religious institution, a public or private school, or any residentially zoned area, with distance measured in a straight line between the nearest lot boundary lines.
Section 70-3B forbids an owner from knowingly allowing anyone convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude to hold an ownership or management role or work on the premises, and § 70-3C flatly bars anyone under 18 from being on the premises at any time, there is no exception for accompanied minors. Section 70-4 requires every adult bookstore, adult motion-picture theater, and adult mini-motion-picture theater to obtain conditional use approval from the Planning Board before opening, layering land-use review on top of the spacing floor. The chapter was adopted 3-16-1995 by Ord.
No. 1324-95 and cross-references Chapter 129 (Entertainment) and Chapter 317 (Zoning), meaning a proposed site must also clear the zoning ordinance's use-district rules in addition to Chapter 70's citywide buffers.
Violations & Fines
Section 70-5 makes every violation punishable, per owner, general agent, contractor, lessee, tenant, architect or builder who "commits, takes part or assists" in the violation, by up to 90 days in jail or a fine of up to $500, or both. Each day a violation continues is a separate offense, and the violator must also pay the city's costs of determining the violation, on top of any other remedy available to the city or Council.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far must an adult bookstore be from a school in Passaic?
Can a minor enter an adult bookstore in Passaic if accompanied by a parent?
Does Passaic require a special permit for an adult entertainment business beyond zoning?
What happens if someone with a moral-turpitude conviction tries to manage an adult business in Passaic?
What is the penalty for violating Passaic's adult entertainment chapter?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Passaic
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Adult Entertainment in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Passaic County handle adult entertainment.