Monterey County, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Buffer distance
- 1,000 ft from residential districts, schools
- Facility-to-facility buffer
- 1,000 feet apart
- Permitted zoning
- Commercial districts only
- Permit required
- Coastal Development Permit, case-by-case
- Display rule
- No exterior-visible display of covered material
Summary
Monterey County bars adult entertainment facilities within 1,000 feet of any residential zoning district, school, church, park or recreation facility used by minors, or another adult entertainment facility, and allows them only in commercial districts after obtaining a discretionary Coastal Development Permit.
No persons, whether as principal, agent, employee or independent contractor, either for himself or for any other person, or as an officer of any corporation or member of any partnership, or otherwise, shall place, maintain, own, or operate any adult entertainment facility in the following locations:a.Within one thousand (1,000) feet of any "HDR," "MDR," "LDR" or "RDR" district;b.Within one thousand (1,000) feet of any parcel of real property upon which is located any of the following:i.A public or private school attended primarily by minors;ii.A church;iii.A public work or recreation facility which is available for use by minors.c.Within one thousand (1,000) feet of any other adult entertainment facility.2.An adult entertainment facility shall only be permitted in commercial zoned districts upon first obtaining a Coastal Development Permit in each case.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 56).
Full Breakdown
200(C)(3). Subsection (D)(1) bars anyone, whether acting as principal, agent, employee, independent contractor, corporate officer or partner, from placing, maintaining, owning or operating an adult entertainment facility within 1,000 feet of any High, Medium, Low or Rural Density Residential district; within 1,000 feet of a public or private school attended primarily by minors, a church, or a public recreation facility available to minors; or within 1,000 feet of any other adult entertainment facility. Subsection (D)(2) confines any facility that clears those buffers to commercial-zoned districts and requires it to first obtain a Coastal Development Permit in each case, the county's discretionary, hearing-based review track rather than a ministerial permit.
200(C)(1)-(2), in a way that exposes it to view from outside the building. 200(A) tie the 1,000-foot buffers to preventing concentration of these uses and shielding minors from exposure, while stating the regulation is meant to operate consistent with First Amendment limits on content-based restriction.
Violations & Fines
Operating, owning or maintaining an adult entertainment facility within 1,000 feet of a residential district, school, church, minors' recreation facility or another adult entertainment facility violates §20.64.200(D)(1); operating one in a commercial district without first securing a Coastal Development Permit violates §20.64.200(D)(2); and exhibiting covered material visible from outside the building violates §20.64.200(E).
Frequently Asked Questions
How far must an adult entertainment facility be from a school in Monterey County?
Can two adult entertainment facilities operate near each other?
What permit does an adult entertainment facility need even outside the buffer zones?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Monterey County
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