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

Article 44-4.150 regulates adult, sex-oriented business establishments in unincorporated Colusa County under the authority of Government Code Section 65850.4, aiming to prevent the crime, blight, and neighborhood decline the county says these uses have caused elsewhere. Section 44-4.150.030(A) makes it "unlawful to establish any adult business establishment" within 1,000 feet of Interstate 5, or within 2,000 feet of any zone that allows residential uses by right, any house of worship, any public library or public building, any school, pre-school, or child day care center, any park or playground, or any other adult business establishment. Distances are measured in a straight line between property lines, without regard to intervening structures, and an applicant must submit a vicinity map proving compliance before the county will approve the use.

Beyond siting, Section 44-4.150.030(B) forces these businesses closed between 2:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. every day. The remaining standards regulate what passersby can see and hear: signs or displays depicting nudity or sexual activity can't be visible from outside, windows and entries must be screened to block interior views, sound can't carry beyond the exterior walls, dumpsters must stay locked when not in use, and exterior lighting has to meet Section 44-3.30's outdoor lighting standards. Section 44-4.150.040 allows a property owner to seek a waiver of the locational buffers from the Commission after a public hearing, but only on specific findings that the use won't harm nearby properties or encourage further concentration of adult businesses.