Redding, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required
- use permit, Chapter 18.14
- Hours restriction
- closed 2 a.m. to 7 a.m.
- Spacing from other adult business
- 1,000 feet
- Spacing from schools/parks/churches
- 600 feet
- Spacing from residential property
- 400 feet
- Sidewalk setback
- 35 feet
Summary
Redding requires a discretionary use permit for any adult entertainment business and bans operation between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. under Section 18.43.030. Spacing rules keep these businesses 1,000 feet from each other, 600 feet from schools, parks and churches, and 400 feet from residential property.
B.Applicability. Where allowed by Division III, Base District Regulations of this title, adult entertainment businesses are subject to the approval of a use permit in compliance with Chapter 18.14 (Use Permits) of this title.C.Standards. Adult entertainment businesses shall be located, developed, and operated in compliance with the following standards:1.Employees Required. It is the duty of the owners to ensure that at least one employee is on duty at all times that any patron is present inside the premises.2.Hours of Operation. The adult entertainment business shall not operate or be open between the hours of two a.m. and seven a.m. G.Separation/Measurement. It is unlawful to cause or allow the establishment of an adult arcade, adult bookstore, adult cabaret, adult motel, adult motion picture theater, adult theater, massage parlor or sexual encounter establishment within:1.One thousand feet of another similar business;2.Six hundred feet of any religious institution, school, or public park;3.Four hundred feet of any property designated for residential use or used for residential purposes;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 48).
Full Breakdown
030 sets Redding's zoning controls on adult entertainment businesses, which the city finds have objectionable operational characteristics that worsen when several cluster together. 14. m. 090. Subsection G sets the separation requirements: an adult arcade, bookstore, cabaret, motel, motion picture theater, theater, massage parlor or sexual encounter establishment cannot be located within one thousand feet of another such business, six hundred feet of a religious institution, school or public park, or four hundred feet of any residentially designated or used property, measured in a straight line between the closest structural walls or property lines.
The building itself must sit at least thirty-five feet back from any public sidewalk, and no sign on the premises may depict specified anatomical areas or sexual activities. Businesses offering live entertainment involving specified sexual activities must use a stage at least eighteen inches high, keep patrons six feet from the stage, and provide entertainers a separate dressing room and access route protected by a permanent barrier at least thirty inches high. Anyone under eighteen, or an obviously intoxicated person, may not enter or remain on the premises, a misdemeanor the business must post notice of at every entrance.
Violations & Fines
Operating an adult entertainment business without the required Chapter 18.14 use permit, outside the permitted 7 a.m.-to-2 a.m. hours, or inside the 1,000/600/400-foot separation buffers of Section 18.43.030(G) is a zoning violation the city can pursue through use-permit revocation and its general nuisance and infraction penalties. Allowing a minor or an obviously intoxicated person on the premises is separately charged as a misdemeanor under subsection K.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an adult business need a special permit to open in Redding?
How far must an adult business be from a school or park in Redding?
What hours can an adult entertainment business operate in Redding?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Redding
California rules heatmap·Compare Redding to another location·View the California business licensing & operations overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.