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Martin County, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Significant Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Residential buffer
1,000 feet from RE/RS/RM/MH/COR districts
Other adult business buffer
1,000 feet
Church/school buffer
1,000 feet (lifts if under 6 months old)
Landscape buffer
5-ft strip, 1 tree per 50 ft
Perimeter screening
4-8 ft opaque fence, wall or hedge
Enforcing agency
Growth Management Department / code enforcement

Summary

LDR Section 3.53 bars an adult business from opening within 1,000 feet of any residential zoning district, another adult business, or a church or school, measured in a straight line between the nearest building points. The rule also locks adult materials and signage inside the premises, out of street view.

These county ordinances apply to unincorporated areas of Martin County. Incorporated cities within the county may have their own rules that take precedence over county-level regulations.

3.53.C.Distance requirements. The following distances shall be measured by straight line measurement without regard to intervening buildings from the nearest point of the building or unit within a building in which the proposed adult business is to be located to the nearest point of the lot, use, street or district from which the proposed adult business is to be separated.1.No adult business shall commence operation within one thousand (1,000) feet of any RE, RS, RM, MH, COR or Category "B" zoning district, as shown on the Zoning Atlas, or any Rural Density, Estate Density, Low Density, Medium Density, High Density, Mobile Home Density or Commercial Office/Residential Future Land Use designation boundary, as shown on the Future Land Use Map of the CGMP.2.No adult business shall commence operation within 1,000 feet of any other adult business.3.No adult business shall commence operation within 1,000 feet of a church or school. This distance requirement shall not apply in cases where a church or school has been established at a particular location for less than six months.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 62 | Land Development Regulations: Supplement 62).

Full Breakdown

A defines 'adult business' broadly to cover adult arcades, adult bookstores, adult dancing establishments and adult motion picture theaters, plus any establishment whose employees display specified anatomical areas for consideration. C sets three separate 1,000-foot buffers, each measured by straight-line distance from the nearest point of the building housing the adult business to the nearest point of the protected use, without regard to intervening buildings: no adult business may open within 1,000 feet of any RE, RS, RM, MH, COR or Category B residential zoning district, or of a Rural, Estate, Low, Medium or High Density future land use boundary; none may open within 1,000 feet of another adult business; and none may open within 1,000 feet of a church or school, though that buffer lifts if the church or school itself has been at that location less than six months.

B layers on operating rules: all adult materials and any exposure of specified anatomical areas must stay inside the enclosed premises and out of view from doors or windows, no merchandise or signage depicting specified anatomical areas or sexual activity may be displayed where visible from a street, and the site needs a five-foot landscaped buffer with one tree per 50 feet along the street plus a four-to-eight-foot opaque fence, wall or hedge along adjoining private property. D separately makes it unlawful for an employee or patron to engage in specified sexual activities on or adjacent to the premises, or for an employee to touch a patron while exposing specified anatomical areas.

Violations & Fines

Operating an adult business inside any of the three 1,000-foot buffers, or violating the premises, signage or landscaping standards, is a zoning code violation enforced by Growth Management and code enforcement, which can deny or revoke the required occupational license and refer repeat or ongoing violations to the code enforcement special magistrate for fines. The conduct prohibitions in Section 3.53.D against on-premises sexual activity are separately enforceable regardless of the distance buffers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far must an adult business be from a school in Martin County?
LDR Section 3.53.C.3 requires 1,000 feet between an adult business and a church or school, measured in a straight line between the nearest building points. That buffer does not apply if the church or school has existed at its location for less than six months when the adult business seeks to open.
Can two adult businesses operate near each other in Martin County?
No. Section 3.53.C.2 requires 1,000 feet of separation between any two adult businesses, measured the same straight-line way as the residential and school buffers, regardless of what zoning district either business sits in.
What can be visible from the street at an adult business?
Under Section 3.53.B, nothing. Adult materials, exposure of specified anatomical areas, merchandise and signage depicting anatomical areas or sexual activity all have to stay inside the enclosed premises, out of view of doors, unobscured windows, or the street.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Martin County

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