Seattle regulates adult entertainment under SMC 6.270, requiring premises and manager licenses, four-foot performer-customer separation, no direct tipping, and zoning that confines adult cabarets to specified industrial and commercial zones with buffer distances from residences and schools.
SMC 6.270 governs adult cabarets, adult panorams, and adult arcades. Operators need a premises license from the Department of Finance and Administrative Services and individual manager and entertainer licenses. Performers must remain on a stage at least eighteen inches high and four feet from patrons; tipping is delivered indirectly. Title 23 land-use code limits adult uses to industrial and selected commercial zones, with 800-foot buffers from schools, parks, churches, daycares, and other adult businesses. Background checks and posted signage are mandatory.
Operating without a license, allowing closer-than-four-foot contact, direct tipping, underage entry, or siting an adult cabaret outside permitted zones can trigger license revocation, fines up to $1,000 per day, and misdemeanor charges under Title 23 enforcement.
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