Skowhegan, ME Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit
- Required before establishing an Adult Entertainment Business
- Spacing
- 750 feet from church, school, library, and children's parks or facilities
- Hearing notice
- Published no earlier than 20 and no later than 10 days before
- License term
- No more than one year
- Fee
- Set by the Board of Selectmen
- Civil forfeiture
- Not to exceed $500.00; each day a separate offense
Summary
In the Town of Skowhegan, Maine, no one can establish an adult entertainment business without first obtaining a Town permit, and none can locate within 750 feet of a church, school, library, or a public park, athletic field or recreational facility where children are the primary users. The Board of Selectmen decides after a public hearing, and licenses run no more than one year.
a) No person shall cause or permit the establishment of any Adult Entertainment Businesses, as defined, within seven hundred and fifty feet of any church, public or private school, library, or any municipally owned or state-owned park, athletic field or recreational facility that is open to the public where children are the primary users. ... Applications for a permit to operate an Adult Entertainment Business shall be available at the Town Clerk’s Office ... d) Upon receipt of such application and any necessary supplementary information, the Board of Selectmen shall set a date for a public hearing in regard to the granting of such a license, and a notice of such public hearing shall be published no earlier than twenty (20) days and no later than ten (10) days before the date of such public hearing. Adult Entertainment Licenses issued pursuant to this Ordinance shall be for a term of no more than one year. The fee for an Adult Entertainment Business license shall be set by the Board of Selectmen.
Full Breakdown
The Obscenity and Adult Entertainment Ordinance was adopted at Town Meeting on June 10, 2019. Section II says persons or entities wishing to establish an Adult Entertainment Business in the Town of Skowhegan must first obtain a permit from the town and are subject to the ordinance. Section III states that the ordinance aims to prevent the deleterious location and concentration of adult entertainment businesses, and that it has neither the purpose nor effect of limiting the content of communicative materials, including sexually oriented materials.
Section XI defines an Adult Entertainment Business to include an adult book store, an adult motion picture theater, an adult motion picture arcade, and a massage establishment.
Spacing is in Section 4.1. No person can cause or permit the establishment of one within 750 feet of any church, public or private school, library, or any municipally owned or state-owned park, athletic field or recreational facility that is open to the public where children are the primary users. Measurements run in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the nearest portion of the building or structure used as part of the premises to the nearest property line of a church, school or library, or to the nearest boundary of a park, athletic field or recreational facility.
Section 4.2 sends applicants to the Town Clerk's Office. The application asks for the applicant's name, address and telephone number, the name and address of whoever will operate the business, and any other information the Board of Selectmen requests. After receiving it, the Board sets a public hearing, with notice published no earlier than twenty days and no later than ten days before the hearing. Licenses run for a term of no more than one year, and the fee is set by the Board of Selectmen. Section VI requires the licensee or the person in charge to admit any authorized law enforcement officer, official or employee of the town for an inspection at any reasonable time.
Violations & Fines
The Skowhegan Police Department enforces the ordinance under Section VII. Under Section 8.2, a person who violates it commits a civil violation with a forfeiture not to exceed $500.00, and each day of a violation is a separate offense. The Board of Selectmen can suspend or revoke the permit after notice to the licensee and a hearing. The separate obscenity offenses in Section 8.1 carry fines of $1,000.00, $1,500.00 and $2,000.00 for a first, second, and third or subsequent offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far must an adult business be from a school in Skowhegan?
Where do I apply for an adult entertainment permit in Skowhegan?
What is the penalty for violating the adult entertainment rules?
Does the ordinance restrict what adult materials a business can sell?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Skowhegan
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