Smithtown, NY Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Buffer from residential/institutional uses
- 500 feet minimum
- Buffer from other adult uses
- 500 feet minimum
- Design review
- Board of Site Plan Review
- Theater carve-out
- Adult uses excluded from theater definition
- First-offense fine
- $500 to $5,000
Summary
Smithtown's zoning code pushes adult retail shops and adult entertainment uses at least 500 feet from any residence district, park, playground, school, church or similar public-assembly place, and at least 500 feet from any other adult use, under § 322-30.2.
The building shall be at least 500 feet from any residence district, park, playground, school, church or similar place of public assembly. The building shall be at least 500 feet from any other adult use.
Full Breakdown
2, added 5-30-2000, sets three conditions for an adult retail shop or adult entertainment use. Subsection A requires the building to sit at least 500 feet from any residence district, park, playground, school, church, or similar place of public assembly. Subsection B requires it to sit at least 500 feet from any other adult use, preventing clustering of multiple adult businesses. Subsection C requires the building to match "the same colors, finishes and materials of recently approved site plans in the vicinity as determined by the Board of Site Plan Review," folding adult-use exteriors into the Town's ordinary architectural-compatibility review rather than exempting them.
2 spacing rules by classifying itself as an ordinary movie or stage theater. Combined, the 500-foot residential/institutional buffer and the 500-foot buffer from any other adult use function as a significant siting restriction, since Smithtown's mapped residence districts and schools cover most of the town outside its commercial corridors.
Violations & Fines
An adult retail shop or adult entertainment use sited without meeting the 500-foot buffers of § 322-30.2 is a Chapter 322 zoning violation, enforced under § 322-106.A: $500 to $5,000 for a first conviction, $2,000 to $10,000 for a second within five years, and $4,000 to $15,000 or up to six months in jail for a third, with the Town Attorney also able to seek an injunction under Subsection B.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far must an adult entertainment business be from a school in Smithtown?
Can two adult businesses open next door to each other?
Can an adult entertainment venue register itself as a regular movie theater to avoid these rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Smithtown
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Adult Entertainment in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Suffolk County handle adult entertainment.