Tonawanda, NY Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

The Town Board's adult-use standards at § 215-24.5 were adopted after finding that such establishments carry documented impacts on residential neighborhoods and business districts, including decreased property values, traffic and parking pressure, and neighborhood deterioration, while the section also states it does not intend to restrict constitutionally protected speech. To manage those secondary effects rather than the content itself, every adult use in the Town of Tonawanda must operate inside an enclosed building, must be arranged so nothing depicting specified sexual activity or anatomy can be observed from outside the building including through signage or windows, and may not use loudspeakers or sound equipment audible to the public.

The use is permitted only on lots of two acres or more and cannot be established within 500 feet of a church, synagogue or regular place of worship; a public or private elementary or secondary school; a child-care institution or day-care center; a residence or the boundary of any residential zoning district; a public park, playground, playing field, or government facility; River Road or the coastal area under the Town's Local Waterfront Revitalization Program; or a municipal boundary. No adult use may locate within 1,000 feet of another adult use, with distances measured in a straight line from building to building, or from the nearest property line between two adult-use parcels.

Before opening, the owner or agent controlling the premises must register the address, ownership and business information, and the nature of the use with the Town Clerk, display that registration on-site, and pass an inspection covering New York State Health Department, Fire Department, and Code Enforcement Office requirements.