Tustin, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Tustin City Code § 3912 confines sexually oriented businesses to five zoning districts, PCMU, PC-C, PCC, M and PC-IND, and layers a 500-foot buffer on top of that zoning limit: no one may establish a sexually oriented business within 500 feet of a religious institution, school, boys' or girls' club or other youth organization, public park, public building, residential district or use, or an existing sexually oriented business. Distances are measured under Section 3913 in a straight line between the closest exterior walls of the two uses, calculated at the time the sexually oriented business applies for its permit.

A business that was lawfully operating before the February 17, 1998 effective date of Ordinance No. 1204 and only conflicts with the newer spacing rule because of a later-arriving sensitive use can continue as a legal nonconforming use under Section 3914, generally for one year with a possible one-year extension for extreme financial hardship. Section 3916 requires a City sexually oriented business permit before anyone opens, and assigns the Community Development Director to review locational and zoning compliance while the Tustin Police Department checks the applicant's criminal history for specified sexual or drug offenses.

The permit application must be notarized, list every owner with a ten percent or greater interest, and include a licensed surveyor's certification of the distances to any sensitive use within 500 feet. Section 3915 sets the penalty for operating in violation of the chapter at a misdemeanor, with the City able to seek an injunction and attorney's fees on top of the criminal case.