Union City, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Allowed district
- CC (Community Commercial) only
- Permit required
- Use permit, Planning Commission
- Buffer distance
- 1,000 feet from schools, day cares, churches
- Barred in
- Union Landing (CUL) district
Summary
Union City confines adult businesses to the Community Commercial (CC) zoning district and requires a use permit plus a 1,000-foot buffer from any school, day care, or faith-based facility.
Adult business, only where located at least 1,000 feet away from a school, day care, or faith based facility
X
Arcades, computer gaming, pool rooms/halls
X
Automotive sales—Used vehicles, permitted only in conjunction with new car sales
X
Automobile washing, including the use of mechanical conveyors, blowers and steam cleaners
X
Bars, comedy clubs, nightclubs, and lounges
X X X Body art
X X
Check cashing
X
Church uses with existing buildings built for and previously occupied by a church
X
Convenience markets
X X
Cybercafé
X X
Discount clubs
X
Drive-in/drive-through uses
X X
Entertainment and recreation uses with an occupant load of 50 or more through the Uniform Building Code
X X Farmers markets, when coordinated in conjunction with the City or the Chamber of Commerce
X
Food, fast food/quick service restaurant, stand alone
X X
Guns and/or ammunition sales
X
Health services (including, but not limited to: laboratories, drug treatment clinics, palm reading) X
X
Hospitals, sanitariums and nursing homes X
X
Liquor stores
X X
Lodging (hotel and motel)
X
Lumber or other building materials with outdoor storage or display
X
Massage X X X
Mortuaries, crematoriums and funeral homes
X
Nurseries and garden stores with outdoor storage
X
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4940544; v16 updated 2026-06-23).
Full Breakdown
Adult businesses -- bookstores, theaters, arcades, cabarets, figure modeling studios, and similar sexually oriented uses defined at Municipal Code Section 18.08.016 -- are a conditional use only in the CC (Community Commercial) zoning district under Section 18.36.030, requiring Planning Commission approval of a use permit under Chapter 18.56. The code allows an adult business only where it sits at least 1,000 feet from a school, day care facility, or faith-based facility. Adult businesses are not listed as a permitted or conditional use in the CPA, CN, or CVR commercial districts, in any residential or industrial district, and are separately barred from the Union Landing Commercial (CUL) district under Section 18.39.060.
Violations & Fines
Operating an adult business without the required use permit, outside the CC district, or within 1,000 feet of a school, day care, or church violates the zoning code and can be enforced through code enforcement and permit revocation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can an adult business legally operate in Union City?
Are adult businesses allowed at Union Landing?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Union City
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Adult Entertainment in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle adult entertainment.