§ 8-63. Findings; purpose.

(a)

Based on the experiences of other counties and municipalities, including, but not limited to, Houston, Texas, which experiences are found to be relevant to the problems faced by the city, and based on documentary evidence and oral testimony presented by law enforcement personnel during the City Council's public hearing and regular meeting on March 4, 2002, unlawful sexual activities including, but not limited to, masturbation and oral and anal sex do occur at video stores which provide private or semi-private booths or cubicles for viewing files or videos depicting nudity, and for sexually transmitted diseases to spread as a result of the unhealthy conditions and unlawful activities associated with such booths, and the City Council further notes that persons frequent such video viewing booths for the purpose of engaging in sexual activities within such video viewing booths, and bodily fluids, including semen, urine and feces are found in such video viewing booths.

(b)

The City Council finds that removal of doors on such video viewing booths and prohibiting holes between such booths advances a substantial governmental interest in curbing the illegal and unsanitary sexual activity occurring in such booths. The City Council therefore finds that it is in the best interest of the health, safety and welfare of the community to require that doors or other partitions on video viewing booths in video stores be removed and that no holes be allowed to exist between adjoining booths. The City Council finds that these regulations promote the public welfare by furthering legitimate public and governmental interests, including, but not limited to, reducing unlawful sexual activities and unhealthy conditions in video viewing booths found in video stores. The City Council further finds that these regulations will not infringe upon the protected Constitutional rights of freedom of speech or expression.

(Ord. No. 03-2002(B), 3-4-2002)