This page provides an overview of city and county adult entertainment regulations in Washington State, including relevant court decisions and examples of ordinances and supporting studies. Regulations must be carefully considered in light of federal and state constitutional guarantees regarding freedom of expression. Even though adult entertainment regulations may seem complicated to implement, local governments are well-advised to put them in place before adult entertainment proprietors set up in their communities, rather than playing catch-up once they are already established.
Regulations imposed on adult businesses have been challenged in the courts over many years. The result of these challenges is a body of court decisions that conclude that local governments may impose reasonable time, place, and manner regulations on sexually-oriented establishments as long as a substantial public interest in regulating their use is demonstrated in a way that does not suppress speech , and if reasonable alternatives are provided for use. Local governments cannot impose regulations that ban adult uses outright, prohibit sexually explicit messages, require excessive locational requirements, or allow excessive administrative discretion in the business license or special use permit process.
However, location and licensing restrictions may be imposed on adult entertainment businesses since the courts recognize that communities may want to protect themselves against the "secondary effects" of such establishments. Washington cities and counties have enacted a variety of regulatory approaches for adult entertainment businesses.
The primary focus has been on zoning and licensing regulations. These regulations help facilitate enforcement of legitimate location and distance requirements and help law enforcement monitor potential criminal activity. The issuance of adult business licenses is generally contingent on compliance with regulations regarding interior illumination, floor plan, distance between performers and patrons, physical contact between employees and patrons, stage height, door height, sight lines, and so forth.
According to the courts, licensing requirements must establish clear guidelines and standards which limit the discretion of the licensing official, and must expressly limit the time a locality has to act on license applications. As a condition of receiving or renewing an adult entertainer license from a local government, RCW That law also requires adult entertainment establishments to take further actions such as installing panic buttons and keeping records of acts of violence or harassment against entertainers.
