Sexually oriented business permits.
Cape Coral Code of Ordinances § 12-67
in effect§ 12-67 - Sexually oriented business permits.
(a) Permit required. No sexually oriented business, as defined in this article, shall be allowed to commence or continue to operate without first obtaining a valid sexually oriented business permit. Any person desiring to locate, operate or continue operation of any sexually oriented business shall be required to obtain a permit from the city before the establishment, commencement or continuation of the business. Sexually oriented businesses which have been established or have commenced business at their existing locations prior to the effective date of this article shall be required to obtain a sexually oriented business permit from the city within 90 days from the effective date of this article.
(b) Fee. A fee in the amount of $300 shall be charged for each sexually oriented business use permit application to cover administrative expenses. The fee shall be separate and distinct from business licenses, local business tax receipts or other building licenses or fees.
(c) Permit applications.
(1) Applications for permits to operate sexually oriented businesses shall be submitted to the city, together with the appropriate application fee, by the owner of the business on forms supplied by the Department of Community Development.
(2) All applications for permits to operate sexually oriented businesses shall include the following:
a. If the applicant is an individual, his or her legal name and any and all aliases;
b. If the applicant is a partnership, the full name of all partners whether general or limited, as well as any and all aliases of the partners;
c. If the applicant is a corporation, the official corporate name and state of incorporation, and the names and aliases of all officers, directors and shareholders;
d. The name under which the business will be operated and a general description of the services or goods to be provided. If the applicant intends to conduct the business under a name other than that of the applicant, the establishment's fictitious name and proof that the applicant has complied with the Fictitious Name Law;
e. The telephone number(s) of the business;
f. The address and legal description of the property occupied or proposed to be occupied by the business. If only a portion of the premises is to be used for the sexually oriented business, the applicant shall also submit a sketch or description indicating the portion of the premises that will be used by the business;
g. If the applicant is not the record owner of the subject parcel, the applicant must include a letter, signed by the record owner in the presence of a notary, stating that the applicant is authorized to seek a sexually oriented business permit for the premises;
h. A map showing the location of all of the following existing uses which are within 300 feet of the proposed location: "School: non-profit, private, public or parochial-group i", "child care facility", "places of worship", "religious facility" or "park." The map shall also show the location of all other sexually oriented businesses which are located within 1,500 feet of the proposed location for which the permit is being sought;
i. The application must be accompanied by a plan or diagram which shows the configuration of the premises, including a statement of the total floor space to be occupied by the sexually oriented business in relation to the total floor space of the premises. The plan or diagram must be drawn to a designated scale or drawn with marked dimensions of the interior of the premises to an accuracy of plus or minus six inches;
j. If the applicant's proposed permit is for an existing sexually oriented business, the date of commencement of operation as such use as well as the date(s) of any breaks in operation of longer than 14 days' duration; and
k. Disclosure of any criminal convictions within the previous five years of the owner, manager, clerk or operator, employee, partner, officer or director of the business, or any person who has a financial interest in the business. For purposes of this section, a person shall be deemed to have a "financial interest" in the business if he or she shares in any financial gain attributable to the business on the basis of a percentage in excess of 5% of gross revenues or 10% of net revenue or, for a corporation, if he or she is a shareholder holding more than 5% of the shares thereof.
(3) In addition to the above application information, the applicant shall also submit to having his or her fingerprints taken and allow for a photograph to be taken by the city's Police Department. The fingerprints and photographs shall be attached to and form a part of the application for a permit to operate a sexually oriented business.
(4) Upon receipt of a completed application, the Department of Community Development shall verify the accuracy of the map and plan submitted with the application.
(5) The city's Police Department shall check for any convictions within the previous five years of any owner, manager, operator, partner, officer, director, stockholder or other person with a financial interest in the business, for any of the following crimes or offenses:
a. Sexual battery;
b. Prostitution;
c. Lewdness;
d. Sexual abuse of a child;
e. Incest;
f. Disorderly conduct ordinances;
g. Indecent behavior;
h. Previous violations of this article; and
i. An offense under an analogous statute of a state other than Florida, or under an analogous ordinance of any county or municipality.
(6) If the city determines that the applicant has not properly and/or fully completed the application for a sexually oriented business permit, then the city shall promptly notify the applicant of the fact and shall allow the applicant ten days to properly and fully complete the application. If the applicant then fails to properly and fully complete the application within the ten day time period, then the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn by the applicant. The time period for granting or denying a permit shall be stayed during the period allowed to properly and fully complete the application.
(7) The applicant shall be responsible for keeping the information provided to the city on the application current. Any change in any of the information contained on the application shall be reported by the applicant in writing to the city within three business days.
(d) Issuance of permit.
(1) All permit applications shall be acted upon by the city within 30 days from the date of filing of a properly completed application. Upon the expiration of the thirty-first day, the applicant may be permitted to begin operation of the establishment for which a permit is sought unless and until the city notifies the applicant of a denial of the application and states the reasons for that denial.
(2) The city shall grant the application unless one or more of the criteria set forth in subsection (e) below is present. The permit, if granted, shall state on its face the name of the person or persons to who it is granted, the expiration date, and the address of the sexually oriented business. The permit shall be posted in a conspicuous place at or near the entrance of the sexually oriented business so that it is easily read at all times.
(e) Denial of application for permit.
(1) The city shall deny the application for any one or more of the following reasons:
a. The application contains material false information;
b. The applicant has had a permit under this article which has been suspended or revoked;
c. The granting of the application would violate a statute, ordinance or court order;
d. The proposed use does not conform to the distance and zoning location requirements of this article;
e. The applicant, or any owner, manager, operator, partner, officer, director, stockholder or other person with a financial interest in the business has been convicted of one or more of the offenses listed in § 12-67(c)(5) for which:
1. Less than two years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement imposed for the conviction, whichever is the later date, if the conviction is for a misdemeanor offense;
2. Less than five years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement for conviction, whichever is the later date, if the conviction is for a felony offense; or
3. Less than five years have elapsed since the date of the last conviction or the date of release from confinement for the last conviction, whichever is the later date if the convictions are for two or more misdemeanor offenses or combination of misdemeanor offenses occurring within any 24 month period. The fact that a conviction is being appealed shall have no effect on the disqualification of the applicant. An applicant who has been convicted of a specified criminal act may qualify for a sexually oriented business permit only when the time period required by this subsection has elapsed.
(2) If the city denies the application, the applicant shall be notified, in writing, of the denial. The reason(s) for the denial shall be stated in the written notification.
(3) If a person applies for a permit at a particular location within a period of nine months from the date of denial of a previous application for a permit at the location, and there has not been any intervening change in the circumstances which would lead to a different decision regarding the previous reason(s) for denial, the application shall be rejected.
(f) Transfer of permit.
(1) A sexually oriented business permit is not transferable to another person by surrendering possession, control or operation of the permitted establishment. A sexually oriented business permit may be transferred to another person only upon satisfaction of the following requirements:
a. A permit transfer is applied for to the Department of Community Development by filing an application which includes the information required for an original application, and the application has been approved by the city;
b. The applicant presents satisfactory proof that control of the establishment has been or will be transferred through a bona fide sale, rental or other transaction; and
c. A transfer fee of 10% of the annual permit fee is paid.
(2) No permit may be transferred pursuant to this section when the Department of Community Development has notified the permittee that suspension or revocation proceedings have been or will be brought against the permittee.
(3) A permittee shall not transfer his or her permit to another location.
(4) Any attempted transfer of a permit either directly or indirectly in violation of this section is hereby declared void and shall be grounds for revocation of the permit by the city.
(g) Suspension.
(1) In the event the city learns or finds upon sufficient cause that a permitted sexually oriented business establishment is operating in violation of a building, fire, health or zoning statute, code, ordinance or regulation, whether federal, state or local, the city shall promptly notify the permittee of the violation and allow the permittee a seven day period in which to correct the violation. If the permittee fails to correct the violation before the expiration of the seven day period, the city shall notify the Police Department, who shall forthwith suspend the permit and shall notify the permittee of the suspension. The suspension shall remain in effect until the Department of Community Development notifies the Police Department in writing that the violation of the provision in question has been corrected.
(2) In the event the city learns or finds upon sufficient evidence that a permittee engaged in a permit transfer contrary to the provisions of this ordinance, the Police Chief shall forthwith suspend the permit and notify the permittee of the suspension. The suspension shall remain in effect until the city is satisfied that the requirements of this article concerning permit transfer have been satisfied.
(h) Revocation.
(1) The city shall revoke a permit upon determining that:
a. A permittee submitted false or misleading information in the permit application process;
b. A permittee or an employee has knowingly allowed possession, use or sale of controlled substances by an employee or patron on the premises, which possession, use or sale has resulted in a conviction;
c. A permittee or an employee has knowingly allowed an employee or patron to engage in prostitution on the premises, which prostitution has resulted in a conviction;
d. A permittee or an employee knowingly operated the sexually oriented business during a period of time when the permittee's permit was suspended;
e. A permittee has been convicted of one of the offenses or crimes listed in § 12-67(c)(5) and the time period required in § 12-67(h) has not elapsed;
f. On two or more occasions within a 12 month period, a person or persons, while employed by the sexually oriented business, committed an offense listed in § 12-67 in or on the permitted premises and has been convicted of same;
g. A permittee has attempted to transfer the permit in violation of the terms of this ordinance when he or she knows or reasonably should know that the transfer is in violation of this article;
h. A permittee has failed to comply with any provision of this article; or
i. A violation which is cause for a suspension of the permit occurs within 12 months from the date of a prior suspension of the permit, regardless of whether the prior suspension was for the same violation.
(2) The fact that a conviction is being appealed shall have no effect on the revocation of the permit. However, if a conviction is overturned as a result of the appeal, then the sexually oriented business permit shall be reinstated.
(3) When the city revokes a permit, the revocation shall continue for one year; and the permittee shall not be issued a sexually oriented business permit for one year from the date the revocation became effective. If the permit was revoked under subsection (h)(2)e. of this section, an applicant may not be granted another permit until the number of years required under § 12-67(h) has elapsed.
(Ord. 169-06, 12-11-2006)
Source: City of Cape Coral, Florida, Code of Ordinances, City Charter and Land Development Code (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/fl/cape_coral/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH12OFMIPR_ARTVISEORBU_S12-67SEORBUPEFetched: 11/4/2026