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Town of Mashpee
<br /> May 4, 1998 Annual Town Meeting
<br /> I
<br /> Article 32 l'
<br /> Whereas,there is documented experience in numerous other cities,including:Boston,Massachusetts;
<br /> Seattle and Tacoma,Washington;Detroit,Michigan;Austin,Amarillo,Beaumont,Dallas,and Houston,
<br /> Texas;Indianapolis,Indiana;Los Angeles,California;Phoenix Arizona;Oklahoma City,Oklahoma;and
<br /> Minneapolis and St.Paul,Minnesota showing that adult entertainment uses degrade the quality of life in
<br /> the areas of a community where they are located,with impacts including increased level of crime,blight, ,
<br /> depreciation of property values,and late hours of operation resulting in noise and traffic late into the night.
<br /> The Town of Mashpee has experienced the impact of having an adult entertainment establishment in close I
<br /> proximity to residential uses. This establishment generated 23 reported incidents to the Mashpee Police
<br /> Department between 1995 and February 1998,and;
<br /> Whereas,it is the intention of the Town of Mashpee in the adoption of this Bylaw to rely upon and
<br /> reference the findings of the aforementioned cities in various detailed studies said cities have conducted,in
<br /> addition to the experience of Mashpee's adult entertainment establishment. Said studies empirically
<br /> document the adverse influences and effects of adult entertainment uses on surrounding properties,and;
<br /> Whereas,the Town of Mashpee is predominantly residential in its character and development pattern,being j
<br /> approximately 48%residential land use with another 45%in open space,recreational,and institutional use,
<br /> including schools,with less than 5%of commercial and industrial uses,and;
<br /> Whereas,the Town of Mashpee desires to protect its residential lands from the secondary effects of j
<br /> commercial adult entertainment uses and to ensure and promote the Town's image as a safe,pleasant,and
<br /> attractive place of residence for families with children,to preserve and promote the peace and quiet
<br /> enjoyment of these areas for all persons,and;
<br /> Whereas,it is the desire of the Town of Mashpee to preserve and protect the safety of children and young
<br /> people in the vicinity of schools where they may be expected to walk,congregate and play,and furthermore
<br /> that children and young people not be subjected to confrontation with the existence of adult entertainment
<br /> uses in the vicinity of schools,and;
<br /> Whereas,the Town of Mashpee,as an aid to mitigating the aforementioned impacts of adult entertainment
<br /> uses,desires to physically separate commercial adult entertainment uses from residential and school uses,
<br /> so that residents are not subjected to confrontation with the existence of adult entertainment uses in the
<br /> vicinity of their residences and schools,and;
<br /> i,
<br /> Whereas,adult entertainment uses such as those engaging in the sale,rental or display of sexually explicit
<br /> materials,including books,magazines,periodicals,pictures,photographs,slides,movies,and videos,or
<br /> other adult entertainment uses,such as adult dance clubs or paraphernalia stores,may legitimately be
<br /> controlled by a municipality,either through concentration in certain locations,or separation from other uses
<br /> which will be inordinately impacted by the sale,rental or display of sexually explicit materials,and,
<br /> furthermore,Section 9A of Chapter 40A of the Massachusetts General Laws specifically provides for
<br /> municipal regulation of adult entertainment uses through Special Permits and standards related to location
<br /> and separation of such uses,and;
<br /> Whereas,the Town of Mashpee does not desire to suppress any speech activities protected by the First
<br /> Amendment,but rather to enact a content neutral Bylaw concerned with the secondary effects of adult
<br /> entertainment uses on the surrounding community,especially crime and effects upon children and family
<br /> life,and therefore desires reasonable regulation of the location of adult entertainment uses in order to
<br /> provide for the protection of the image of the community,its property values,and to protect the residents of
<br /> the community from any adverse effects of such adult entertainment land uses,while providing to those
<br /> who desire to patronize adult entertainment land uses such an opportunity in areas within the Town which
<br /> are appropriate for such land uses,and;
<br /> Whereas,it is the intention of the Town of Mashpee in the adoption of a by-law relating to adult
<br /> entertainment uses to rely upon the Supreme Court of the United States in the cases of City of Renton v.
<br /> Playtime Theaters,Inc.,475 US 41,Young v.American Mini-Theaters,427 US 50,and FW/PBS,Inc.v
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