West Virginia Code 8-12-5c – Authority to enact ordinance restricting the location of businesses offering exotic entertainment
(a) For the purposes of this section, the term "exotic entertainment" has the same meaning ascribed to it in section three-jj, article one, chapter seven of this code.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 8-12-5c
- Governing body: shall mean the mayor and council together, the council, the board of directors, the commission, or other board or body of any municipality, by whatever name called, as the case may be, charged with the responsibility of enacting ordinances and determining the public policy of such municipality. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
- Ordinance: shall mean the ordinances and laws enacted by the governing body of a municipality in the exercise of its legislative power, and in one or more articles of this chapter, ordinances enacted by a county commission. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
- Person: shall mean any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association, joint-stock association, or any other entity or organization of whatever character or description. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
(b) In the event a municipality has not created or designated a planning commission in accordance with the provisions of article twenty-four of this chapter, every municipality and the governing body of the municipality may, in addition to all other powers of municipalities, adopt an ordinance that limits the areas of the municipality in which businesses may offer exotic entertainment. Any such ordinance shall be subject to the provisions of section fifty, article twenty-four of this chapter: Provided, That in the event of the partial or total loss of any existing business structure due to fire, flood, accident or any other unforeseen act, that business structure may be repaired or replaced and the business use of that structure may continue notwithstanding the existence of any ordinance authorized by this section. Any such repair or replacement will be limited to restoring or replacing the damaged or lost structure with one reasonably similar, or smaller, in size as measured in square footage, and any enlargement of the business structure will subject the structure to any existing ordinance authorized by this section.
(c) Any person adversely affected by an ordinance enacted pursuant to the authority granted in subsection (b) of this section is entitled to seek direct judicial review with regard to whether the ordinance impermissibly burdens his or her right to establish a business offering exotic entertainment.