OXNARD : New Fees Imposed on Adult Businesses
Oxnard merchants planning to dabble in the adult business trade will have to pay a $153 fee merely to apply for a license to operate within the city limits.
The City Council last week approved a fee schedule for adult businesses as a follow-up to an ordinance adopted earlier this year that establishes an application fee for adult- or sexually oriented business and imposes a $323 annual business license fee.
“That’s not out of line with other cities,” said attorney David Brown of Beverly Hills, who represents the owners of Oxnard’s two adult-oriented bookstores, Mr. K’s Bookstore in south Oxnard and Oxnard Book & Video in the city’s northeast section.
“If they were to levy a fee on every employee, like they’re doing on some businesses, we would object to that,” he said.
Other bookstores in Oxnard pay a business license fee based on gross sales.
The Oxnard council in August approved a law limiting adult businesses to industrial areas within the city after some residents complained about having the stores in their neighborhoods.
The fee schedule adopted Tuesday also requires employees of nude modeling studios, escort agencies, massage parlors and “sexual encounter establishments” to obtain a special license from the city.
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