§ 10.5-91. Licensing provisions.

(a)

No adult use establishment shall be permitted to operate without having first been granted an adult use license.

(b)

The division of development services is responsible for granting, denying, revoking, renewing, suspending, and cancelling adult use licenses for proposed or existing adult use establishments and for ascertaining whether a suspected adult use establishment is licensed or whether a licensed establishment complies with or is complying with all applicable portions of this division.

(c)

The sheriff's office is responsible for providing information on whether an applicant has been convicted of a specified criminal act during the time period set forth below, inspecting any proposed permitted or nonpermitted establishment in order to ascertain whether it is in compliance with applicable criminal statutes and ordinances, and enforcing applicable criminal statutes and ordinances.

(d)

The Polk County Building Division is responsible for the inspection of licensed premises and premises applying for a license, in order to pass upon the construction and physical configuration of the premises involved as provided in sections 10.5-92 through 10.5-97 and 10.5-108 herein.

(e)

The Polk County Public Health Unit is responsible for the inspection of licensed premises and premises applying for a license, to ascertain compliance with the State of Florida and Polk County health codes and regulations and sections 10.5-107 and 10.5-108 of this division.

(f)

The division of development services is responsible for ascertaining whether an existing or a proposed adult use establishment, for which a license is being applied, complies with all locational requirements of Polk County ordinances, pursuant to section 10.5-109, and if it complies, issuing an approval in the form of a valid adult use permit pursuant to section 10.5-98 of this division.

(g)

Any employee of the departments referenced in subsections (b) through (f) above, who is authorized by the head of that department, shall, at any reasonable hour, when the department has reasonable cause to believe that a violation of this division may exist, have access to and shall have the right to inspect the premises of all licensees under this division for compliance with any or all of the applicable codes, statutes, ordinances, and regulations in effect in Polk County and within the responsibilities of their respective departments as outlined in subsections (b) through (f) above. Such employees shall require strict compliance with the provisions of this division. Reports of violations shall be reported to the division of codes compliance. The division of codes compliance shall either investigate the complaint or refer the complaint to the appropriate county division for investigation.

(Ord. No. 92-25, § 7, 9-1-92; Ord. No. 01-05, § I, 2-13-01)