Overview
- The City Council, which referred a four‑ordinance package to staff on Tuesday, opened a formal path to permit and oversee venues where consenting adults may engage in sexual activity.
- The proposals would set a license for adult sex venues, update zoning definitions, revise health code language to remove stigmatizing terms, and add exceptions to indecency rules for licensed sites.
- MPR News reports council leaders plan staff directives this week, with a public hearing and a final vote expected in June.
- Council President Elliott Payne said the framework would follow San Francisco’s safety model, including on‑site condoms and staff training, and Mayor Jacob Frey supports continued exploration.
- Advocates, including the Safer Sex Spaces Coalition, say regulated spaces can bolster HIV prevention and restore LGBTQ+ community venues, reversing restrictions that followed Minneapolis’ 1988 bathhouse ban.