HomeMy Public PortalAbout16) 10A Moratorium on Massage EstablishmentsCity Council
February 3, 2015
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ordinance for 10 months and 15 days and subsequently extend the interim ordinance
for one year. Any extension shall also require a four-fifths vote for adoption. Not
more than two extensions may be adopted.
To ensure that no new massage establishments are approved that may be inconsistent
with the new regulations, staff recommends that the City Council adopt an urgency
ordinance pursuant to this provision. As noted above, such an ordinance would be
effective for 45 days, after which the City Council would be required to hold a public
hearing to further extend the moratorium for up to an additional 10 months and 15 days,
for a total period of one year. The City Council would have the option to further extend
the ordinance, however one year should be adequate for staff to prepare massage
establishment regulations for Planning Commission and City Council consideration. As
noted in the attached urgency ordinance, staff believes that the proposed moratorium is
necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.
As described in the recommended ordinance, a massage establishment for purposes of
this ordinance includes establishments where massage is a primary use or an accessory
use. Massage includes acupressure and reflexology. The recommended ordinance does
not preclude the continued operation of lawfully existing massage establishments.
CONCLUSION:
Given changes in State law, the Temple City Municipal Code needs to be updated to
provide adequate regulations for massage establishments. While new regulations are
being contemplated, it is necessary and appropriate to adopt a moratorium on new
massage establishments to protect the public health, safety, and welfare. A moratorium
will ensure that new massage establishments will comply with new regulations.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Adopting the proposed urgency ordinance would not in and of itself have any impact on
the Fiscal Year 2014-15 City Budget. Staff will work with the City Attorney's Office to
prepare regulations for massage establishments, which will incur costs for the City
Attorney's time and indirect costs in the form of staff time and resources. However, these
costs would be incurred even without the moratorium.
ATTACHMENT:
A. Urgency Ordinance No. 15-999
ATTACHMENT A.
URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 15-999
AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF TEMPLE CITY, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING A CITYWIDE 45-DAY
MORATORIUM ON THE ISSUANCE OF ANY NEW PERMIT,
LICENSE, APPROVAL, OR ENTITLEMENT PERTAINING TO NEW
MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENTS.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMPLE CITY HEREBY ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Findings.
A The City of Temple City ("City") has adopted a General Plan to ensure a well-planned and safe
community; and
B. Protection of public health, safety and welfare is fully articulated in the General Plan; and
C. State law requires that the City's zoning ordinance, found at Title 9, Chapter 1 of the Temple
City Municipal Code ("TCMC"), to conform with the General Plan's goals and policies; and
D. In 2008, Senate Bill 731 ("SB 731 ")was adopted by the Legislature and signed into law by the
Governor; it became effective on January 1, 2009 and sunset on January 1, 2015. SB 731,
which enacted Section 4600 et seq. of the Business and Professions Code, preempted many
local controls relating to massage therapy. Significantly, the law shifted local regulation of
massage therapists and practitioners to a newly created entity known as the California Massage
Therapy Council ("CAMTC," formerly the Massage Therapy Organization). Certificates issued
by the CAMTC to qualified applicants entitle the holder to practice massage therapy anywhere.
in the State, without the necessity of complying with certain local rules; and
E. The state laws had the unintended consequence of resulting in a proliferation of massage
establishments throughout California, many of which were or are believed to be fronts for
prostitution and/or sex or human trafficking; and
F. In September 2014, the Governor signed Assembly Bill 1147, which returns to local
governments the authority to more strictly regulate massage establishments. The new law,
which became effective on January 1, 2015, authorizes cities and counties to regulate massage
establishments, including through the adoption of zoning requirements; and ·
G. The City Council finds that the prior state law, with its significant limits on local land use control
of massage, has resulted in an increase in the number of massage establishments in the City;
and
H. The City Council finds that two (2) massage establishments currently operate within the City,
and both of these businesses opened in the year 2014; and
I. The City Council finds that both of these businesses are on Las Tunas Drive, one of the City's
primary commercial corridors, and are approximately 4 blocks apart; and
J. The City Council finds that a number of local massage establishments are advertised or
reviewed online in the adult entertainment section of backpage.com, rubmaps.com and
mpreviews.com, strongly suggesting illicit activity. Massage establishments therefore require a
higher level of scrutiny and enforcement than other businesses in order to ensure compliance
with local and state laws; and
K. Though state law requires cities to treat massage the same as other professional services, such.
as medical, dental, and law offices, massage businesses do not conduct themselves like other
professional service businesses, despite certification by the CAMTC of their employees; and
Urgency Ordinance No. 15-999
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L. The City Council finds that the oversaturation of massage establishments, a number of which.
have been found in violation of the law, changes the character of a neighborhood, causes blight
and impacts quality of life and the local economy by compromising public trust; and
M. The City Council further finds that with the passage of AB 1147, certain provisions of the City's
ordinances governing massage may conflict with the new state law. As a result of the January
1, 2015 effective date of AB 1147, it is urgent that the City undertake a review of its current
massage regulations in order to determine how such regulations may need to be revised in
order to be consistent with state law while still providing comprehensive regulations for the
establishment, use and operation of businesses offering massage services in the City, so that
the public health, safety and welfare remain protected; and
SECTION 2. Moratorium on New Massage Establishments. The City Council orders as follows:
A. The findings and determinations in Section 1 are true and correct.
B. Based on the foregoing, the City Council finds and declares there is a current and immediate
threat to the public health, safety or welfare and upon that basis has determined that an urgency
ordinance pursuant to Government Code Section 65858 is warranted and shall take effect
immediately upon adoption of this ordinance by a four-fifths (4/5ths) vote of the City Council.
C. For a period of 45 days from the date of February 3, 2015, no permits, licenses, approvals, or
entitlements may be issued for new massage establishments. In addition, no existing massage
establishment may be relocated or expanded, whether by means of additional space,
construction of a new facility, or by conversion or reconfiguration of existing space.
D. For purposes of this ordinance, the following definitions apply:
1. "Massage business or establishment" shall mean any establishment, with a fixed place
of business within the City where any person engages in, conducts, carries on or·
permits to be engaged in, conducted or carried on, for money or any other
consideration, the administration to another person of a massage, and also includes all
businesses or establishments where massage therapy is provided as an ancillary
service such as clubs, gyms, day spas and professional offices.
2. "Massage" or "massage therapy" shall mean any method of treating the external parts
of the body for remedial, hygienic, relaxation or any other similar purpose, whether by
means of pressure on, friction against or stroking, kneading, tapping, pounding,
vibrating, rubbing or other manner of touching external parts of the body with the hands,·
or with the aid of any mechanical or electrical apparatus or appliance with or without
supplementary aids such as rubbing alcohol, liniment, antiseptic, oil, powder, cream,
ointment or other similar preparations commonly used in this practice and shall include
herbal body wraps. For the purposes of this chapter, "massage" or "massage therapy"
includes the techniques of acupressure and reflexology.
E. City staff is directed to study appropriate modifications to the City's ordinances applicable to
massage establishments to reduce and/or mitigate negative secondary effects created by the
number, location and illicit uses of massage establishments. Pending the completion of such.
studies and the adoption of an ordinance to establish appropriate operational and zoning
regulations, it is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety and
welfare that this ordinance takes effect immediately. In the absence of immediate effectiveness,
massage establishment uses in the City may be in conflict with regulations or requirements
established with respect thereto.
F. For the pendency of this moratorium, the portions of Section 9-1 N-30(B) of the TCMC relating
to the operating requirements for massage establishments shall remain in full force and effect