Des Moines will begin to regulate massage therapists; parlors will need state license to...

[massage]

Austin Cannon Des Moines Register

Published 7:24 PM EST Dec 17, 2018


Des Moines will begin to shut down unlicensed massage therapy businesses, joining a host of other Iowa cities that have also passed regulatory ordinances.

The capital city’s ordinance is relatively simple: Either have a state massage therapy license or cease operation.

And Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert already has a list of where to start. His department, via public complaints, has a running log of suspected massage businesses that officers will “circle back to and address” under the new ordinance.

Under the measure, which the City Council passed unanimously at its regular meeting Monday night, therapists will be required to hold an Iowa massage therapy license to serve clients in Des Moines. The city also mandates that businesses have the license present at all times.

If a massage therapist is unlicensed, the city will place a placard in a “highly noticeable location” that reads partially “Unsafe to enter; unlicensed massage therapy must cease and is subject to criminal and/or civil penalty.” No one will be able to practice massage therapy at the “placarded” business unless it secures a state license or the chief of police or his designee removes the designation.

Unregulated massage parlors have precipitated concerns that the illegitimate businesses are housing illegal prostitution and human trafficking activities. Several Iowa cities — including Johnston, Urbandale, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Coralville — have already approved similar ordinances, most of which include licensing requirements and “placard” penalties.

Previously: Concerns grow as massage parlors spread across Iowa

At-large City Councilman Chris Coleman, who’s voiced worries about massage parlors in the past, led the effort to pass the ordinance, saying Des Moines modeled its measure off the one the Urbandale City Council passed back in April.

He and other council member mentioned areas, like the Beaverdale neighborhood and near Grand View University, where suspected unlicensed massage parlors have popped up quickly. Their presence can lead to neighborhood downturn, Coleman said.

Councilman Bill Gray spoke of seeing a group of young women exiting a van to enter a suspected illegal massage parlor.

Police Chief Dana Wingert told the council that enforcement would come through compliance checks or complaints from the public at large. He reiterated what other law-enforcement professionals have said repeatedly: Illegal massage parlors, in some cases, provide a cover for sex-for-money transactions or a member of a human trafficking network.

Councilman Bill Gray spoke of seeing a group of young women exiting a van to enter a suspected illegal massage parlor.

“We needed to find a way to get in the door, to be able to check on these businesses and make sure that those type of things aren’t happening behind the scenes,” Wingert said Monday morning.

“This is specifically set out for the bad actors,” Councilman Joe Gatto said.

Unlike other communities, Des Moines opted not to make massage parlors and spas pay for license from the city. In Johnston, for instance, massage therapists have to pay a fee to secure a city license, but Des Moines officials said they didn’t want to place an extra burden on the already-licensed businesses operating legally.

Cassie Sampson, the owner of East Village Spa, collaborated with the city as it built the ordinance. She said she appreciated that she, a licensed massage therapist, and her employees won’t have to jump through additional regulatory hoops.

She specifically asked that Des Moines follow Urbandale’s model, worried about a per-therapist fee some cities have, which is extra burdensome when therapists work in multiple cities.

“We do nothing different,” she said. “We just continue to follow the law. This is what we wanted.”

At Coleman’s request, the City Council waived the final readings of the ordinance, putting into effect immediately.

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