San Dimas regains control of massage businesses - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

[massage]

SAN DIMAS >> Unlike other California cities, San Dimas hasn’t had any problems with massage businesses, therapists or operators. And the San Dimas City Council wants to keep it that way.

On Tuesday night, the council unanimously approved an ordinance regulating procedures and licensing practices for massage establishments, therapists or operators who want to do business in San Dimas. The ordinance, effective immediately, creates controls through the city’s licensing process, law-enforcement background checks and detailed descriptions of different massages to prevent prostitution and other sexual conduct to take place.

The ordinance adds California Penal Code sections about any form of prostitution and violations justify denial or revocation of a city business license.

The new city law was made possible, said senior planner Marco Espinoza, when the state returned local controls to cities and allowed local regulatory action with Assembly Bill 1147, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in September 2014 and effective Jan. 1, 2015.

Mayor Curt Morris lamented the state Legislature’s 2008 approval of Senate Bill 731, which removed local regulatory authority over massage therapists and establishments, and put everything in state hands and the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC), the state-created organization certifying massage therapists and businesses.

“The state sold us a real bill of goods when it took away local control,” Morris remarked. “State legislators didn’t listen to people warning their action would create huge problems and allow massage establishments to be totally out of control.”

The 2008 legislation took away local authority to conduct law-enforcement background checks. If a massage therapist or establishment were certified by CAMTC, an organization comprised primarily of people in the massage business, local laws and regulations could be ignored. The result was many cities were hit with a multitude of massage businesses using questionable practices, including prostitution.

Cities could not de-certify CAMTC-certified therapists and businesses even when they engaged in illicit and illegal sexual activities, Espinoza lamented.

“Fortunately, the state saw the error of its way,” said Larry Stevens, assistant city manager of community development.

The new Assembly bill still has locally unacceptable elements. Espinoza noted. But, said Morris, “this is better than what we had.”

San Dimas hasn’t faced the problems other cities experienced with CAMTC-certified massage therapists and establishments ignoring local regulations. It currently only has one business, the Acu Center on Arrow Highway, which uses acupressure as a form of massage.

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Assembly Bill 1147 gives cities more regulatory control and changes the composition of the CAMTC board, Espinoza said. It reduces the CAMTC board from 20 to 13 and specifies three must be chosen by local governments, two by massage professionals and one each by the California Community College chancellor, state Department of Consumer Affairs and California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools. Of the remaining five, one each must be selected by an attorney representing a city, a local government or state public health official and an anti-human trafficking group. The last two selections are not restricted.

The San Dimas ordinance requires new massage businesses, therapists and accessory massage businesses to go through a special permit process which requires approval by the city Licensing and Permit Hearing Board. The seven members of that board are the mayor or a councilman, the city manager, assistant city manager of community development, public works director, a planning commissioner, a business owner and a local resident, Espinoza said. Operation hours are restricted to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and the final massage must be completed by 10 p.m. Employee and customer logs must be provided and updated when an employee quits and a new person hired. Specific descriptions and costs must be provided for all services.

“These things will help minimize the negative aspects of massage establishments and reduce the possibility of prostitution,” Espinoza said.

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