Springboro joins cities studying massage business regulation - Dayton Daily News

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Massage parlors — sometimes linked with prostitution and human trafficking — are showing up in suburbs around Ohio, prompting local governments to study and take action.

On Thursday night, Springboro declared a 90-day moratorium on applications “for any type of massage service establishments or similar use.”

So far, neither of the current massage businesses identified by Springboro police has prompted any complaints, according to Police Chief Jeff Kruithoff.

“This is really a result of what is happening in some other communities in our region,” City Manager Chris Thompson said.

Specifically, Springboro officials point to recent criminal cases for prostitution and other charges brought against women working at massage businesses in Montgomery, a suburb in Hamilton County between Dayton and Cincinnati.

Two women charged after a raid on a massage business in Fairfield Twp. in Butler County pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and were sentenced in January.

While not calling for a moratorium, officials in Mason, south of Lebanon, said they had been working for months on regulations on the massage business.

Thompson said Springboro would gather local regulations from other Ohio cities, through the state city manager’s association and the American Planning Association.

Kruithoff noted regulations from Cleveland-area suburbs dealt with this business segment. Massage parlors have also turned up in the recent years in suburbs in the Columbus area, prompting police actions.

“Frankly this is an industry that has had problems around the country,” Kruithoff said earlier this week.

Massage therapists are licensed by the Ohio Medical Board, but the workers and operators of other businesses offering massage sometimes aren’t.

Already Springboro has two storefront massage businesses in shopping centers, one on Main Street, the other on Central Avenue.

Still reports on the impending moratorium prompted surprise on Facebook.

“Massage parlors in Springboro?” started one post.

The regulations are expected to enable Springboro to license all businesses offering massages.

“We don’t want a knee-jerk reaction,” Thompson said Thursday. “We would like some time to study the issue.”

Springboro expects to regulate massage businesses through its zoning code, but plans to see what other communities have done before proposing changes to the city council.

“We haven’t had time to really look at those other jurisdictional ideas that are out there,” Thompson said.

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