Sunnyvale: Council agrees to set different fees for different massage businesses - Milpitas...

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The Sunnyvale City Council has updated its new massage ordinance to address concerns from local masseuses who said the new permit fees for self-employed masseuses were unfair.

More than a dozen Sunnyvale masseuses came to the council's Oct. 27 meeting to urge the council to change a $999 permit fee that applies to all establishments, regardless of size or number of employees. A new ordinance aimed at massage businesses was introduced and approved at the council's Sept. 29 meeting.

The council unanimously agreed last week to lower permit fees for sole proprietors as well as masseuses who only performed outcall services and did not have a base location that can be inspected for human trafficking and other illicit activities.

The council agreed with the representatives from massage businesses that it was unfair for them to pay the same $999 for application fees, since these types of massage businesses do not require the same resources to inspect for illegal activities. Rates were lowered to $250 annually for sole proprietors and $81 annually for sole proprietors who do outcall work.

"I'm really impressed with what the [Sunnyvale] staff has done. I came up here expecting to have a lot of questions and a lot of froth. They've really done a great job addressing most of the issues I had," said Ray Greer, who works on his own as a massage therapist.

In addition to adjusting the fees, the council removed references from the city ordinances describing massage establishments as "adult entertainment."


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"As massage therapists we are not just people who touch people for relaxation; we are allied health professionals. And we go through hundreds, sometimes thousands of hours of schooling and education which is required to maintain our certification," said Nathania Apple, a local masseuse. "I'm encouraged by what I've heard tonight from the council and some of the provisions that have been changed in the last couple of weeks."

The city previously had an ordinance in place to regulate massage businesses, but in 2009 in a bill supported by the chain Massage Envy, the control of massage regulation was transferred for the most part to the state of California.

The California Massage Therapy Council was formed by the 2009 California Massage Therapy Law and put in charge of issuing permits for masseuses in the state. The Massage Therapy Reform Act replaced the 2009 law in 2014 and licensing and regulation was returned to local jurisdictions, but by that time Sunnyvale found that the ordinance they originally had in place needed to be updated for the first time in more than six years. In addition, during that time the number of massage businesses in the city grew from three to 34.

For now massage establishments can be certified with California Massage Therapy Council or operate uncertified with permission from the city, but come April 2016 all establishments will need to be certified by California Massage Therapy Council.

The city of Sunnyvale will have a second reading of the updated ordinance at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

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