H.B. considers strict regulations for massage businesses

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HUNTINGTON BEACH – City officials are looking at tightening regulations for massage businesses after a report showed these businesses have increased sevenfold in the last four years and the amount of reported illegal sexual activities at some business has also spiked.
City Council members at their meeting on Monday will consider a proposal that would lay out regulations for massage businesses that want to open in Huntington Beach. The proposal requires business owners to obtain certification from the city before opening a massage therapy business.

Huntington Beach city officials will consider stricter regulations on massage businesses after police reported there has been a spike in the number of massage therapy storefront opening and an increase in illict sexual activities at some stores.
KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The proposed ordinance says the certification process includes a background check for business owners who are not certified by the state, a signed statement that the business owner is responsible for the conduct of employees and an agreement that would allow the police to investigate the business if the owner is not state-certified, among other regulations.
The city changed its policy on massage businesses in 2009 to bring Huntington Beach in compliance with a new state law that established the nonprofit California Massage Therapy Council. The agency was expected to handle licensing and regulation of massage businesses, but according to Police Chief Kenneth Small it's not working.
Before changing the city's laws, Huntington Beach capped the number of massage business allowed in the city to 10. The number of massage business in Huntington Beach jumped from nine to 65 since the change.
"These laws significantly reduced local governments' regulatory authority in licensing, permitting and land use," Small wrote in a report. "The proposed amendment to the ordinance is an attempt to strengthen the local oversight of these establishments because oversight of the Huntington Beach locations by the CAMTC appears to be both inadequate and ineffective."
In May 2012, the police department conducted a sweep of 20 local massage businesses and found several locations were serving as a front for prostitution.
The police partnered with the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force, the Fire Department and building and safety and code enforcement and found 49 municipal code violations and 22 building code violations. These violations included employees performing massages with the customer's genitalia exposed, unlicensed massage technicians and some businesses operating without a license, police said.
City Council members in June considered putting a new law on the books that capped the number of massage parlors at 30, but it failed after massage business lobbyists expressed concern about the legality of the ordinance.
The council meets at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 2000 E. Main St.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7953 or jfletcher@ocregister.com

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