Peoria eases zoning laws for massage-therapy businesses - YourWestValley.com

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PEORIA, Ariz. – The City Council has voted 7-0 to amend local zoning law to end a number of restrictions on massage establishments.

The move, approved Tuesday night, reflects close regulation of the industry at the state level since 2005 and a trend over the years by massage therapy toward a more professional and clinical approach. Many of the perceptions connected to the business no longer exist, noted Planning and Community Development Director Chris Jacques.

The amendment removes massage therapy and massage establishments from a list that includes body piercing studios, check-cashing outlets, pawn shops, retail liquor stores and tattoo studios.

It also now limits the hours of operation for such businesses to 8 a.m.-10 p.m., a change Jacques said, “removes the perception (these businesses) cater to late-night, illicit activity.”

The changes were sought by attorneys for Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa, which was prevented by existing rules from securing its preferred location near Happy Valley and Lake Pleasant parkways because of its proximity to a liquor store.

In other action,

* the council approved $70,000 for a new public art centerpiece for Camino a LagoPark off 98th Avenue near Lake Pleasant Parkway.

The funding will pay for Miami-based artist Cecelia Lueza’s “Sunset Flight” to be erected near the center of the park in the northwestern portion of the city’s Fletcher Heights area.

A metal sundial sculpted in the shape of a large bird atop a base of bright blue, orange, red and yellow, “Sunset Flight,” was endorsed unanimously from among three finalists by the city’s Arts Commission Oct. 13. The decision culminated a nearly year-long process to select a piece of artwork for the 6.5-acre park, which boasts a playground area, splash pad, butterfly garden and hummingbird area.

Completion of the art piece is expected to take 4-5 months.

An Argentine native, Lueza created public-art pieces in 2014 for the cities of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Norfolk, Va., and Tucson. Public art is a component in a number of Peoria city parks, large and small.

* The council voted 6-1 to appoint Mesquite District Councilwoman Bridget Binsbacher vice mayor for 2016, succeeding Jon Edwards. Elected March 10, 2015, to fill an unexpired term, Binsbacher is entering her second year on the governing body. “There is no greater compliment than having your peers unanimously support you in taking on this role,” she said.

The vice mayor performs the duties of the mayor in the event of the latter’s absence or disability.

* The council also heard plans from the Recreation Department for Peoria’s first-ever Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity Walk and Celebration Thursday, Jan. 14.

The activities, which will begin at 87th Avenue and Mountain View Road and end at Centennial Plaza, will feature an address by Lynda Blackmon Lowery, who at age 15 was the youngest participant in the historic Selma Voting Rights March in 1965, according to Kelli Kincaid, the city’s recreation manager.

“The goal is to continue to broaden awareness of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honor him and his vision, which is still alive, not just on that day but every day,” she said.

Kincaid said Lowery, who is an author and retired manager in the mental-health industry, routinely speaks at civil-rights events in the South and East.

Following Lowery’s address, the city will host a dedication of a new commemorative brick for the nation’s Voting Rights Act of 1965 inside “Decades Walk,” part of Peoria’s Centennial Plaza at the city government complex.

The walk will begin 10 a.m. , with Mayor Cathy Carlat introducing Lowery at the plaza around 10:30.

Contact reporter Jeff Grant at 623-876-2514 or jgrant@yourwestvalley.com.


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