Agenda Item #16.1
For Council Meeting of: March 4, 2025
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
CITY COUNCIL
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: GABE OSBURN, DIRECTOR
PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF MASSAGE ORDINANCE MUNICIPAL CODE AMENDMENTS, MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENT CERTIFICATE FEES AND ADULT ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS ZONING CODE AMENDMENT AGENDA ACTION: INTRODUCTION OF TWO ORDINANCES AND ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended by the Planning Commission and the Planning and Economic Development Department that the Council, by two ordinances and one resolution: 1) introduce an ordinance amending Titles 6 and 20 of the Santa Rosa City Code by repealing Chapter 6-32 entitled Massage Therapy, Massage Business or Establishment; add a new Zoning Code Chapter 20-49 entitled Massage Regulation and Massage Establishment Registration; amend Zoning Code Sections 20-23.030 and 20-24.030 regarding permitting requirements for “massage related uses”; amend Sections 20-50.020(A), 20-52.060, and 20-62.030(B)(2) adding Administrative Adjustment provisions; and amend Section 20-70.020 revising the definition of “office – business/service” and adding a definition for “massage related uses”; 2) introduce an ordinance amending Zoning Code Sections 20-23.030 and 20-24.030 regarding permitting requirements for “adult entertainment business”; and 3) adopt a resolution establishing fees for the processing and administration of massage establishment certifications, renewals, administrative adjustments and inspections.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In April and May of 2024, heightened concerns regarding the apparent proliferation of illicit massage establishments in the City were raised by residents and law enforcement officials, and several community meetings were held. Concerns raised included the high potential for human trafficking, negative community impacts, and threats to public health and safety. In response to this issue, the Planning and Economic Development Department embarked on a comprehensive redesign of City Code provisions pertaining to massage regulation. The objectives of the new regulations are to bring the City into conformity with current State regulations; provide strong enforcement tools and create minimal impacts to the success of legitimate massage uses in the City. The update includes repealing the current regulations in Chapter 6-32 of the Municipal Code and adding new Massage Regulations in Chapter 20-49 of the Zoning Code. Additional corresponding amendments to portions of Title 20 are proposed to support the new Chapter 20-49, maintain internal code consistency, incorporate best practices, and protect the public health, safety, and welfare. Staff is also recommending adding permitting requirements in Zoning Code Sections 20-23.030 and 20-24.030 for “adult entertainment business,” which is currently not addressed for such uses. Lastly, staff is recommending associated fees for the processing and administration of massage establishment certifications, renewals, administrative adjustments, and inspections.
BACKGROUND
On March 9, 2010, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 3937, amending Chapter 6-32 “Massage Therapy, Massage Business or Establishment,” of the Santa Rosa Municipal Code (“SRCC”) and establishing regulations for the operation of massage establishments and massage therapists within the City.
This ordinance amendment came about after the adoption by the California State Legislature of Senate Bill 731, creating the California Massage Therapy Council (“CAMTC”) and providing voluntary statewide certification standards in 2008. In 2014, the Legislature adopted Assembly Bill 1147 which further revised existing law regulating certified massage professionals and allowed local agencies to impose reasonable zoning, business licensing, and health and safety requirements on massage establishments.
In April and May of 2024, a series of meetings were held in response to community concerns raised about the proliferation of illicit massage businesses within the City. As of this date, approximately 130 known massage businesses exist within the City; not all are permitted, and it is not yet known how many are operating illicitly. Staff during this time determined that the existing City massage ordinance was no longer adequate as an enforcement tool. Staff presented the concept of a massage establishment ordinance update to the Public Safety Subcommittee in October of 2024, where general direction to draft a comprehensive replacement of the regulations was received. On January 14, 2025, staff held a community meeting with members of the local massage establishment community in order to present an overview of the conceptual new ordinance, answer questions and solicit input.
Through the review of the Zoning Code, staff also identified missing permitting requirements in Zoning Code Section 20-23.030 and 20-24.030 related to adult entertainment business.
On February 27, 2025, the Planning Commission held a public hearing to review the proposed amendments.
ANALYSIS
Massage Ordinance
The proposed amendments to the Municipal Code and Zoning Code related to massage regulations have been developed to complement the proposed addition of new regulations in Title 20 of the City Code, enhancing overall Code clarity and internal Code consistency. Below is a summary of the proposed Zoning Code amendments:
Repeal of Chapter 6-32 – Massage Therapy, Massage Business or Establishment Chapter 6-32 currently contains the existing regulations applicable to massage uses, which are now over 10 years old and do not adequately address changes that have occurred in State law over the intervening years.
As proposed, Chapter 6-32 would be repealed, and replaced with new land use regulations to be contained in Chapter 20-49.
Addition of Chapter 20-49 – Massage Regulation and Massage Establishment Registration As proposed, the ordinance is structured in 12 Sections:
20-49.010
Purpose
20-49.020
Definitions
20-49.030
Required Certification and local Establishment Registration 20-49.040
Massage Establishment Registration and Certification
20-49.050
Operational Requirements
20-49.060
Inspection by Officials
20-49.070
Notifications
20-49.080
Change of location or name
20-49.090
Exemptions and Administrative Adjustments
20-49.100
Violations and penalties
20-49.110
Administrative citations, fines, and remedies
20-49.120
Denial and revocation of Registration Certificates
The ordinance, briefly summarized below, requires that all Massage Establishments register and receive certification to operate within the City. To receive this certification, an establishment must first show proof of a Zoning Clearance to verify that the use is allowed and meet certain operational requirements. Key operational requirements broadly include:
Signage and Identification
Hours of Operation
Services and Costs
Record Keeping
Clothing/Uniforms
Hygiene
Interior Areas
Prohibited Activities
The ordinance's regulations include exemptions and relief for certain individuals and businesses performing massage within their official duties or scope of practice.
Massage businesses offering massage as a minor component (such as spas or gyms, hotels and resorts, schools of massage); mobile massage businesses, and those operating from home occupations or live/work or work/live units can request a Director level Administrative Adjustments to obtain relief from certain registration, certification, operational, and inspection standards. Each request requires distinctive documentation and, in some cases, prerequisite approvals demonstrating compliance with applicable code sections. All Administrative Adjustment decisions are Director determinations which are appealable to the Planning Commission.
Massage Establishment Certificates are generally valid for two years and will have a simplified and streamlined renewal process. Application and renewal costs have been crafted to be minimally impactful to businesses while still recovering staff costs.
Violations are structured into two categories: “Procedural” or relatively minor violations, and “Gross” or major violations. Establishment Certificates can be subject to revocation upon a third procedural violation occurring within any consecutive two-year period, or upon a single Gross violation occurring at any time.
Amendment of Section 20-23.030 and Section 20-24.030 - Land Use Tables The Zoning Code Land Use Table 2-6, contained in Section 20-23.030, establishes allowable land uses within the commercial zoning districts. Similarly, Zoning Code Land Use Table 2-10, contained in Section 20-24.030, establishes allowable land uses within the industrial zoning districts.
To address permitting requirements specific to massage businesses and provide a reference to the proposed new regulations in Chapter 20-49, a new land use of “Massage Related Uses” is proposed for insertion into Zoning Code Tables 2-6 and 2-10 (please see Sections 3 and 4 of the proposed ordinance). Under these tables, with the exception of the General Industrial (IG) Zone, Massage Related Uses will be allowed in all of the commercial and industrial zones, subject to issuance of a Zoning Clearance and the provisions of the proposed new Chapter 20-49. It should be noted that while the name of the massage business land use has been updated, the location of the zoning districts where such uses are allowed is not proposed to change.
Amendment of Section 20-50.020(A) – Authority for land use and zoning decisions Zoning Code Table 5-1 (Review Authority), is amended to update the “Minor Adjustment” type of action, under Land Use Permits/Development Decisions to read “Administrative or Minor Adjustment.” (please see Section 5 of the proposed ordinance).
Amendment of Section 20-52.060 – Variance, Sign Variance and Minor Adjustment Santa Rosa City Code Section 20-52.060 is amended to include "Administrative Adjustments" alongside variances and minor adjustments.
Amendment of Section 20-62.030(B)(2) – Filing and processing of appeals; Timing and form of appeal; Review authority Zoning Code Table 6-1 is amended to update the “Minor Adjustment” permit type to read “Administrative or Minor Adjustment.” (please see Section 10 of the proposed ordinance).
Amendment of Section 20-70.020 – Glossary/Definitions
Under the current Code, massage businesses are included within the definition of “office – business/service.” Staff is proposing to eliminate that reference and add a definition for Massage Related Uses.
Adult Entertainment Businesses
In addition to the proposed changes related to massage businesses, staff is also recommending a change to Land Use Tables 2-6 and 2-10 to clarify the permitting requirements for “adult entertainment business” uses. While this is not directly related to the Massage Ordinance, through the review of the Zoning Code, staff identified an error in Zoning Code Sections 20-23.030 and 20-24.030 related to permitting requirements in the Commercial and Industrial Zoning Districts. Specifically, Tables 2-6 and 2-10 do not identify what, if any, permits are required for adult entertainment businesses.
The commercial and industrial land use tables simply include an “S,” which stands for “see specific use regulations for permit requirements,” and refers the reader to Chapter 20-40, Adult Entertainment Businesses. However, while the specific regulations located in Chapter 20-40 include applicability and location requirements, it refers back to the Allowed Land Uses and Permit Requirements tables in Division 2 for permitting requirements. As such, there is no Code provision that currently specifies what, if any, permits are required for adult entertainment businesses.
Staff recommends adding the requirement for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for adult entertainment businesses in the City’s commercial and industrial zoning districts. Given that the purpose of Chapter 20-40 is “to prevent community wide adverse economic impacts, increased crime, decreased property values, and the deterioration of neighborhoods which can be brought about by the concentration of sexually-oriented businesses in close proximity to each other or proximity to other incompatible uses such as schools for minors, churches, parks and residentially zoned districts or uses,” requiring a CUP, which would be acted on by the Planning Commission, is appropriate to allow the review and analysis necessary to ensure compatibility with surrounding uses.
Certification and Certification Renewal Fees
New service fees are proposed for the recovery of staff time associated with the processing, review and inspection of Massage Certifications, renewal of Massage Certifications and related administrative adjustments. The proposed fees were calculated based on analysis of the specific position classifications associated with the proposed services, the hourly billable rate associated with the identified positions and the anticipated average time associated with the individual services. The proposed fee schedule is attached to the draft resolution.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed fees have been set at a level that will achieve full cost recovery for the newly formed certification, renewal, and administrative adjustment processes created under the proposed ordinance. As such, a fiscal impact is not anticipated.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The proposed amendments to the Zoning and Municipal Codes have been reviewed in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and it has determined that the proposed action is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines 15060(c)(2) because the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and because it is not a project as defined in CEQA Guidelines Section 15378, as it has no potential for resulting in a physical change in the environment, directly or indirectly. Additionally, or alternatively, the Ordinance is exempt from CEQA under CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that this Ordinance or its implementation of the Amendments would have a significant effect on the environment, would not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience, or welfare of the City. The Ordinance is also exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15301 in that no new development or construction is authorized by the Ordinance and nothing in the Ordinance permits any expansion of use beyond the level of land uses already existing in the City.
BOARD/COMISSION/COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
On February 27, 2025, the Planning Commission held a public hearing to consider making a recommendation to Council on the proposed amendments. Staff will report out to the Council on the Planning Commission’s action during the March 4, 2025 Council meeting.
NOTIFICATION
Pursuant to Zoning Code Section 20-66.020(D), Alternative to Mailing, if the number of property owners to whom notice would be mailed would exceed 1,000, the City may, as an alternative to mailing and on-site posting, provide notice by placing an advertisement of one-eighth page in at least one newspaper of general circulation 10 days prior to the hearing. The proposed ordinance will affect all properties within the commercial and industrial zoning districts, as well as additional properties which are adjacent or proximal to these zones, which would result in the number of mailings by far exceeding 1000 properties. Therefore, a one-eighth page advertisement was placed in the Press Democrat. The notice was posted at City Hall and upon the City website. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65091, where necessary, the City has incorporated notice procedures to the blind, aged, and disabled communities. These procedures include audio amplifier/assistive listening device support at public meetings, closed captioning, and optical character recognition conversion of electronic notices.
ATTACHMENTS
Ordinance 1 – Proposed Ordinance repealing Chapter 6-32 from the Municipal Code, adding Chapter 20-49 to the Zoning Code and amending Sections 20-23.030, 20-24.030, 20-50.020(A), 20-52.060, 20-62.030(B)(2), and 20-70.020 of the Zoning Code Ordinance 2 – Proposed Ordinance amending Sections 20-23.030 and 20-24.030 of the Zoning Code Resolution/Exhibit A – Proposed Resolution – Establishment of related fees
PRESENTER
Lou Kirk, Assistant Chief Building Official
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