ORDINANCE NO. 2024-03
AN INTERIM ORDINANCE TO FURTHER REGULATE
MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENTS
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VISALIA:
SECTION 1. Consistent with its control over municipal affairs as a charter city and the powers vested in the City of Visalia through the California Constitution, the City of Visalia is authorized to secure and promote the public health, comfort, safety, and welfare of its citizenry. The City of Council of the City of Visalia hereby makes the followings findings:
A. The City of Visalia Municipal Code Title 5 defines "Massage establishment" as follows: “means and includes any business enterprise or establishment, parlor, or any room, place or institution within a business establishment where massage is given or administered by a massage technician as a paid service” and in addition, the City of Visalia Municipal Code Title 17 defines, “Massage Therapy Establishment” as follows: “means an establishment offering massage, alcohol rub, fomentation, electric or magnetic treatment, or similar treatment or manipulation of the human body by a Certified Massage Therapist.” B. The City of Visalia Municipal Code Title 17 currently permits Massage Therapists under the current City of Visalia Zoning Ordinance in the Neighborhood Commercial (C-N), Commercial Mixed Use (C-MU), Downtown Mixed Use (D-MU), Professional / Administrative Office (O-PA), and Office Conversion (O-C) zones within the City of Visalia with a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) issued under Visalia Municipal Code Chapter 17.38.
C. Recently the City of Visalia has seen an increase in requests for CUPs to operate Massage Establishments. In recent instances, such usages are proposed within close proximity to residential neighborhoods, junior college, and within shopping centers.
D. Although these recent instances of this proposed use near residential neighborhoods resulted in comments received that stated property owners concerns this type of use should not be placed in close proximity to schools and residential neighborhoods, the usage was allowed because the current City of Visalia Zoning Ordinance does not require buffering distance requirements regarding this type of commercial activity near schools and residential neighborhoods. The City Council has since considered whether a specific policy should be adopted and has determined that it would be in the interest of the public health, safety, or welfare to consider changes to the municipal code on how this type of business should be further regulated.
E. In 2008, the Legislature adopted Senate Bill 731, which created the California Massage Therapy Council, a state-organized nonprofit organization with regulatory authority over the certification of massage technicians and practitioners throughout the State of California which also limited the City' s regulatory authority over massage establishments that exclusively hire State-certified massage technicians, preempting most local licensure and permitting requirements and land use regulations and has been widely criticized by local agencies as providing massage businesses with almost unprecedented protection from local zoning and land use authority, and interfering with local law enforcement efforts to close massage businesses that allow prostitution and other illegal activities.
F. In response to the criticism against Senate Bill 731, Assembly Bill 1147 was enacted which allows local agencies to impose reasonable zoning, business licensing, and health and safety requirements on massage establishments, and the City of Visalia seeks to amend the Visalia Municipal Code to ensure that the City regulates massage establishments in compliance with the provisions of enacted State statutes.
G. The increase in requests for the operation of Massage Establishments that has occurred in recent years does not appear to be slowing, which has raised concerns of whether illicit uses are trying to create a business front for illicit activity and a proliferation of such types of uses could result in negative impacts to the public’s peace, health, safety, and welfare.
H. The potential for criminal and unsafe activity at massage establishments is particularly concerning given that some massage establishments in the City are located within proximity to places where families congregate, such as restaurants and shopping areas.
I. Code enforcement and policing efforts have found that illegal massage operations that are shut down are often replaced by similar illegal massage operations in the same location. There are significant adverse impacts from allowing illegal massage operations to remain at a given site. Impacts include decreased consumer confidence in the legal operation of future massage establishments at a site, decreased consumer confidence in the neighboring businesses, and confusion among customers regarding any connection between the closed illegal operation and a new legal operation, and detrimental effects on all surrounding businesses.
J. The City Council finds and declares the illicit and illegal activities disguising as legitimate massage establishments in the City pose health and safety threats to operators, employees, patrons, surrounding businesses, and the public, in order to address this threat to public health and safety the City Council hereby finds the adoption of the proposed urgency interim zoning ordinance to be necessary while a more specific amendment to the Municipal Code is reviewed in the normal process by the City.
K. Further the City Council finds and declares that approving additional conditional use permits to allow additional Massage Establishments within close proximity of an existing Massage Establishment would potentially be in conflict with the stated goals of the City of Visalia General Plan and Zoning Ordinance to preserve and promote the public health, safety, and welfare of the city by creating conditions that would adversely impact the public’s interest.
L. The City Council finds and declares that the ordinance regulations on Massage Business shall be adopted on an interim and immediate basis to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the community while the more permanent regulations are reviewed in additional detail.
SECTION 2. While this interim ordinance is in effect the following regulatory standards shall apply as additional limitations and requirements under the Visalia Zoning Ordinance on a Massage Establishment and/or Massage Therapy Establishment as those terms are defined in Visalia Municipal Code. Businesses that are already operating under conditional use permits in areas that would be prohibited under these regulations may continue to operate as they would constitute legal non-conforming use.
A. In addition to Conditional Use Permit being required in the Neighborhood Commercial (C-N), Commercial Mixed Use (C-MU), Downtown Mixed Use (D-MU), Professional / Administrative Office (O-PA), and Office Conversion (O-C) zones, a Conditional Use Permit shall be required for Massage Establishments/Therapist in the Regional Commercial (C-R) zone.
B. No Massage Establishment may be located within a radius of 750 feet of another Massage Establishment, as measured in a straight line, from the nearest point of the premises where said massage establishment is conducted to the nearest property line of any lot or legal parcel upon which a massage establishment is proposed to be located. Existing businesses operating a Massage Establishment that are already conducting business and in possession of all previously required licenses and/or permits for such business in the City of Visalia on the effective date of this emergency ordinance are considered existing non-conforming related to separation from all required sources as long as the permit is not revoked, or the business does not cease operation.
C. No Massage Establishment located in a building or structure with exterior windows fronting a public street, highway, walkway, or parking area shall block visibility into the interior reception and waiting area through the use of curtains, closed blinds, tints, or any other material that obstructs, blurs, or unreasonably darkens the view into the premises.
D. Doors. All front, reception, hallway, or front exterior doors except back or rear exterior doors used for employee entrance to and exit from the massage establishment) shall be kept unlocked during business hours. A massage establishment may lock its exterior doors during business hours if the establishment is owned by one individual with one or no employees. No massage may be given within any cubicle, room, booth, or any area within a massage establishment which is fitted with a door capable of being locked, unless the only door is an exterior door.
E. Minimum lighting consisting of at least one artificial light of not less than forty watts shall be provided and shall be operating in each room or enclosure where Massage Services are being performed on Clients, and in all areas where Clients are present.
F. Living Quarters Prohibited. No person or persons shall be allowed to reside, dwell, occupy or live inside a Massage Establishment at any time. Beds and floor mattresses shall not be permitted on the premises.
G. Inspections. The operator and/ or on duty Responsible Employee consents to the inspection of the massage establishment by the City's Building and Safety Division, Code Enforcement Division, Fire Department and Police Department and the County Health Department for the purpose of determining that the provisions of this ordinance or other applicable laws or regulations are met. The City' s Building and Safety Division, Code Enforcement Division, Fire Department and Police Department and the County Health Department may, from time to time, make unannounced inspections of each massage establishment for the purpose of determining that the provisions of this chapter, State law or other applicable laws or regulations are met.
H. No person shall enter, be or remain in any part of a Massage Establishment while in possession of an open container of alcohol, or consuming or using any alcoholic beverages or controlled drugs except pursuant to a prescription for such drugs. The Owner, Operator, or responsible managing Employee, shall not permit any such person, or any person who is clearly intoxicated, to enter or remain upon the premises.
I. No Massage Establishment shall operate a school of massage or use the same facilities as that of a school of massage.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstances, is for any reason held to be invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining sections, subsections, subdivision, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases of this Ordinance, or its application to any other person or circumstance. The City Council of the City of Visalia hereby declares that it would have adopted each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases hereof be declared invalid or unenforceable.
SECTION 4. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately as an interim zoning ordinance under the provisions of California Government Code section 65858. It shall be of no further force and effect forty-five (45) days from its adoption unless it is extended pursuant to Government Code section 65858(a).
SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause the same to be published or posted as required by law.