Modesto puts temporary hold on new massage parlors

Modesto has temporarily banned new massage parlors from opening and existing parlors from expanding or relocating as it develops an ordinance to deal with those establishments that operate as a front for prostitution and human trafficking.

The City Council on Tuesday night approved on a 7-0 vote an urgency ordinance for a 45-day moratorium. The moratorium can be extended with additional council approval.

The council vote came after several certified massage therapists and business owners said the ban would hurt them and other legitimate massage and bodywork establishments.

City Attorney Adam Lindgren said he understands their concerns but said Modesto needs the time the moratorium will give it to develop an ordinance to deal with the criminal element that uses these businesses to engage in prostitution and human trafficking.

Council members also were sympathetic but said Modesto has to solve this problem.

There are more than two dozen brothels in Modesto pretending to be massage parlors and spas, according to Debbie Johnson, founder of Without Permission, a Modesto-based nonprofit that fights human trafficking. She said the number came from a Stanislaus County District Attorney’s task force.

The therapists and business owners also were concerned about how long the ban would last. Lindgren said after the meeting he expects it will take no more than several months to develop the ordinance. Mayor Garrad Marsh said during the meeting that at the end of the 45 days, the city could take steps to mitigate any harm the ban has done to legitimate businesses.

Lindgren said Modesto has been meeting over a few months with Stanislaus County, the county’s other cities and Stanislaus County prosecutors on the issue. He said the goal is for Modesto to develop an ordinance other local governments can adopt for their use.

The proposed ordinance comes as Assembly Bill 1147, which took effect Jan. 1, gives California cities and counties more control over massage and bodywork businesses, including using zoning and land use regulations for determining the locations of new establishments. The law also lets cities and counties regulate the businesses’ hours of operation and training of their employees.

The legislation was in response to cities and counties complaining that a 2008 state law regulating the massage industry made it difficult for them to regulate massage parlors and spas and shut down those engaging in illegal activity.

Modesto’s moratorium does not apply to current massage and bodywork businesses that renew their business licenses, provided they are complying with all applicable laws and regulations and the renewal is not for a relocation or expansion.

The council also:

▪  Postponed a decision until its June 9 meeting on whether to extend Modesto’s contract with Redflex Traffic Systems for five additional years. The city has contracted with Redflex for red-light camera systems at four major intersections since 2004. The decision was delayed to give police officials time to answer questions, such as whether the city is paying a competitive price for the cameras.

▪  Accepted the 2015 Urban Growth Review, which determines whether Modesto has enough land for new homes, business parks, and commercial and industrial development. The review found that, in general, the city has sufficient land for development. Modesto resident Brad Barker said the city would be better served if the review included an inventory of the city’s many vacant buildings, such as grocery and drugstores, and had a plan to revitalize them, rather than growing on its edges. “All these empty buildings lead to vandalism, tagging ... deteriorating property values,” he said, adding that “We need to concentrate on this first.”

▪  As part of the Urban Growth Review, the council also approved putting advisory Measure M votes on the November ballot, in which city voters will be asked whether they support extending sewer services to the city’s unincorporated, residential neighborhoods.

▪  Approved the city’s latest tagging, or graffiti, abatement initiative, which includes purchasing 45 surveillance cameras, stiffer fines for taggers, developing a smartphone app in which the public can report tagging to the city (the photo includes GPS coordinates of the graffiti) and deploying a second city crew to paint over and remove graffiti. The price tag for the initiative is $789,330.

▪  Approved using what is called form-based code principles, which emphasize a building’s form over its function, for downtown. Officials have said this will foster a larger range of uses and stimulate development.

This story was originally published May 12, 2015 at 10:35 PM with the headline "Modesto puts temporary hold on new massage parlors."