Chapter 5.48
MASSAGE PARLORS AND MASSAGE BUSINESSES
Sections:
5.48.010 Definitions.
5.48.020 Business license—Required.
5.48.030 Business license—Application.
5.48.040 Business license—Fee.
5.48.050 Attendant license—Required.
5.48.060 Attendant license—Application.
5.48.070 Attendant license—Fee.
5.48.080 Attendant license—Issuance and renewal.
5.48.090 License requirements—Exemptions.
5.48.100 License—Issuance and renewal.
5.48.110 License—Transfer and change of information.
5.48.120 License—Suspension or revocation—Appeal.
5.48.130 Premises open to inspections.
5.48.140 Continuing health inspections—Condition of licensed premises.
5.48.150 Permitted hours of operation.
5.48.160 Advertisement by unlicensed persons unlawful.
5.48.170 Prohibited activity.
5.48.180 Other prohibited activity.
5.48.190 Violation—Penalty.
5.48.010 Definitions.
A. “Massage” means the treatment to the body of another, for whatever purpose, whether directly, or through the application of lotions, paints or other material, by a masseur, masseuse or massage parlor attendant through his or her rubbing, stroking, kneading or manipulating with the hands or other parts of the body or by the use of other equipment or appliance.
B. “Masseur, masseuse or massage parlor attendant” means any person who practices massage or holds himself or herself out as practicing massage, or any person who supervises the work of such persons, in the expectation of compensation therefor.
C. “Public massage business or massage parlor” means any place within the city where massages are given or furnished for, or in the expectation of, any fee, compensation or other consideration. (Ord. 3018 § 4, 1985)
5.48.020 Business license—Required.
It is declared unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or organization, whether in business for profit or not, to establish, maintain, operate, conduct or carry on, within the city, a public massage parlor or massage business without first obtaining a massage business license as provided by this chapter. (Ord. 3018 § 1, 1985)
5.48.030 Business license—Application.
Any individual or business entity desiring a massage business license or desiring to renew an existing massage business license shall make written application for such license to the clerk-treasurer on a form which shall be provided by such official. Such application shall be signed and sworn to by the applicant and shall include the following:
A. The name, address, telephone number and age of the applicant. No license shall be approved where the applicant (if a sole proprietorship) is under the age of 18, or if a business entity, where any individual joint owner is under the age of 18;
B. The business name, telephone number and address of the proposed establishment;
C. If other than a sole proprietorship, the names of all persons sharing in the profits of the business, including their names, ages, addresses and a description of their interest in the business;
D. Each such interest holder, including the applicant whether an interest holder or not, shall state his or her address for the preceding five years, whether or not he or she has been convicted of any crime(s) excluding minor traffic offenses, within the preceding five years, and if so a description of each such incident, including the place of occurrence and disposition, and the principal occupation of all such interest holders;
E. The applicant, as a part of the application processes, shall be photographed and fingerprinted by the police department with such information thereupon being affixed to the license application;
F. Such other relevant and pertinent information as the clerk-treasurer or police department may reasonably require in connection with the license application. (Ord. 3018 § 6, 1985)
5.48.040 Business license—Fee.
The fee for a massage business license is fixed at one hundred dollars per year, such license applying for the calendar year for which such application is made. If, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, the applicant's request for such a license is denied, fifty percent of the fee tendered shall be refunded to the applicant, if the applicant requests such refund no later than ninety days following the license denial, otherwise such amount shall be forfeited to the city. (Ord. 3018 § 7, 1985)
5.48.050 Attendant license—Required.
It is declared unlawful for any person to act as a masseur or masseuse or as a public massage parlor attendant within the city without first obtaining a massage parlor attendant license as provided by this chapter. (Ord. 3018 § 2, 1985)
5.48.060 Attendant license—Application.
Any individual over the age of eighteen desiring to act as a masseur, masseuse or massage parlor attendant with the city shall make written application for such a license on a form supplied by the clerk-treasurer, by providing a signed and sworn application containing the following information:
A. The true name, home address and telephone number of the applicant;
B. References as to the moral character of the applicant from three reputable citizens of the Kelso area;
C. How long applicant has resided in the Kelso area;
D. The name and location of the massage business where the applicant intends to work;
E. Whether the applicant has been convicted of any crime(s), excluding minor traffic offenses, and if so, the crime(s), the name of the court in which the case was filed, and disposition of the case;
F. Whether the applicant is suffering from any contagious or communicable disease; at the time of applying for the initial license the applicant shall be photographed and fingerprinted by the police department; with such information thereupon being attached to the application form;
G. Such other relevant and pertinent information as the clerk-treasurer may reasonably require in connection with such application. (Ord. 3018 § 11, 1985)
5.48.070 Attendant license—Fee.
The fee for a massage parlor attendant license is fixed at fifty dollars per calendar year, provided, that where the application is proposing to renew an existing license, such renewal license fee shall be twenty-five dollars if such application is submitted to the clerk-treasurer no later than December 15th of the year preceding the year in which the applicant intends to be licensed. Each license shall expire on December 31st of the year in which it was issued. (Ord. 3018 § 12, 1985)
5.48.080 Attendant license—Issuance and renewal.
A. Upon the filing of an application for issuance or renewal of a massage parlor attendant license, the clerk-treasurer shall within seven days thereof forward a copy of the application to the police chief who shall no later than twenty-one days following such request cause to have submitted to the clerk-treasurer a written report describing the results of his investigation regarding the veracity of the statements contained in the application with a recommendation for approval or denial. If from this report, recommendation and other information it appears that the statements of the applicant are true that he or she is eighteen years of age or older and that all other requirements of this chapter have been met, the clerk-treasurer shall issue a license to the applicant; otherwise the application shall be denied. If denied the applicant may thereupon exercise his or her appeal rights provided by Section 5.48.120 of this chapter.
B. It shall be within the discretion of the police chief to conduct a less stringent license investigation of massage parlor attendants who have a actively operated within the city for at least twelve months preceding the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter and who the police chief finds to have operated reputably. (Ord. 3042 § 2, 1986; Ord. 3018 § 13, 1985)
5.48.090 License requirements—Exemptions.
The licensing requirements of this chapter shall not apply to: Persons licensed in the state to practice medicine, surgery, physical therapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, podiatry or persons licensed as massage practitioners; to athletic coaches or trainers affiliated with educational or athletic organizations; or to licensed barbers or beauty operators who perform only such acts of massage as are customary, of barber and beauty operators given in connection with regular course of such services, or of their business. (Ord. 3236 § 1, 1994; Ord. 3018 § 5, 1985)
5.48.100 License—Issuance and renewal.
Upon the filing of an application for issuance or renewal of a massage business license, the clerk-treasurer shall within seven days forward copies of the application to the police chief, city building official, and to the county health official requesting that each, within their respective areas of responsibility, provide him with a written report regarding the following, such report to be completed and resumed no later then twenty-one days from the date of request:
A. The police chief shall cause the application to be investigated, regarding the veracity of the statements contained in the application, such written report containing the results of the investigation and any other matters pertinent to the application;
B. The building official shall submit a report describing whether the proposed business location meets zoning requirements and building requirements;
C. The county health official shall submit a report describing whether or not the facility meets all applicable health and sanitation regulations.
If, from the reports and other information it appears that the application and the premises are fit and proper, that the statements contained in the application are true, and that the applicant has complied with all the requirements of this chapter, the clerk-treasurer shall issue a license to the applicant; otherwise the license application shall be denied. In connection with subsection B of this section, it shall be the responsibility of the applicant to request such building department inspection and thereupon pay the required special building inspection fee directly to the building department, such costs not being included within the licensing fee.
D. It shall be within the discretion of the police chief to conduct a less stringent license investigation for businesses which actively operated within the city for at least twelve months preceding the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter and which the police chief finds to have operated reputably. (Ord. 3042 § 1, 1986; Ord. 3018 § 9, 1985)
5.48.110 License—Transfer and change of information.
It shall be the responsibility of the licensee, whether it be massage business license or massage parlor attendant license, under penalty of license revocation, to notify the clerk-treasurer of changes during the term of the license that require modification of the license application, including the supplying of information to the clerk-treasurer regarding arrests and convictions of the applicant or interest holder, excluding minor traffic matters, or in the case of massage business licenses, of changes in persons having an interest in the business, subsequent to the submission of the initial application and before expiration of the license term. Licenses issued pursuant to this chapter shall not be assigned or transferred from one holder or place to another without the prior consent of the city, such requests being made by written application to the clerk-treasurer. (Ord. 3018 § 8, 1985)
5.48.120 License—Suspension or revocation—Appeal.
Any applicant for either a massage business license or a massage parlor attendant license whose application, whether initial or renewal, is denied pursuant to Section 5.48.100 of this chapter, or whose existing license is suspended or revoked pursuant to Sections 5.48.130, 5.48.140 and 5.48.170 of this chapter, may, within ten days following notification of such action, file a petition for hearing on such matter. Such notice of appeal shall be filed with the clerk-treasurer who shall within ten days thereof transmit to the city manager the pertinent records and a report describing the basis for such administrative action. The city manager shall then, within an additional ten days, transmit such information to council who shall set such matter for hearing not less than fourteen days nor more than twenty-eight days thereafter. Upon the setting of such matter for hearing the city clerk-treasurer shall thereupon serve such notice on the appellant. The appellant may appear before council and present such facts and arguments as may tend to support his application. At the conclusion of the hearing the council shall approve, deny or modify the administrative ruling, and its decision shall be final; provided, that no massage business or massage parlor attendant required to be licensed under the provisions of this chapter shall engage in such activity as is allowed by license in the interim period between the adverse administrative ruling and the time council approves, denies or modifies the administrative ruling. (Ord. 3018 § 10, 1985)
5.48.130 Premises open to inspections.
Each licensed massage business operator, as a condition precedent to his issuance of such a license, authorizes city inspection of all portions of the premises licensed under the terms of this chapter during regular business hours for the purposes of determining the licenses compliance with the terms of this chapter under penalty of license suspension or revocation. (Ord. 3042 § 3, 1986; Ord. 3018 § 15, 1985)
5.48.140 Continuing health inspections—Condition of licensed premises.
A. Each massage business licensee, by his acceptance of such business license, warrants his approval to certain continuing health department inspections of the licensed premises during the term of license. Such inspection shall be in addition to the initial application inspection or renewal application inspection required in Section 5.48.100 of this chapter. Such inspection shall be unannounced, but shall be made during the normal business hours of the massage business.
B. The city appoints the Cowlitz-Wahkiakum County Health District as its agent for the purposes of all such health inspections, authorizing it to formulate such health procedures as it deems reasonable to thereupon be followed by all such licenses. Further, it shall be the duty of the owner or operator of each public massage parlor or massage business, under penalty of license suspension or revocation, to comply with such health procedures and to maintain the premises and equipment in a clean, safe and sanitary manner. (Ord. 3018 § 16, 1985)
5.48.150 Permitted hours of operation.
Massage parlor businesses shall be authorized to operate only between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. daily. (Ord. 3018 § 18, 1985)
5.48.160 Advertisement by unlicensed persons unlawful.
It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or organization to advertise the giving of massage treatments where the facility for such treatment are indicated to be given is not licensed and where the person(s) represented to give such massages are not licensed pursuant to this chapter. (Ord. 3018 § 3, 1985)
5.48.170 Prohibited activity.
No masseur or masseuse or massage parlor attendant or any other employee of such business shall intentionally touch or manipulate the genital of a customer in any manner, and such activity shall be grounds for revocation or suspension of the massage business license, as well as the employee's license, whether the owner knew of, or encouraged the employee's actions, or whether the customer requested or acquiesced in the activity. (Ord. 3018 § 14, 1985)
5.48.180 Other prohibited activity.
It shall be unlawful for any person to distribute or consume liquor as defined in the State Alcoholic Beverages Control Act on the premises of a massage business. It shall further be unlawful for the owner, proprietor, manager or other person in charge of a massage business or for any employee of such establishment knowingly to harbor, admit, receive or permit to be in or remain on or about such premises any prostitute, lewd or dissolute person, any drunken or boisterous person, any person under the influence of intoxicating liquor or narcotic drugs, or any person whose conduct tends in any way to corrupt the public morals. (Ord. 3018 § 17, 1985)
5.48.190 Violation—Penalty.
Any person convicted of a violation of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than ninety days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Such penalty shall be in addition to possible license revocation. (Ord. 3018 § 19, 1985)