The City Council considered a new ordinance that would establish several operational standards for the conduct of massage establishments at its Aug. 19 meeting.
Under the new ordinance, all massage practitioners would have to be certified by the state massage practitioner regulatory body, California Massage Therapy Council (CMTAC).
Code Enforcement Supervisor Charlene Durkin said the goal is to address prostitution and human trafficking in the industry.
Three massage practitioners and stakeholders voiced objections to the ordinance during the meeting.
Dan Hays, whose wife runs a massage parlor, stressed that he doesn’t oppose an ordinance, but the problem is that the city’s massage therapists were not engaged in the process.
“Not one therapist that I know of, not one establishment that I’ve talked to, ever got a notice of that [internal affairs] meeting or were ever asked to provide input into the ordinance that you have before you,” Hays said.
Hays told ChicoSol that many massage therapy professionals in Chico are immigrants from China and Vietnam, and most of them speak little English. It would be difficult for them to take the required classes that are mostly taught in English (a few are in Spanish) and complete the certification program successfully.
To find the appropriate massage school to complete the curricula, therapists who speak Mandarin or other languages might need to go to the Bay Area, Hays said. He added that if the City passes the ordinance, he and his wife would consider running their business in Paradise.
Amy Alward, a massage therapist, questioned the “ethics” of the California Massage Therapy Council. Alward said she had a license issued by CMTAC before, but “let it slide” after the Camp Fire.
“I was homeless after that fire, my clients were homeless after that fire, I had no means to support myself through my business,” Alward said, “and the California Massage Therapy (Council), which is voluntary in California for massage therapists, told me they would not extend, reduce my late fines or work with me at all after that tragedy.
“And so I walked away from them, and I do not want to go back and be licensed with them.”
Alward also expressed frustration at the implication that massage therapists “might somehow be sex workers.”
“Many of us come to massage as a change of career later in life,” Alward said. “We don’t offer illicit services. Many of us resent the fact that this ordinance is written from the standpoint that we must prove to you that we are professionals. I think that’s unacceptable.”
The City Council agreed to send the ordinance back to internal affairs for further discussion with more input from massage therapy professionals.
To get CAMTC certification, therapists must complete curricula totaling a minimum of 500 hours at CAMTC-approved schools. According to the CMTAC website, all applicants for CAMTC Certification are also required to submit fingerprint information to the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) via the Live Scan process for background checks.