Massage Facilities Licenses Ordinance (Proposed)

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Massage Facilities Licenses Ordinance (Proposed)

The City of Scottsdale is updating the Massage Facilities Licenses to allow the city to comply with state law, clarify ordinance language and strengthen the integrity and professionalism of the industry.

NEW!!!

The Scottsdale City Council will decide whether to adopt the ordinance update at its Tuesday, June 4, meeting. It begins at 5 p.m. in the City Hall Kiva, 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd. You can access that evening's City Council agenda (which includes details about this item) on this website closer to the meeting date.

Mobile Massage Update:

We would like to provide you with an update on the progress of the proposed Massage Facility ordinance revisions.

After a series of open houses and public outreach, a proposed ordinance update was finalized. That document was scheduled to be presented to the City Council for consideration in the fall of last year. However, just prior to moving forward with that proposal, a business owner brought a unique circumstance to our attention. He operates a “mobile massage unit.” Since neither the current ordinance nor the proposed update addressed this type of “facility,” due diligence required us to study the issue prior to presenting the update to the City Council.

After discussion and consideration, mobile massage units have been incorporated into the ordinance. Here is how they are specifically addressed:

A definition was added for mobile massage units:
o Mobile massage unit means a vehicle or other movable enclosure specifically equipped for a massage therapist to provide massage therapy inside the vehicle or enclosure.
In line with other City regulations, mobile massage units will not be allowed to park on public streets or other city property except in special circumstances. This text was added to Sec. 16-206:
o (c) A massage facility license is not required for a mobile massage unit, if the mobile massage unit is parked on private property and the massage therapy is not offered or given to the general public.
o (d) The director shall not issue a license to any person to operate a mobile massage unit on a city street or other city property. However the city may authorize a mobile massage unit in conjunction with a special event.
Violations specifically addressing mobile massage units were added, which read, in part as follows: Sec. 16-221 (a) It shall be unlawful for …
o (12) Any person to perform massage therapy in a mobile massage unit to the general public while parked or placed on public or private property, except as authorized by the city in conjunction with a special event.

Minor streamlining, consistency and clarification changes have been made throughout the document, in part, to respond to state law that went into effect Jan.1. In particular, please see revised section 16-211 regarding timeframes in which to issue licenses.

This summarizes the changes from what we’ve presented to you in the past. However, please read the proposal in its entirety. Changes from the current ordinance are shown in strike-out and shaded text.

You may view the most recent revisions online at http://scottsdaleaz.gov/codes/massage. If this new draft raises significant questions or concerns from the massage facility community, which are most efficiently answered in a public forum, we will hold an additional public information session. In the meantime please direct your inquiries to one of us.

If no major issues are noted, this proposed ordinance will be presented to the City Council this spring.

Please check the website periodically for specific details.

Thank you for your patience as we move forward!