TITLE
Adopt resolution directing the Director of Development Services to submit a request to the California Coastal Commission to certify an amendment to the Certified Local Coastal Program. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
The Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) contains regulations for massage establishments and massage technicians for the protection of public health, safety, and welfare in both Title 5, Regulation of Businesses, Trades, and Professions, and Title 21, Zoning. LBMC Title 5 sets forth licensing and operational standards while LBMC Title 21 sets forth land use and location standards. Changes in State law have triggered the need to update the City’s regulation of massage establishments. In 2008, Senate Bill 731 (SB 731) authorized the creation of the Massage Therapy Act (effective through December 31, 2014). Subsequently, Assembly Bill 1147 (AB 1147) was enacted (effective January 1, 2015) to replace and “fix” SB 731.
SB 731 was intended to professionalize the massage industry and create universal, State-wide standards for massage businesses and practitioners. SB 731 prohibited local jurisdictions from imposing land use regulations on massage businesses that were different from those imposed on other professional services, provided operators and practitioners were certified by the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC). This stripping of local controls had the unintended consequence of causing the proliferation of unpermitted massage establishments and an increase in prostitution and human trafficking cases in many jurisdictions.
AB 1147 restored local regulatory authority of massage businesses and practitioners by allowing jurisdictions to use their regulatory and land use authority to ensure the best interests of the community are met via the establishment of reasonable regulations on licensing, operations, and business locations. SB 1147 also standardized the certification of massage practitioners through the CAMTC, managed solely by the State, t...
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