NEWPORT BEACH : New Tanning Salon Ban to Be Reviewed

The current ban on new tanning salons and massage shops in Newport Beach may be continued for nearly one year under a plan the City Council is scheduled to consider tonight.

The tanning salons and massage shops are currently prohibited while authorities investigate charges that some are used as fronts for prostitution.

But the ban has been controversial because some proprietors of such businesses complain that legitimate operators are being treated unfairly.

The existing moratoriums will expire in January, and city officials say they probably will need more time to study those business operations before they can adopt new regulations.

“We wouldn’t want to ask for less than that, but we don’t think we’ll need that much time,” Assistant City Atty. Robin Flory said.

The freeze on new massage shops in the city has been in place since last January. The City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing next month on new regulations for those businesses.

City officials anticipate that a decision will be reached at that meeting and that then the ban will no longer be needed. But they said they want the moratorium in place in case a decision is postponed.

The ordinance forbidding new tanning salons that also offer live lingerie fashion shows will also expire in January, but city officials say they probably will need more time before new guidelines on those businesses will be in place.

The council initially banned new massage shops because the Police Department reported that about half of those businesses in the city were fronts for prostitution.

The moratorium on tanning parlors was put in place about 10 months later when the police reported that some prostitutes may be using them for fronts after the massage shop ban was passed.

Both tanning and massage shop operators have criticized the freezes, saying they punish legitimate operators and interfere with business competition.

Last month the Planning Commission sided with massage shop owners who oppose new regulations on their businesses, agreeing that the proposal would do little to curtail prostitution and hampered honest business people.

If approved, the new ordinances would extend both moratoriums until November.