LA HABRA : Massage Parlor Rules Debated
In an effort to control prostitution in massage parlors, the La Habra City Council last week tentatively approved an ordinance to regulate the operations of such businesses.
The measure must now go to a public hearing Oct. 21.
The ordinance would require acupressure and massage technicians to be tested for venereal diseases and to provide police with fingerprints and photographs, among other provisions.
“I think (the ordinance) is needed from the experiences we’ve had with acupressure clinics,” Councilman James Flora said.
An acupressure clinic was closed down two years ago because it served as a front for prostitution, police said, while another one was shut down last year because it was operating illegally.
The ordinance would also require technicians to wear “fully buttoned” smocks over street clothes and would bar technicians from making physical contact with the genitals or anus of a client.
In addition, a sign stating that “the La Habra Police Department has a right to inspect all rooms within these premises at any time during hours of operation” would have to be posted where the public can see it.
At last week’s meeting, Mayor William D. Mahoney and Councilman David M. Cheverton were absent.
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