COSTA MESA : Panel Backs Proposed Massage Ordinance

The Planning Commission is recommending that the City Council adopt an ordinance requiring massage therapists to pass a national certification test or become members of a nationally recognized professional massage organization in order to obtain a license.

The purpose of the ordinance, which has received mixed reviews by massage therapists, is to weed out the shoddy massage businesses that serve as fronts for prostitution, officials said.

However, licensed massage therapists already practicing in the city would have three years to comply with the ordinance, should it be adopted in mid-November, when it is scheduled to be considered by the City Council.

Some licensed massage therapists at last week’s Planning Commission meeting voiced disapproval of the proposed ordinance. Some said they thought they are being treated unfairly by the city because their profession is associated with prostitution. Many complained that they already have to submit to fingerprinting, mug shots and health tests as a condition of renewing their licenses--something the city does not require of other health care professionals, such as sports therapists.

Others who have degrees in sports medicine and practice massage therapy on the side said they are insulted that they would have to pass a test to prove, in essence, that they are not involved in prostitution.

“The city needs an ordinance on prostitution, not on massage therapy,” said Marisa Lepore, a massage therapist and personal trainer at a local club.

Still, there were some massage practitioners who hailed the ordinance as a step in the right direction.

“It’s one of the toughest in the country,” massage therapist Bob Dixon said.