NEWPORT BEACH : Law Rubs Massage Therapists Wrong Way

A new Newport Beach ordinance aimed at curtailing prostitution has angered therapeutic massage professionals, who contend the ordinance brands them as illegitimate.

The ordinance, which received unanimous preliminary approval from the City Council on Monday, would subject anyone who wants a massage license to venereal disease testing, fingerprinting, background checks and spot inspections by police.

“For those that are legitimate massage therapists, it is very degrading,” massage therapist Kim Bender told the council. “We are not performing any sexual activities. There are those that are. . . . It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to walk into it and tell.”

City Manager Kevin J. Murphy said the proposed law is a move to streamline the permit process by putting licensing functions in the hands of police and leaving only fee collection to the Finance Department.

“It goes beyond looking at the issue of massage,” he said. “It goes to the organization and revenue collection for those already on the books.”

But if the ordinance gets final approval Nov. 14, testing and enforcement would be done by the Police Department’s vice, narcotics and intelligence section. Therapists say that is guilt by association.

City law requires that masseuses and masseurs show they have 300 hours of training, while “holistic health professionals” must have 500 hours of training or 300 hours plus 500 hours of experience working for a medical professional.

Police Capt. Jim Jacobs, who crafted the ordinance and has asked the council approval to hire a community services officer to administer it, said the presence of 42 licensed massage establishments makes it necessary.

“Unfortunately, Newport Beach has more massage establishments than any other city in Orange County, possibly more than all of them put together,” he said.