Massage Therapy Regulations Adopted

There’s good and bad news for massage therapists in Orange.

They have been proclaimed legitimate professional enterprises and will no longer be considered “adult businesses” by city officials.

But they will have to prove their professional standards and submit to regulations drafted by those same officials.

Council members initially approved the changes in February. But they had to wait weeks as city attorneys worked with masseurs and masseuses over the terms of the standards.

The final draft received unanimous council approval this week.

Under the terms, practitioners of the craft must prove they are in good standing with a recognized professional massage association or have completed certain combinations of classwork and training. In addition, they must have passed a national exam.

Under the old law, just about anyone could open a massage parlor as long as it was in an area zoned for adult businesses. Police have complained that some shops were fronts for prostitution and other crimes.