(A) License required.
(1) No massage therapy business within a commercial area shall operate without a license issued pursuant to the provisions of this section.
(2) No person shall operate a business as a massage therapist without having first obtained a massage therapist business license issued pursuant to the provisions of this section.
(3) This section shall not apply to any hospital, sanatorium, rest home, nursing home, boarding home, or other institution for the hospitalization or care of human beings, duly licensed under the provisions of M.S. §§ 144.50 through 144.703, as they may be amended from time to time, or to persons duly licensed, or in the employment of or under contract with persons duly licensed by the State of Minnesota to practice medicine, surgery, osteopathy, chiropractic, physical therapy or podiatry, with or without the use of mechanical, therapeutic or bathing devices.
(B) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
MASSAGE THERAPIST. Any person who, for a fee, rubs, presses, strokes, kneads, taps, rolls, pounds, vibrates or stimulates these superficial parts of the human body with the hands or any instrument.
MASSAGE THERAPY BUSINESS. Any person, partnership or corporation, either as principal or agent, who engages in the business of massage therapy or the employment of others performing massage therapy for a fee for which the business is located within a commercial zoning district.
(C) Applicability. Any business under this section shall apply with all requirements of the zoning ordinance.
(D) Application.
(1) Every person desiring a license to perform massage therapy shall apply to the City Council for a license on an application form provided by the Clerk. The application shall include:
(a) Full name, place and date of birth and current street address of the applicant.
(b) The length of experience in this occupation and the past places of employment and positions held for the last ten years; and
(c) A description of any crime or other offense, including the time, place, date and disposition for which the applicant has been arrested and convicted.
(2) No person shall make any material false statement in any application.
(3) Each application for a massage therapist license shall furnish with the application a diploma or certificate of graduation from an American Massage Therapist Association approved school or a diploma or certificate of graduation from a school which is either accredited by a recognized educational accrediting agency or association or is licensed by the state or local government agency having jurisdiction over the school. Such certificate/diploma shall be prominently displayed in the area wherein massage is conducted.
(4) Each applicant shall also furnish proof, at the time of the application, of course work in the theory and practice of massage (including but not limited to Swedish, Esalen, Shiatsu, and/or Foot Reflexology techniques), hygiene, and anatomy, including but not limited to skeletal and muscular structure and organ placement.
(5) Each applicant, at the time of application, shall demonstrate that the applicant has had no less than six months’ experience in the practice of therapeutic massage therapy treatments with a minimum of 25 verified full practice massage therapy treatments which applicant has performed in a noncommercial setting and in the status of a trainee. For purposes of this subdivision,
TRAINEE shall mean those persons with less than one year’s experience in the practice of therapeutic massage and engaged in the active pursuit of knowledge of massage and related areas. Applicants who have been actively engaged in the practice of therapeutic massage for at least six months outside of the city may, in the alternative, furnish proof of such practice. No person shall make application for a massage therapy business license unless such person has been licensed as a massage therapist within the city. In addition to complying with the application requirements for a massage therapist required by this subdivision, an applicant for a massage therapist business license must show proof that the proposed location of the massage therapy business is properly zoned for such use and must demonstrate that the applicant has a right to a superior possessory interest in the premises at the location approved to be licensed.
(6) Each application for a massage therapist license or a massage therapist business license shall be required to submit to and pass an examination as to the qualifications and competence of said applicant for the practice of massage. The examination shall be given by the Clerk or such persons as he may designate, in the form he may prescribe, whether written, oral, or practical so as to determine whether the applicant has sufficient knowledge, skill, training, and experience to safely and competently administer massages to the general public. Such examination shall test the applicant’s knowledge of massage and public health statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations; knowledge of anatomy; knowledge of the theory of massage; and knowledge and ability in practical massage. The Clerk shall determine whether the applicant has demonstrated sufficient knowledge, skill, training, and experience to safely and competently administer massages to the general public. The Clerk shall have the power to delegate the administration and grading of the examination and the Clerk shall have the authority to accept test results from previous examinations conducted by an authorized testing agency.
(7) Execution of the application. If the applicant is a natural person, the application shall be signed and sworn to by the person; if a corporation, by an agent authorized to sign; if a partnership, by a partner.
(8) Any falsification of information on the license application shall result in the denial of said license.
(9) The Chief of Police or his designee shall investigate into the truthfulness of the statements set forth in the application and shall endorse his findings thereon. The applicant shall furnish to the Chief of Police such evidence as he may reasonably require in support of the statements set forth in the application.
(E) License fee. The annual license fee for a massage therapist and a massage therapist business licensee shall be determined by resolution of the City Council. In the absence of a resolution, the fee shall be $100. In addition to the fee specified above, an additional $100 fee shall be paid by an applicant:
(1) Upon initial application for one of the licenses specified in this section; and
(2) Upon application for one of the licenses specified in this section after failing to renew the license within one year of the expiration date of the previously held license. The license and application fees provided by this subdivision shall not be refunded whether or not the license sought is granted.
(3) Renewals. An application for a renewal of a massage therapist license or massage therapy business license shall be made in the same manner as the original application.
(F) Expiration. All licenses issued under this section shall expire on December 31 of each year.
(G) Location. The massage therapist business licensee shall either own the building in which the business is conducted or have a lease on the business premises which extends for more than six months. No massage therapist business license may be transferred to a different location.
(H) Prohibitive acts. No licensed massage therapist or massage therapist business licensee shall permit or engage in the practice or business of massage therapy in a location or in a manner that violates any of the provisions of this section or any of the following standards, to wit:
(1) Operation standards.
(a) All customers are to be provided with single service disposable foot coverings which are not to be reused.
(b) All employees shall wash their hands thoroughly in an approved handwashing facility before starting any body massaging, handling, clean linen or clean supplies.
(c) All massage tables are to be provided with single use linen or a single use disposable paper sheet covering that is both wide and long enough to cover the complete table top. All towels are to be laundered in an approved manner after each use. All soiled linen and towels are to be sorted in an approved receptacle.
(d) Only single service disposable drinking cups for customers shall be allowed within the establishment.
(e) All customers shall inform the operator of any medical disabilities prior to use of facilities.
(f) The personnel shall observe all occupants in the sauna room at five-minute intervals.
(g) All cosmetic products shall remain in their original containers or in properly labeled self identifying containers.
(h) A copy of these rules and regulations shall be posted in a conspicuous place for customer observance.
(2) Equipment standards.
(a) The covering on the massage table shall be waterproof.
(b) The massage tables shall be constructed of material that is smooth and easily cleanable.
(c) A functioning combination of relative humidity and temperature indicator shall be installed on the inside wall and another on the outside wall of each sauna room. The indicator shall be so located as to be easily observed.
(d) During housekeeping procedures there shall be a minimum of 15 foot candles of illumination available. This illumination shall be provided by permanent electrical fixtures in all sauna and massage rooms.
(3) Health and disease control. No person, while affected with any disease in a communicable form, or while a carrier of such disease, or while affected with boils, infected wounds, sores, or an acute respiratory infection, shall work in or use the service of any sauna or massage parlor in any capacity in which there is a likelihood of such person contaminating surfaces with pathogenic microorganisms or transmitting disease to other individuals, and no person known or suspected of being affected with any such disease or condition shall be employed or permitted in such an area or capacity. If the licensee or his manager has reason to suspect that an employee has contracted any disease, in a communicable form or had become a carrier of such disease, he shall notify the Health Officer immediately.
(I) Denial, suspension or revocation. Any license under this section may be denied, suspended or revoked for any of the following reasons:
(1) The use or proposed use is in conflict with the Columbia Heights Zoning Code;
(2) The use or proposed use is in conflict with any health, building, building maintenance or other provision of this code or state law;
(3) Violation of any provisions of this section;
(4) Fraud, misrepresentation or bribery in the securing of a license or any false misrepresentation on any license application;
(5) Fraud, misrepresentation or false statements made in the course of the applicant’s business;
(6) Conviction of the applicant or licensee, any partner or shareholder of the applicant or licensee, any employee of the applicant or licensee within the preceding five years, of any crime, petty misdemeanor or municipal ordinance relating to the general health, welfare, morals, and safety of the community; or
(7) Habitual drunkenness or intemperance in the use of drugs including, but not limited to, the use of drugs defined in M.S. § 618.01, as it may be amended from time to time, barbiturates, hallucinogenic drugs, amphetamines, benzedrine, dexadrine or other sedatives, depressants, stimulants or tranquilizers; engaging in conduct involving moral turpitude or permitting or allowing others within their employ or agency to engage in conduct involving moral turpitude or failing to prevent agents, officers or employees in engaging in conduct involving moral turpitude.
(`77 Code, § 5.612) (Am. Ord. 1138, passed 2-23-87; Am. Ord. 1296, passed 1-9-95; Am. Ord. 1377, passed 10-12-98; Am. Ord. 1635, passed 11-28-16) Penalty, see § 5.701