The City Council finds and declares as follows:
(A) It is the purpose and intent of this chapter to provide for the orderly regulation of massage therapists and massage establishments, in the interest of the public peace, health, safety and welfare, as the city wishes both to recognize the practice of massage as a valid professional field and to discourage prostitution and other unlawful activities which otherwise have become associated with some massage establishments.
(B) Businesses regulated by this chapter involve significant intimate contact between persons, which creates opportunities for injury or other harm to persons, acts of prostitution, and other unlawful sexual or other activity to occur, thus the permit requirements and restrictions imposed by this chapter are reasonably necessary to protect the public peace, health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Corona, as well as those who frequent or are involved with the businesses regulated by this chapter.
(C) The City of Corona is authorized, by virtue of the State Constitution and Cal. Gov't Code § 51030 et seq., to regulate massage establishments by imposing certain minimum building sanitation and operation standards for such establishments.
(D) There is a significant risk of injury to massage clients by improperly trained and/or educated massage therapists and this chapter provides reasonable safeguards against injury and economic loss by prohibiting any person from performing massage services unless such person is certified by the California Massage Therapy Council.
(E) There is opportunity for acts of prostitution and other unlawful sexual or other activity to occur in massage establishments. Courts have long recognized massage as a pervasively regulated activity and that it is not uncommon for massage establishments to be operated as brothels in disguise. The establishment of reasonable standards for issuance of permits to operate a massage establishment and restrictions on operations would serve to reduce the risk of illegal activity.
(F) The restrictions and requirements contained in this chapter reduce the burdens on the Police Department and permit the deployment of the police personnel such that other serious crimes may be prevented and other important laws enforced.
(G) The regulations and restrictions contained in this chapter tend to discourage massage establishments from degenerating into houses of prostitution and the means utilized in this chapter bear a reasonable and rational relationship to the goals sought to be achieved.
(H) The regulations and restrictions contained in this chapter are consistent with all of the objectives, policies, general land uses, programs and actions of all elements of the Corona General Plan, and none of the proposed regulations conflict with current General Plan.
(I) The regulations and restrictions contained in this chapter are not detrimental to, and are instead necessary to preserve and protect, the public peace, health, safety and general welfare of the city, its residents and businesses.
(`78 Code, § 5.28.015.) (Ord. 3197 § 1, 2015; Ord. 3192 § 1, 2015; Ord. 3191 § 2, 2015; Ord. 2995 § 2, 2009; Ord. 2375 § 1, 1999; Ord. § 1 (part), 1998; Ord, 1770 § 1, 1985.)