Update: The city of Amarillo said at noon Tuesday, after this story was originally published below, that the application process and inspections of massage establishments will be delayed, allowing council members to receive feedback and address questions from the public on this issue at the council's next regular meeting Feb. 27. “The council looks forward to hearing from members of the Amarillo community regarding their questions and concerns on this ordinance,” said Mayor Cole Stanley in the news release. “Feedback from the public is very important as the city moves forward in addressing this public safety issue.”
The city of Amarillo spoke about changes being made to its Massage Establishment Ordinance last week, which went into effect at the beginning of the year.
When the ordinance was passed last year, there was concern from the city marshal office and council about the proliferation of massage establishments in the area, to which they claimed there were 31 in total within city limits. One of the major reasons cited by the city was that an ordinance was needed to prevent human trafficking, which has been a concern in these establishments, and to ensure that there is no illegal activity being conducted on the premises.
Under the ordinance, massage establishments would be required to pay a license fee of $250, which would help to pay for a yearly inspection of establishments and to ensure that all businesses have the same rules that apply to them.
“Council did not have an issue with a known sex trafficking ring or a criminal element that was being gone after, but there was a continued number of new establishments that were being opened in the area,” Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley said. “We took calls from concerned citizens who wanted to ensure these were legitimate businesses. We found out we had an old code and wanted to update it to make sure these establishments were on the same set of guidelines and rules. We needed to update the ordinance and ensure everyone is playing by the same set of rules."
Stanley said that he had heard pushback from licensed massage therapists about the ordinance who were concerned about overreach. He stated that the old ordinance made the law very confusing to be enforced in legitimate businesses.
“We struck old rules on opposite-sex massage that were outdated or confusing,” Stanley said. “We wanted to bring this up to date and not overregulate without further burdens on business by bringing regulations in line. Well, that makes it really hard for the massage therapist who went to school, got that license, and paid their dues to have to compete with the bodyworker. And so, the bodyworkers are all going to come into the same compliance, and it prevents a criminal element from taking place in town.”
Stanley did say that he understands local businesses' concerns with the ordinance. One of those issues that will be open to further discussion was the operating hours, which are currently from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. He said that the council is more than open to discussion on changes that need to be made and that the council will take further looks at the guidelines of the ordinance.
“These are things that we are happy to look at; we do not want people to think that staff is looking to come out to get legitimate businesses,” Stanley said. “They just want to do their job with the minimum number of regulations we need. We have additional concerns that we are trying to update."
Stanley emphasized that there was no evidence of any major sex trafficking in these establishments in the area, with about three issues over the last three years, with the last arrest being in 2014. He said there needs to be a balance in how the city regulates these establishments.
“This is preventative; we have not seen a rise in arrests for sex trafficking,” Stanley said. "We have many establishments opening in this business sector that need to be regulated.”
The council expects to have a discussion on this ordinance in an upcoming meeting for these changes to be made. Currently, as part of the new ordinance, the inspections to establishments are scheduled to start March 1.
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The city of Amarillo spoke about changes being made to its Massage Establishment Ordinance last week, which went into effect at the beginning of the year.
When the ordinance was passed last year, there was concern from the city marshal office and council about the proliferation of massage establishments in the area, to which they claimed there were 31 in total within city limits. One of the major reasons cited by the city was that an ordinance was needed to prevent human trafficking, which has been a concern in these establishments, and to ensure that there is no illegal activity being conducted on the premises.
Under the ordinance, massage establishments would be required to pay a license fee of $250, which would help to pay for a yearly inspection of establishments and to ensure that all businesses have the same rules that apply to them.
“Council did not have an issue with a known sex trafficking ring or a criminal element that was being gone after, but there was a continued number of new establishments that were being opened in the area,” Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley said. “We took calls from concerned citizens who wanted to ensure these were legitimate businesses. We found out we had an old code and wanted to update it to make sure these establishments were on the same set of guidelines and rules. We needed to update the ordinance and ensure everyone is playing by the same set of rules."
Stanley said that he had heard pushback from licensed massage therapists about the ordinance who were concerned about overreach. He stated that the old ordinance made the law very confusing to be enforced in legitimate businesses.
“We struck old rules on opposite-sex massage that were outdated or confusing,” Stanley said. “We wanted to bring this up to date and not overregulate without further burdens on business by bringing regulations in line. Well, that makes it really hard for the massage therapist who went to school, got that license, and paid their dues to have to compete with the bodyworker. And so, the bodyworkers are all going to come into the same compliance, and it prevents a criminal element from taking place in town.”
Stanley did say that he understands local businesses' concerns with the ordinance. One of those issues that will be open to further discussion was the operating hours, which are currently from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. He said that the council is more than open to discussion on changes that need to be made and that the council will take further looks at the guidelines of the ordinance.
“These are things that we are happy to look at; we do not want people to think that staff is looking to come out to get legitimate businesses,” Stanley said. “They just want to do their job with the minimum number of regulations we need. We have additional concerns that we are trying to update."
Stanley emphasized that there was no evidence of any major sex trafficking in these establishments in the area, with about three issues over the last three years, with the last arrest being in 2014. He said there needs to be a balance in how the city regulates these establishments.
“This is preventative; we have not seen a rise in arrests for sex trafficking,” Stanley said. "We have many establishments opening in this business sector that need to be regulated.”
The council expects to have a discussion on this ordinance in an upcoming meeting for these changes to be made. Currently, as part of the new ordinance, the inspections to establishments are scheduled to start March 1.
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