By Raymond Mendoza

 

Diamond Bar – Prostitution worries are prompting the City of Diamond Bar to amend its regulations regarding massage parlor businesses.

 

Local governments are being given new laws in the fight against organized prostitution, and cities like Diamond Bar are working to make obtaining permits more difficult for businesses that would offer illicit services under the guise of massage parlors.

 

Prostitution rings being housed in massage parlors might be a pop culture image in movies and TV, but the threat has become a major reality in Los Angeles and Orange counties – so much so that Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1147 back in September to fight the epidemic.

 

Following Brown’s lead, the Diamond Bar City Council approved a 45-day moratorium prohibiting the establishment, expansion or relocation of massage establishments in order for City officials to amend its municipal code to ensure that all massage parlors are free of prostitution.

 

According to Mayor Steve Tye, the moratorium was created with public safety in mind.

 

“The City plans to develop and codify new zoning, land use and business license regulations on massage establishments in an effort to mitigate any potential negative effects associated with the use, all in a manner consistent with AB1147,” Tye said.

 

Originally, SB731 and AB619 were created to professionalize the massage industry by creating uniform standards for massage practitioners and therapists in California. The two bills established a voluntary certification process for massage professionals under the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC), effectively blocking cities from denying land use controls pertaining to massage establishments.

 

The end result, throughout California, has been an increase in prostitution being well hidden behind faux massage establishments.

 

With AB1147, city governments no longer have to comply with the CAMTC and are free to once again allow or deny massage establishments based on their merit.

 

Tye said he believes that the temporary moratorium will lead municipal codes that ensure that illegal prostitution fronts never have a place in the City.

 

“The moratorium will help the City by halting establishment of new massage-related businesses until the City develops amendments to our municipal code to establish appropriate local regulatory measures – as permitted by AB1147 – that are consistent with new state law,” Tye said. “This will better ensure that massage establishments in Diamond Bar are legitimate and regulated effectively for overall public safety.”

 

Furthermore, Tye noted that the moratorium was not created out of desperation to rid Diamond Bar of prostitution since the City has had no prostitution arrests in any of its massage parlors.

 

Tye also indicated that the moratorium will be in effect for 45 days, beginning Jan. 6, but that the prohibition period can be extended two times- once for 10 months and 15 days, and a second and final time of one year.

 

Tye said that to ensure the safety of Diamond Bar residents, City officials will “take as much time as necessary to get it right.”