05_07_12. Update

July 12, 2005 Email Update

Greetings SF Massage ordinance List members!

I know it has been too long since my last update, but I have been deep into a new business start-up, which has been consuming all of my waking hours for the past nine months. But, today I have (1) important and exciting news to share with all of you about the regulation of home-based massage businesses in San Francisco, (2) an alert about a new issue that is before the Board of Supervisors, and (3) a new amendment to the massage ordinance regarding chair massage that I am supporting.

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(1)(1)(1)(1)(1) FIRST, THE EXCITING NEWS (1)(1)(1)(1)
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From the beginning, many years ago, when I started working on transferring the regulation of massage in San Francisco from the Police Department to the Department of Public Health, I always maintained that our success in that area would only be the first step, not the last. In particular, I had my eye set upon allowing home-based massage in residentially zoned areas to be permitted.

I am delighted to report that the Planning Department has ruled that professional massage can now be done out of the practitioner's home without the need for a massage business permit. All you need is either a General or Advanced Practitioner permit. This is HUGE!! We have long recognized that most professional massage practitioners in San Francisco could not be "legal" because they were working out of their residences. That is no longer a barrier. So, please spread the word that you can now practice legally out of your home, if you have either a General or Advanced Practitioner permit.

Since the staff at DPH is still getting up to speed on the recent ruling, I suggest that you print out a copy of the home page [http://www.sfdph.org/eh/hn/Index_massage.htm] of the massage regulations (which discusses home-based massage) and take it with you when you go down to apply at DPH, in case you get a staff person who is not yet fully informed.

Even with that win, however, our work is not yet complete. I want to bring two more issues to your attention that require your support.

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(2)(2)(2)(2) A NEW ISSUE (2)(2)(2)(2)
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A few weeks ago, Supervisor Fiona Ma tried to push an amendment through that would have required all businesses applying for a massage establishment permit be required to apply for a Conditional Use permit from the Planning Commission. This means that opening a massage establishment would take twice as long, require neighborhood notifications, and necessitate a special hearing for each application before the Planning Commission turning these applications from an administrative process into a political process.

On the day of the vote before the Board of Supervisors, I was notified of this effort and managed, with the help of Supervisor Daly's office, to get the proposal sent back to committee so that we would have an opportunity for greater input. I am meeting with Supervisor Ma tomorrow and will hear all of her rationales for this new effort and will report to you after the meeting. After I hear the details and issue my report you need to voice your opinion directly to the Supervisors or to the committee, if the issue is taken up again. Stay tuned.

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(3)(3)(3)(3) ANOTHER AMENDMENT (3)(3)(3)(3)
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I have to preface this discussion by making certain that you know that my professional life for the past twenty years has been intimately tied up with chair massage. Since developing the first massage chair in 1986, I have been operating TouchPro Institute, a professional association that has trained over 10,000 table practitioner in the skills of chair massage. You can check out my work at www.touchpro.com. I have to make mention this because my proposed amendment would directly benefit everyone who works in a chair massage business.

The Problem
There is no appropriate permit category for Chair Massage businesses in the current massage regulations.

Right now, there are three massage business permits allowed in the San Francisco law:

Massage Establishment;
Solo Practitioner Massage Establishment; and
Outcall Massage Service.

The first two specify that massage be performed at a "fixed place of business" and the Outcall permit requires that the massage be performed “not at a fixed location but at a location designated by the client or customer.”

But Chair massage businesses operate at both “fixed” (think of the chair massage at Whole Foods Markets) and “not fixed” locations (think of chair massage at events). So, we are in a quandary.

The Solution
I am proposing a new business permit category that would be subject to the same fees as the Outcall permits, but would allow chair massage businesses to operate in either fixed, or not fixed, locations. I am also proposing that the new category be included in the Solo Massage Establishment permit, like the Outcall permit, so that people holding the Advanced Practitioner permit, would only have to have one business permit. No changes would be required to the Practitioner permits. All practitioners working in a chair massage business would be required to have either the General or Advanced Practitioner permit.

This amendment would have three elements:

Create a new business category for chair massage businesses with the same fee structure as the Outcall permit.
Define chair massage as having the following characteristics:
-The clients are in an upright, seated position.
-The clients are fully-clothed.
-The massage is performed on clients only from the waist up.
-The massage is never done in a private, closed-door room.
Include the new chair massage permit as part of the Solo Practitioner Massage Establishment permit.

I will leave the exact wording of the amendments up to the City Attorney’s office and will notify supporters when a sponsor has been found and the amendment drafted.

I realize I am asking your support for something that is totally self-serving, but I believe that it will also serve to support all of the people running chair massage businesses and stimulate the growth of more chair massage businesses, which will get more people introduced to massage, which will create more table massage clients, which will make the world a much more pleasant place to live in.

If you are willing to support this initiative, please take one minute and Reply to this email and I will put your name on a list of supporters. I will need your name, city, zip code and a statement of support (“I support your proposal for a new category of Chair Massage Business”). Feel free to call me with any questions. Thank you for your participation in this effort.

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That's all for now. I will send out another update by early next week.

In touch,
David Palmer
415-861-0443
www.touchpro.com
david@touchpro.com

Coalition for Responsible Massage Regulation