A massage ordinance will be moving forward but with a few options for the Santa Barbara City Council to consider regarding rules on certification requirements, live scans, and operating from home.

The proposed ordinance would lead to significant increases in permitting fees, as well as annual and unannounced inspections.

It also would require therapists to get certified by the California Massage Therapy Council, which includes training for 500 hours. 

The city’s Ordinance Committee continued its discussion regarding the ordinance on Tuesday after running out of time on Dec. 16.

Many massage therapists were certified when only 250 hours of training were required, so under the proposed ordinance, they would have to go back to school for another 250 hours of training. 

Colin Silverman, an owner and operator of the Deep Tissue Massage Center in Santa Barbara, said he got his license in 1996, and having to go back to school would be a hardship for him. 

“A full-time massage therapist, if they have, say, 10 years of full-time experience, they’ve already worked on 7,800 clients,” Silverman said.

“I think that value of the sheer number of bodies they worked on, the people they’ve had to confer to about certain cases, and people they’re trying to help, far outweighs the value of a 250-hour course that’s going to set me back financially.”

He added that the required courses were basic classes and wouldn’t help with future skills, and he asked the committee to consider grandfathering in massage therapists who have 10 to 15 years of experience. 

The way the ordinance is currently written, therapists would have to get certified by Jan. 1, 2029. In the meantime, a limited exemption certification would be available to allow for anyone not currently certified to continue working. 

Heather Minter, assistant city attorney, told the Ordinance Committee that, under state law, massage therapists don’t have to get the California Massage Therapy Council certification as it’s a voluntary program established through the Massage Therapy Act as a tool for local governments and law enforcement to provide consistent certification and oversight of massage professionals. 

While the city has the right to decide what level of education a massage therapist must have in order to get a license, not requiring the CMTC certification could cost the city. 

Minter explained that the CMTC ensures compliance of the Massage Therapy Act at no cost to the city, but if the city didn’t require the CMTC, it would be up to the Police Department to regulate and track all massage therapists, which she said could lead to more expensive permitting fees. 

Another aspect of the ordinance that’s sparked controversy is that all administrative staff working at a massage establishment would have to go through a Live Scan process, meaning they would be fingerprinted and would undergo a background check.

Police Chief Kelly Gordon has said that is to protect clients in vulnerable situations, but advocates worried about the impact it would have on immigrant administrative employees. 

The Police Department claims the ordinance would make it easier to crack down on any establishments using massage therapy as a front for human trafficking, prostitution or other crimes. 

City Councilman Oscar Gutierrez said he wasn’t ready to approve the ordinance and wanted more time to allow for community input. 

“After hearing the perspectives of the people that are going to be affected by this, it does seem unfair,” Gutierrez said. “I’m just trying to find some kind of middle ground where we can come to an understanding of just making this a safer, law-abiding practice.”

The ordinance won’t go to the City Council for a few months, sometime after the council’s two-week spring break in March, to allow the city to look into options concerning Live Scan, grandfathering in veteran massage therapists, and rules for massage therapists who operate in their homes.