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Massage business entry doors to remain unlocked
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Should the front door of a massage places in Ripon remain unlocked and unobstructed during business hours?

The Ripon City Council revisited that very issue at last week’s meeting.

Actually, this was part of an amendment to the massage ordinance that was passed in May.

Ken Zuidervaart, who is the Director of Planning for the city, noted that clarification on legal permission for lock doors as well as provisions to grandfather the necessary permits for existing and law-abiding businesses needed to be revisited as a caveat to the initial passing of the ordinance.

“Essentially, the person would be required to have been in possession of a valid city business license for 10 years (before the adoption of the chapter),” he said.

There’s no exception to those seeking to obtain a Massage Business Permit by Jan. 1 – they’ll be required to undergo a full background check along with confirmation of not having a conviction of any of any specified crimes.

In his report to the council, Zuidervaart said: “We had originally considered adding a requirement that the Chief (Ed Ormonde) determine that the person be sufficiently qualified to perform massage based on skill, training and experience. However, we believe that it was not reasonable to place that burden on the Chief since he may not necessarily be able to verity the training, skill or experience other than based on the word of the applicant.”

As for the entry door issue, Deputy City Attorney Stacy Henderson said that language here was based on the requirements of the Fire Code.

She noted that the Fire Code usually requires exit doors to be open, with specified exceptions based on the number of doors and the number of stories in the building.

Rather than describe the Fire Code’s numerous requirements, the amendment to the ordinance – elected leaders voted 4-0 (Mark Winchell was absent) on the two changes – that reads: “During business hours, the entry door to the Massage Business shall remain unlocked and unobstructed unless otherwise permitted by law.”

To contact reporter Vince Rembulat, e-mail vrembulat@mantecabulletin.com.