GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Green Bay's Common Council adopted an ordinance requiring all massage establishments to have licenses by an 11-1 vote Tuesday.
Wisconsin law already requires massage therapists to have licenses.
Green Bay's ordinance regulates the businesses that employs the massage therapists.
According to city documents, the ordinance adoption means the city council has the power to approve or deny massage establishment license applications. The council can also revoke, suspend, or not renew licenses.
City documents show when applying, the applicant must include whether they've been convicted of crimes or ordinance violations other than traffic citations within the past three years.
The current ordinance explains that massage therapy is allowed in residentially-owned businesses, and hours of operation are from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
City Attorney Joanne Bungert said the purpose of the ordinance is to ensure community safety by eliminating illicit spas.
"We have no ability to be able to take any other kind of public nuisance action against repeat offender that don't comply," Bungert said. "Essentially, police can go in every day, and ticket and ticket and ticket, and there's nothing that gives us the ability to be able to take it to the next level to remove a problematic business from our city."
Before the council made its vote, several massage therapists spoke out and said they want to be exempt from it, and that the ordinance gives the legitimate professionals a bad name.
"We want the illicit spas closed as well," Green Bay massage therapist Sara Krueger said. "Our businesses don't run on average the way that you guys think. I don't have an "open" sign. If you don't have an appointment with me, you're not getting into my office. So, there's a lot of gray area here that you guys, I guess, don't really see because you're not fully familiar with our practice."
"I never want to be affiliated with [a sex worker]," Denmark yoga instructor and massage therapist Danielle Vandevelde said. "And by including me into that, you are affiliating a massage therapist with these types of workers. That's not fair to me. That's not fair to my fellow therapists. It's not fair to my children. It's not fair to my family."
City council members responded, with the majority of them supporting the new massage establishment regulations.
"We've also received input from local massage therapists who are in support of the ordinance, District 11 alderman Melinda Eck said. "Some are concerned about speaking out in public in favor of it for fear of negative repercussions."
"I understand they might not want to be looped in with what's going on at some of these businesses," District 8 alderman Chris Wery said. "But you kind of already are, whether or not we adopt this ordinance. And so, that's unfortunate. It is what it is. But we're attacking the illegitimate business."
The massage establishment ordinance comes after an NBC 26 investigation where police records showed several violations at some spas along Military Avenue. The records showed massage license violations and a sexual contact complaint.
City leaders said the ordinance has been in the works since 2015.
The new regulations will take effect on Feb. 1.
