Bylaw looks to work kinks out of massage parlours
Three so called body rub parlours operating in Trenton are about to come under the municipal microscope.
Last night city council approved what was described as one of the most extensive and toughest bylaws in the city’s history.
The bylaw governs the operation of massage parlours.
And it doesn’t stop at stiff licence fees and fines.
If one of the three parlours goes out of business, the city will not permit another to open.
The bylaw stipulates the number of body rub parlours allowed to be licenced “shall be limited to two.’’
Asked what the cost of “surveillance’’ of existing massage parlours will be, OPP detachment commander Earl Johns said he wasn’t in a position to comment.
“The perception of the bylaw should be to protect the positive image of the city,’’ said Johns. “These operations could be a front for other activities.’’
Those activities, such as providing so called ‘Johns’ with adult entertainment services will land operators fines, if caught, ranging from several hundred dollars to a maximum of $50,000.
Massage parlours will be subject to a licencing fee of $1,500. Operators will be subject to a $250 licence fee, while body rub attendants will have to purchase a $100 licence.
The bylaw, said Dyke, is modeled on a bylaw used by the Town of Ajax.
A recent legal challenge was denied, and the Ajax bylaw upheld by the Ontario Court of Appeals.
Massage parlours are subject to offences contained in the Criminal code, such as operating a common bawdy house, or prostitution.
But courts have ruled those incidents as “victimless’’ crimes. Fines or penalties levied do not, say city officials, act as an effective deterrent.