[Adopted 4-19-2016 by Ord. No. 16-1911]
For the purpose of this article, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
Systems of activity of structured touch which include, but
are not limited to, holding, applying pressure, positioning and mobilizing
soft tissue of the body by manual technique and use of visual, kinesthetic,
auditory and palpating skills to assess the body for purposes of applying
therapeutic massage, bodywork or somatic principles. Such applications
may include, but are not limited to, the use of therapies such as
heliotherapy or hydrotherapy, the use of moist hot and cold external
applications, external application of herbal or topical preparations
not classified as prescription drugs, movement and neural myofascial
education and education in self-care and stress management. Massage
bodywork and somatic therapies do not include the diagnosis or treatment
of illness, disease, impairment or disability.
Any person, male or female, who administers massage, bodywork
and/or somatic therapies for any form of consideration, who is certified
by the State of New Jersey.
Any establishment or operation wherein massage, bodywork
or somatic therapies are administered or are permitted to be administered,
when such therapies are administered for any form of consideration.
A.
No person, firm or corporation shall operate any establishment or
utilize any premises in the Borough of Highland Park in Middlesex
County as or for a massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishment
unless or until there has first been obtained a permit for such establishment
or premises from the Clerk of the Borough of Highland Park in accordance
with the terms and provisions in this article.
B.
Massage, bodywork and somatic therapist permit required. No person
shall practice massage or related therapies as a massage, bodywork
and somatic therapist, employee or otherwise, unless he or she has
a valid and subsisting massage, bodywork and somatic therapist's
license from the State of New Jersey.
C.
Exceptions. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply, however,
to any massage or related therapies as described herein which are
given by therapists in the office of a licensed physician, chiropractor
or physical therapist, or in a regularly established medical center,
hospital or sanatorium having a staff which includes licensed physicians,
chiropractors and/or physical therapists.
Every applicant for a permit to maintain, operate or conduct
a massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishment or out-call massage,
bodywork or somatic therapy service shall file an application with
the Borough Clerk upon forms provided by said Clerk and pay an annual
fee of $500.
Any person desiring a massage, bodywork or somatic therapy business
permit shall file a written application with the Borough Clerk on
a form to be furnished by the Borough Clerk. The applicant shall accompany
the application with a tender of the correct fee as hereinafter provided
and shall, in addition, furnish the following:
A.
The type of ownership of the business (i.e., whether individual,
partnership, corporation or otherwise).
B.
The name, style and designation under which the business is to be
conducted.
C.
The business address and all telephone numbers, including facsimile,
where business is to be conducted.
D.
A complete list of the names and residence addresses of all massage,
bodywork and somatic therapists and employees in the business, and
the name and residence address of the manager or other person principally
in charge of the operation of the business. This list shall be kept
up to date as new therapists and employees are hired by the business.
E.
A copy of each massage, bodywork and/or somatic therapist's
valid New Jersey state certificate and license issued pursuant to
the Massage, Bodywork and Somatic Therapist Certification Act, N.J.S.A.
45:11 53 et seq.
F.
The following personal information: concerning the applicant, if
an individual; concerning each stockholder holding more than 10% of
the stock of the corporation, each officer and each director, if the
applicant is a corporation; concerning the partners, including limited
partners, if the applicant is a partnership; and concerning the manager
or other person principally in charge of the operation of the business:
(1)
The name, complete residence address and residence telephone number;
(2)
The two previous addresses immediately prior to the present address
of the applicant;
(3)
Written proof of age;
(4)
Height, weight, sex and color of hair and eyes;
(5)
Two front-face portrait photographs taken within 30 days of the date
of the application and at least two inches by two inches in size;
(6)
The massage therapy or similar business history and experience, including
but not limited to whether or not such person has previously operated
in this or another township, city, borough or state under a license
or permit or has had such license or permit denied, revoked or suspended
and the reason therefor and the business activities or occupations
subsequent to such action or denial, suspension or revocation; and
(7)
All criminal convictions other than misdemeanor traffic violations,
fully disclosing the jurisdiction in which convicted and the offense
for which convicted and circumstances thereof. The applicant shall
execute a waiver and consent to allow a fingerprint and criminal background
check if said background check is required.
G.
The names and addresses of three adult residents of the county who
will serve as character references. These references must be persons
other than relatives and business associates.
H.
A copy of a zoning permit of change of tenant occupancy issued by
the Zoning Officer of the Borough of Highland Park specifically for
such establishment, or a certificate of compliance with the conditions
set forth by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment of the
Borough of Highland Park, specifically for such establishment, signed
by the applicable Board Secretary. In cases where a construction and/or
building subcode permit is required, the establishment permit under
this ordinance will not become final until a certificate of occupancy
is issued by the Construction Official of the Borough of Highland
Park specifically for such establishment.
A.
The Borough Clerk, upon receiving an application for a massage, bodywork
or somatic therapy establishment permit, shall refer the application
to, including but not limited to, the Construction Official, the Code
Enforcement Department, the Fire Department, the Fire Marshal, the
Police Department, the Health Department and the Zoning Officer, which
departments' officers shall inspect the premises proposed to be operated
as a massage establishment and shall make written recommendations
to the Borough Clerk concerning compliance with the codes that they
administer.
B.
No massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishment shall be issued
a permit or be operated, established or maintained in the Borough
unless an inspection by the Health Officer, Building Inspector and
Fire Marshal reveals that the establishment complies with the minimum
requirements of the building and health codes for businesses operating
in the Borough of Highland Park.
In order to be employed by a massage, bodywork or somatic therapy
establishment as a therapist, the therapist shall submit satisfactory
evidence of a valid New Jersey State certificate of license issued
pursuant to the Massage, Bodywork and Somatic Therapist Act, N.J.S.A.
45:11 53 et seq., to the Borough Clerk.
The massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishment shall
display its valid permit and that of each and every massage, bodywork
and somatic therapist employed in the establishment in an open and
conspicuous place on the premises of the establishment.
A.
Every portion of the massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishment,
including appliances and apparatus, shall be kept clean and operated
in a sanitary condition.
B.
Copies of employees' licenses and price rates for all services
shall be prominently posted in the reception area in a location available
to all prospective customers.
C.
All employees, including massage, bodywork or somatic therapists,
shall be clean and wear clean, nontransparent outer garments. Dressing
rooms must be available on the premises.
D.
All massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishments shall be
provided with clean, laundered sheets and towels in sufficient quantity,
which shall be laundered after each use thereof and stored in a sanitary
manner.
E.
The sexual or genital area of patrons must be covered by towels,
clothes or undergarments when in the presence of an employee or massage,
bodywork or somatic therapist.
F.
It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly, in a massage establishment,
to place his or her hand upon or touch with any part of his or her
body, to fondle in any manner, or to massage a sexual or genital area
of any other person.
G.
No massage, bodywork or somatic therapist, employee or operator shall
perform or offer to perform any act which would require the touching
of the patron's sexual or genital area.
H.
All walls, ceilings, floors, pools, showers, bathtubs, steam rooms
and all other physical facilities shall be in good repair and maintained
in a clean and sanitary condition. Wet- and dry-heat rooms, steam
or vapor rooms or steam or vapor cabinets and shower compartments
and toilet rooms shall be thoroughly cleaned each day the business
is in operation. Bathtubs and showers shall be thoroughly cleaned
after each use. When carpeting is used on the floors, it shall be
kept dry.
I.
Oils, creams, lotions and other preparations used in administering
massage, bodywork and somatic therapies shall be kept in clean, closed
containers or cabinets.
J.
Animals, except for Seeing Eye dogs, shall not be permitted in the
massage work area.
K.
Each massage, bodywork and somatic therapist shall wash his or her
hands in hot running water, using a proper soap or disinfectant, before
administering a massage, bodywork or somatic therapy to each patron.
The Borough Clerk and/or the Department of Health and/or the
Department of Code Enforcement and/or Zoning Officer and/or Police
Department, Fire Department or their designees shall, from time to
time, at least twice a year, either on an announced or noticed basis
or on an unannounced or unnoticed basis, make an inspection of each
massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishment granted a permit
under the provisions of this chapter for the purpose of determining
whether the provisions of this chapter are complied with. Such inspections
shall be made at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner. It shall
be unlawful for any permittee to fail to allow such inspection officer
access to the premises or to hinder such officer in any manner.
No part of any quarters of any massage, bodywork or somatic
therapy establishment shall be used for or connected with any bedroom
or sleeping quarters, nor shall any person sleep in such massage,
bodywork or somatic therapy establishment except for limited periods
incidental to and directly related to a massage, bodywork or somatic
therapy treatment or bath. This provision shall not preclude the location
of a massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishment in separate
quarters of a building housing a hotel or other separate businesses
or clubs.
A.
No owner or manager of a massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishment
shall tolerate in his or her establishment any activity or behavior
prohibited by the laws of the State of New Jersey involving criminal
sexual contact or criminal sexual acts, nor shall any owner or manager
tolerate in his or her establishment any activity or behavior which
violates this article. No owner shall fraudulently submit any information
to the Borough of Highland Park when applying for a license issued
pursuant to this article.
B.
Any conviction of any employee of a massage, bodywork or somatic
therapy establishment of a violation of the aforementioned statutes
and codes shall devolve upon the owner or manager of such club, it
being specifically declared that, following such a conviction of an
employee, the owner or manager of the club shall be prosecuted as
an accessory to such a violation and the required permits will be
automatically revoked.
A.
Any permit authorized by this article may be denied, suspended or
revoked by the Municipal Court Magistrate after notice and a hearing
following the filing of a complaint for any of the following causes:
(1)
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement in the application for
the permit.
(2)
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement made in the course of
carrying on the permitted business within the Borough.
(3)
Any repeated violations of this article. If any permittee violates
the requirement of this article three times or is convicted of a crime,
the permittee's license shall be immediately revoked.
(4)
Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude, an offense involving
sexual misconduct, keeping or residing in a house of prostitution,
and any crime involving dishonesty.
(5)
Conducting the permitted business in the Borough in an unlawful manner
or in such a manner as to constitute a danger to the health, safety
or general welfare of the public.
B.
Notice of the hearing for the denial, suspension or revocation of
a permit shall be given, in writing, setting forth specifically the
grounds therefor and the date, time and place of the hearing. Such
notice shall be given personally or mailed to the permittee at the
address provided on the application or permit at least five days prior
to the date set for the hearing. The Municipal Court Magistrate shall
have the authority to suspend or revoke permit(s) issued under this
article in addition to fining the violator as provided for herein
below.
