[Added 8-8-2017 by Ord. No. 2119-17]
The purpose of this article is to protect and preserve the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Passaic and the patrons of massage, bodywork and somatic therapy businesses.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
MASSAGE, BODYWORK AND SOMATIC THERAPIES
Any 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 neuromyofacial 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.
MASSAGE, BODYWORK AND SOMATIC THERAPIST
Any person who administers massage, bodywork and/or somatic therapies for any form of consideration.
MASSAGE, BODYWORK AND SOMATIC THERAPY ESTABLISHMENT
Any establishment wherein massage, bodywork and/or somatic therapies are administered or are permitted to be administered, when such therapies are administered for any form of consideration.
A. 
Massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishment permit required. No person, firm or corporation shall operate any establishment or utilize any premises in the City of Passaic 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 City of Passaic in accordance with the terms and provisions of this section.
B. 
Massage, bodywork and somatic therapist's permit required. No person shall practice massage or related therapies as a massage, bodywork or somatic therapist or otherwise unless he or she has a valid and subsisting massage, bodywork and somatic therapist's permit issued to him or her by the City of Passaic pursuant to the terms and provisions of this section.
C. 
Permits must be renewed annually by January 1.
Any person desiring a massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishment permit shall file a written application with the Division of Health upon a form to be furnished by the Health Officer. The application form shall contain the following information:
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 cell phone numbers and facsimile, where business is to be conducted.
D. 
A complete list of the names and residence addresses of all massage, bodywork and somatic therapists, employees of the business and outside contractors and the name and residence address of the manager or other person principally in charge of the operation of the business, which list shall be kept current in the establishment.
E. 
A sworn statement indicating that all massage, bodywork and somatic therapists employed or to be employed by the establishment or otherwise permitted to work at the establishment have been issued a permit pursuant to this section.
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, shall be provided:
(1) 
The name, complete residence address and residence telephone number.
(2) 
The two previous residential and business 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 by two inches in size.
(6) 
The massage therapy or similar business history and experience, including, but not limited to, the two previous business addresses and telephone numbers immediately prior to the date of the application and whether or not such person has previously operated in this or another municipality 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.
(7) 
All disorderly persons and criminal convictions other than misdemeanor traffic violations, fully disclosing the jurisdiction in which convicted and the offense for which convicted and circumstances thereof. All applicants must execute the Authorization by Subject of Request and Privacy Act Notification Form SBI-212B (Request for Criminal History Record Information for a Noncriminal Justice Purpose) for a criminal listing name search identification check pursuant to N.J.S.A. 53:1-20.5 et seq. The criminal history check shall be kept confidential. For purposes of this check, the City of Passaic Police Department is hereby authorized to have access to the criminal history record information file through the State Bureau of Investigation. The cost of such criminal history name search shall be paid for by the applicant. A massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishment permit may be denied to any person who has been convicted of a crime or other offense enumerated in § 90A-14 of this article.
G. 
The names and addresses of three adults who will serve as character references. These references must be persons other than relatives and business associates.
H. 
Any application submitted on or after the effective date of this amendment shall include a scale drawing of the space proposed to be used for massage, bodywork or somatic therapy.
The Division of Health, upon receiving an application for a massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishment permit, shall refer the application to the Building Inspector, Fire Inspector and Police Chief, who shall inspect the premises proposed to be operated as such an establishment and shall make written recommendations to the Health Officer concerning compliance with the codes that they administer. No massage, bodywork, and somatic therapy establishment shall be issued a permit or be operated, established or maintained in the City unless an inspection by the Health Officer, Building Inspector and Fire Inspector reveals that the establishment complies with the minimum requirements of the building and health codes for businesses operating in the City of Passaic. In addition, the establishment must comply with each of the following minimum requirements:
A. 
All massage tables, bathtubs, shower stalls, steam or bath areas and floors shall have surfaces which may be readily disinfected, and shall be maintained in a sanitary condition and regularly cleaned and disinfected.
B. 
Adequate dressing room facilities shall be provided for the patrons to be served at any given time. In the event that male and female patrons are to be served simultaneously, separate dressing and massage room facilities shall be provided.
C. 
The premises shall have adequate equipment for disinfecting and sterilizing nondisposable instruments and materials used in administering massages. Such nondisposable instruments and materials shall be disinfected after use on each part of the body.
D. 
Adequate hand washing facilities shall be provided at convenient locations as necessary to maintain clean hands and arms of all employees during hours of operation.
A. 
To be eligible for a permit as a massage, bodywork and somatic therapist, an applicant shall submit satisfactory evidence of certification from the State of New Jersey pursuant to the Massage. Bodywork and Somatic Therapist Certification Act, P.L. 1999 N.J.R.S. 19.[1] In the event that such certification has not been made available by the State of New Jersey, then satisfactory evidence of the following must be submitted:
(1) 
Successful completion of a minimum of 500 hours of in-class study in the field of massage, bodywork or somatic therapy; or
(2) 
Successful completion of the written examination offered by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 45:11-53 et seq.
B. 
For a period of 18 months after the date procedures are established by this section for applying for a permit to conduct massage, bodywork or somatic therapy in the City of Passaic, any person engaged in the full-time practice of massage, bodywork or somatic therapy for two years preceding the enactment of this section or any person engaged in the part-time practice of massage, bodywork or somatic therapy for five years preceding the enactment of this section and who has successfully completed a minimum of 200 hours of education or training in massage preceding the enactment of this section, may file an application to acquire a temporary permit to practice without satisfying the requirements in Subsection A above. Any person filing an application, 18 months or later after the enactment of this section, to be permitted as a massage, bodywork or somatic therapist in the City of Passaic must fulfill the requirements in Subsection A above.
C. 
The following information concerning the application will also be required:
(1) 
The name, complete residence address and residence telephone number.
(2) 
Previous addresses within the last five years prior to the present address of the applicant.
(3) 
Documentary 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 by two inches in size.
(6) 
The massage therapy or similar business history and experience, including, but not limited to whether or not such a person has previously operated in this or another city or state under a license or permit denied, revoked or suspended and the reason thereof and the business activities or occupations subsequent to such action or denial, suspension or revocation.
(7) 
All disorderly persons or criminal convictions, other than misdemeanor traffic violations, fully disclosing the jurisdiction in which convicted and the offense for which convicted and circumstances thereof. All applicants must execute the Authorization by Subject of Request and Privacy Act Notification Form SBI-212B (Request for Criminal History Record Information for a Noncriminal Justice Purpose) for a criminal listing name search identification check pursuant to N.J.S.A. 53:1-20.5 et seq. The criminal history check shall be kept confidential. For purposes of this check, the City of Passaic Police Department is hereby authorized to have access to the criminal history record information file through the State Bureau of Investigation. The cost of such criminal history name search shall be paid for by the applicant. A massage, bodywork and somatic therapist's permit may be denied to any person who has been convicted of a crime or other offense enumerated in § 90A-14 of this section.
(8) 
The names and addresses of three adults who will serve as character references. These references must be persons other than relatives and business associates.
A. 
With the exception of massage, bodywork and somatic therapists and establishment owners who are certified pursuant to P.L. 1999 N.J.R.S. 19[1] or have met the requirements of § 90A-12A or B, all applicants seeking a permit or temporary permit under this article shall be fingerprinted by the City of Passaic Police Department. The City of Passaic Police Department shall fingerprint such applicants on Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., or as otherwise determined by the City of Passaic Police Department. The applicant shall pay a fee of $10 to the Police Department for the cost of fingerprinting and shall also submit the applicable fee required by the New Jersey State Police.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 45:11-53 et seq.
B. 
When said application is properly filled out, signed by the applicant and has been filed with the Division of Health with all accompanying information, the application shall be referred by the Division of Health to the City Police Department. The Chief of Police or his or her designee shall investigate the information available as to the good moral character of the applicant, and shall recommend approval or disapproval of the application within 90 days. Reasons for a recommendation of disapproval shall be set forth in writing on the reverse side of the application. In evaluating a criminal record of an applicant, the Chief of Police must consider whether the offense relates adversely to the occupation of a massage therapist or massage therapist establishment pursuant to the criteria set forth in N.J.S.A. 2A:168A-2 et seq. The application shall be returned to the Health Officer, who will either issue the permit or notify the applicant of a denial.
A. 
Permits issued under this section may be revoked by the Health Officer, after notice and a hearing, 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 in the City.
(3) 
Any violation of this article.
(4) 
Conviction of an offense involving moral turpitude, a felony, an offense involving sexual misconduct, keeping or residing in a house of prostitution and any offense involving dishonesty.
(5) 
Conducting the permitted business in the City in an unlawful manner or in such a manner as to constitute a menace to the health, safety or general welfare of the public.
B. 
Notice of the hearing for the revocation of a permit shall be given in writing setting forth specifically the grounds of the complaint and the time and place of the hearing. Such notice shall be given personally or mailed to the permittee at his/her last known address at least five days prior to the date set for the hearing.
C. 
Such permit may, pending revocation proceedings, be suspended for not more than 10 days by the Health Officer if, in his/her opinion, the conduct of the permittee is detrimental to the health, safety and general welfare of the City of Passaic.
D. 
The City Administrator shall serve as hearing officer for any hearing pursuant to this section.
The massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishment shall display its permit as well as the permit of each and every massage, bodywork and somatic therapist employed in the establishment in an open and conspicuous space on the premises of the establishment.
Every massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishment shall comply with the following:
A. 
Every portion of the massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishment, including appliances and apparatus, shall be kept clean and operated in a sanitary condition.
B. 
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 and somatic therapists, shall be clean and wear clean, nontransparent outer garments. Dressing rooms must be available on the premises. Doors to such dressing rooms shall open inward and shall be self-closing.
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. 
It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly, in a massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishment, to fondle in any manner the buttocks, genital area or female breast of any other person. No massage, bodywork and somatic therapist, employee or operator shall offer to perform any act that would require the touching of the patron's genital area.
F. 
All walls, ceilings, floors, pools, showers, bathtubs, steam rooms and all other physical facilities and surfaces 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, clean and sanitary.
G. 
Oils, creams, lotions, and other preparations used in administering massage, bodywork and somatic therapies shall be kept in clean closed containers or cabinets.
H. 
Animals, except for Seeing-Eye dogs, shall not be permitted in the massage work area.
I. 
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 a patron.
J. 
During the hours of operation that any facility and/or premises used, operated and/or maintained as a massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishment are required, by the provisions of this chapter, to be closed, all such facilities and/or premises used, operated and/or maintained for massage, bodywork and somatic therapy shall be open to public view from the public street or public thoroughfare. During such period of time, a full view of the interior of such premises from the public street shall not be obstructed by the use of nontransparent glass or any shade, blind, shutter, screen, partition, curtain, or any other article placed within or without the premises.
The Health Officer, Police Chief and/or the Building Inspector shall, from time to time, at least twice a year, make an inspection of each massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishment granted a permit under the provisions of this section for the purpose of determining whether there is compliance with the provisions of this section. 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 and somatic therapy establishment shall be used for or connected with any bedroom or sleeping quarters, nor shall any person sleep in such massage, bodywork and 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 massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishments 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, particularly, but not limited to, laws proscribing prostitution, indecency and obscenity, including the sale, uttering or exposing and public communication of obscene material and laws which relate to the commission of sodomy, adultery and proscribing fornication, nor shall any owner or manager tolerate in his or her establishment any activity or behavior which violates this section.
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 establishment, it being specifically declared that following such conviction of an employee, the owner or manager of the establishment may be prosecuted as an accessory to such violation and the permits which have been issued shall be automatically revoked.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to massage, bodywork or somatic therapies given:
A. 
In the office of licensed physician, chiropractor or physical therapist; or
B. 
By a regularly established medical center, hospital or sanitarium having a staff which includes licensed physicians, chiropractors and/or physical therapists; or
C. 
By any licensed physician, chiropractor or physical therapist in the residence of his or her patient; or
D. 
By a licensed barber or cosmetologist/hairstylist limited to the areas of the face, neck, scalp or upper part of the body as set forth in the Cosmetology and Hairstyling Act of 1984, N.J.S.A. 45:5B-1 et seq.
E. 
By a reflexologist, certified accredited by an established reflexology certification board, limited to the areas of the hands, ankles and feet.
[Amended 3-21-2023 by Ord. No. 2390-23; 10-12-2023 by Ord. No. 2417-23]
The procedure for licensing and regulation set forth in Chapter 177 of the Code of the City of Passaic (Licenses), as well as the penalties for noncompliance with this article, are applicable in the City of Passaic, subject to the following provisions:
A. 
In addition to the revocation or suspension of the permit granted under this article, any person who violates any provision of this article shall be subject, upon conviction, to the penalties provided in § 1-3 of these Revised General Ordinances.
B. 
In addition to the provisions set forth in Subsection A, the owner of real property which leases such property to a massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishment that employs or contracts any person who violates any provision of this article may be subject, upon the conviction thereof, to a fine: for the first offense, not less than $1,000 nor more than $1,500; for a second offense, not less than $1,500 nor more than $3,500; and not less than $3,500 nor more than $5,000 for a third and any subsequent offense.
C. 
In the event that an owner of real property which leases such property to a massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishment that employs or contracts any person who violates any provision of this article is determined to have known, or should have known, of such violation, the fines set forth above shall be doubled. An owner may be found to have knowledge of a violation sufficient to invoke the enhanced fines set forth in this Subsection C from the existence of prior violations at the building, whether or not the present owner was the owner of the building at the time of the earlier violations and whether or not the employee or business who engaged in the prior violations of this article is the same employee or business currently in violation of the provisions of this article.
D. 
All facilities and/or premises which are used, operated and/or maintained for massage, bodywork, and somatic therapy shall pay the following fees to the City Clerk of the City of Passaic at the time of initial application for a license and at the time of the renewal thereof:
(1) 
Initial application fee: $2,500.
(2) 
License: $500.
E. 
All licenses issued hereunder shall be subject to the following hours of operation: 7:00 a.m. through 11:00 p.m., Monday to Saturday; 7:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m., Sunday.
F. 
All massage, bodywork or somatic therapist hereunder shall be subject to the following permit fees:
(1) 
Initial permit fee: $100.
(2) 
Renewal permit fee: $50.
Massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishments and therapists operating in the City of Passaic as of the date of the adoption of this article must apply for a permit within 60 days of the effective date of this article and must obtain a permit within 150 days of the effective date of this article.