[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Township Council of the Township
of North Brunswick 5-17-2004 by Ord. No. 04-9.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Licensed occupations — See Ch. 212.
For the purpose of this chapter, 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 anchor
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.
Business permit required. No person, firm or corporation
shall operate any establishment or utilize any premises in the Township of
North Brunswick 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 Township of North
Brunswick in accordance with the terms and provisions in this chapter.
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 permit issued
to him or her by the Township of North Brunswick pursuant to the provisions
of this chapter.
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.
D.
Recognition of permits issued by other municipalities.
The Township of North Brunswick may, in its discretion, recognize permits
issued by other municipalities of the State of New Jersey, provided that the
ordinances of the said municipality which issued such permit establish the
same or more restrictive provisions as this chapter and that the municipality
reciprocates by recognizing permits issued by the Township of North Brunswick.
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 Township 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 Township Clerk on a form
to be furnished by the Township 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.
E.
A copy of each massage, bodywork and/or somatic therapists'
valid state certificate or 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
by the Police Department.
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 Township of North Brunswick 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 Township
of North Brunswick 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 Township of North Brunswick specifically for such establishment.
A.
The Township Clerk, upon receiving an application for
a massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishment permit, shall refer the
application to the Department of Community Affairs, the Construction Official,
the Fire Department, the Police Department, the Health Department and the
Planning Department, which departments shall inspect the premises proposed
to be operated as a massage establishment and shall make written recommendations
to the Township 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
Township 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 Township
of North Brunswick.
A.
To be eligible for a permit as a massage, bodywork and
somatic therapist, an applicant shall submit satisfactory evidence of a valid
certificate of license issued pursuant to the Massage, Bodywork and Somatic
Therapist Act, N.J.S.A. 45:11-53 et seq.
B.
The following information concerning the applicant will
also be required:
(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;
(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
by the Police Department;
(8)
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.
A.
The applicant for a massage, bodywork and somatic therapist's
license shall pay an annual permit fee of $100, which permit fee shall become
due on the first day of January each year.
B.
An applicant who is the sole owner of an establishment
who obtains a permit under this chapter shall be exempted from payment of
the therapist fee established under this chapter. The intent of this subsection
is that a sole proprietor who obtains an establishment and a therapist permit
shall pay only the establishment fee. This exemption shall be for one therapist
fee only. If there are more than one owner/therapist with any given establishment,
all other therapists shall pay the therapist permit fee.
The massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishment shall display
its 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.
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, and each dressing room shall
contain a tub or shower in good working order. Doors to such dressing rooms
shall open inward and 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.
The sexual or genital area of patrons must be covered
by towels, cloths 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 Township Clerk and/or the Department of Health and/or the Department
of Community Affairs 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 establishment any activity or
behavior prohibited by the laws of the State of New Jersey, particularly but
not exclusive of laws proscribing prostitution, indecency and obscenity, including
the sale, uttering or exposing and public communication of obscene material;
laws which relate to the commission of sodomy, relating to the commission
of adultery, and proscribing fornication; nor shall any owner or manager tolerate
in his or her establishment any activity or behavior which violates this chapter.
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 chapter may be denied,
suspended or revoked by the Director of Public Safety 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 within the Township;
(3)
Any violation of this chapter;
(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 Township 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 Township Business Administrator shall serve as hearing officer for any
hearing pursuant to this subsection.
Any person violating the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction,
be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days or by a fine
not exceeding $1,250 or both, in the discretion of the court.
