The Duarte City Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit to allow an acupressure and hypnotherapy business to operate at 1740 Huntington Drive, Suite 102, after a staff presentation and a brief statement from the applicant.

The item before the commission was a request to operate an acupressure and hypnotherapy business at 1740 Huntington Drive, Planning staff said. The permit, listed as Conditional Use Permit 25-04, was approved by voice vote while the record also shows adoption of Resolution PC2507.

Planning staff said the proposed clinic will occupy one suite in a three-building shopping center at the southwest corner of Highland Avenue and Huntington Drive. The suite is approximately 1,231 square feet and includes a 343-square-foot lobby, one treatment room, one office, two bathrooms and a cleaning room. Staff said the business will offer acupressure, hypnotherapy, cupping therapy, gua sha therapy and tui na therapy and that the applicant is licensed with the California Massage Therapy Council and is a certified hypnotist.

The applicant, Sunny, told commissioners she is from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and that she has been coming to Duarte for 10 years. "I love Duarte since 10 years ago," Sunny said. "I...think I got the right decision because, you know, city hall is to me many times, I just feel like a family." She said she expects to see up to three patients per day and is not hiring additional staff at this time.

Staff described proposed hours of operation as Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the business closed on Sundays. Appointments, staff said, are scheduled online and are spaced two-and-a-half to three hours apart.

Because acupressure services fall under the city’s definition of a massage establishment, staff applied the municipal code requirements for massage establishments. Staff reported the unit meets the minimum 1,200-square-foot requirement and exceeds the minimum lobby size. The planning presentation also listed security and lighting conditions: the applicant will install seven security cameras (two exterior cameras at the main entrance, two at the rear exit, one at the front desk, one facing the lobby waiting area and one facing the hallway). Prior to issuance of a business license, the applicant must receive public-safety approval of the security plan and install additional exterior lighting as required by the planning department.

Staff told the commission that, because the Duarte development code does not set a specific parking ratio for personal services, it used the city’s medical-clinic parking ratio of one space per 200 square feet. At that ratio the business requires six parking stalls. The shopping center provides 90 shared parking spaces for all tenants; staff acknowledged the center’s parking is constrained but concluded the clinic’s limited daily appointments and staggered schedule are unlikely to create parking conflicts.

A motion to approve the conditional use permit was made and seconded; the commission voted in favor by voice vote and the chair announced the motion carried.

The approval is conditioned on the security-plan signoff by public safety and required exterior lighting improvements before a business license is issued. No public comments were received on the permit during the hearing, and no amendments to the permit were proposed at the meeting.

Resolution PC2507 accompanies the permit approval. The commission’s approval allows the applicant to proceed with the next steps needed to obtain a business license and open the clinic, subject to the conditions described by staff.