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Planning Commission approves use permit allowing massage services at Sky Wellness Center, 4-1 vote
Summary
The Lake Forest City Planning Commission on Feb. 6 approved a use permit allowing massage services at Sky Wellness Center, 20651 Lake Forest Drive Suite A111, subject to licensing and code requirements; the motion passed 4-1 with Chair Bill Wach opposed.
The Lake Forest City Planning Commission voted 4-1 on Feb. 6, 2025, to approve a use permit allowing massage services at the Sky Wellness Center, a tenant space at 20651 Lake Forest Drive (Suite A111) in the Foothill Veil Center.
Why this matters: approval allows the existing personal-care business to add massage services under the city’s massage-establishment regulations and requires the owner to obtain a city massage-establishment license and ensure therapists hold California Massage Therapy Council credentials and pass background checks.
Planning staff introduced the application as a request to add massage services to an existing skin- and facial-services business. Ron Santos, planning staff, described the tenant space as roughly 1,245 square feet with a reception area, employee break room, two skin-care rooms, two massage treatment rooms, a restroom and a small employee kitchen. The applicant told the commission the business has operated in the center for some time and that it will follow city and state massage regulations.
Santos told the commission that the Lake Forest municipal code limits massage-establishment hours to 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., requires an annual city-issued business establishment license, and that staff will inspect the premises before issuing or renewing a massage license. He said the application was routed to the Sheriff’s Department for a background investigation and that code enforcement reported no active code cases for the business. No public comments were received on the item.
Commissioner Standard expressed concern about proximity to a nearby Montessori school and recent issues countywide and locally with some massage establishments, saying, "I have concerns. I think, Lake Forest has plenty of options in regards to massage establishments that are available to the community and the residents, concerning things, close to, Montessori School and other businesses." Santos and other staff explained the city’s two-part process: Planning Commission approval of the conditional use permit followed by the city-issued massage-establishment license that requires background checks and an inspection to verify compliance with municipal code chapter 5.07.
After public and staff remarks, a motion to approve the use permit passed 4-1; the meeting record states the motion passed "four-one with Chair Bill Wach opposed." The approval is conditioned on the recommended conditions in the staff report, including compliance with municipal code chapter 5.07, annual business-license renewal, and therapist licensing through the California Massage Therapy Council (as stipulated in the staff report). The staff report notes the business currently employs three people and could expand to as many as six if massage services are added.
Ending: The commission closed the public hearing after questions; staff noted that potential code updates on massage-establishment regulations could be considered later as part of a broader strategic-plan workshop with the council.
