Board Upholds Notice of Violation at 266 Sutter, Citing Operation Beyond Approved Acupuncture Use

The Board of Appeals upheld a zoning administrator notice of violation against an operator at 266 Sutter Street after multi-agency inspections found numerous massage therapists on-site and deficiencies in licensing and operations that exceeded the activity approved by Planning.

Scott Sanchez of the Planning Department summarized a series of inspections that found no licensed acupuncturist present at appointed site visits and multiple therapists working in the facility; public-health citations had been issued for workplace and dress-code violations. "They are operating in violation," Sanchez told the commissioners, saying the business was functioning as a full massage establishment rather than the acupuncture-with-accessory-massage use approved earlier.

Appellants'c attorney Paul Horcher said the business had invested heavily in the facility and held permits for massage; he said enforcement visits captured an unrepresentative snapshot and that the operation had long-standing approvals and tax/licensing records.

Commissioners debated the legal line between accessory acupressure performed by licensed medical professionals and massage as a principal, nonmedical use that requires conditional authorization and distance limits from other massage establishments. The board voted to uphold the notice of violation, noting the enforcement record and the Planning Department interpretation that acupressure performed by unlicensed practitioners should be treated as massage use for zoning purposes.