Ottawa commission delays action on ordinance to license massage establishments after practitioners raise fee and training concerns

A proposed Ottawa City ordinance to license and regulate massage establishments and massage therapists received detailed staff explanation and public comment on Nov. 6, and the city commission agreed to continue the item to its Nov. 20 meeting to gather additional information on fees, training and grandfathering.

City staff member Frank Finch told the commission that Ottawa currently "has no provision in its city code for legitimate massage therapy establishments" and that the draft ordinance would create a separate regulatory framework. He said the ordinance splits the rules into sections for establishments (sections 1–20) and individual therapists (sections 21–28), and would remove massage from the city’s adult-business rules (sections 29–30). Finch said the ordinance draws on models from Overland Park and Gardner and is intended to ensure sanitary premises, inspections and background checks so services remain "legitimate and above board." (Quote attributed to Frank Finch.)

The draft ordinan…