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Sheridan council unanimously adopts ordinances including massage-facility licensing required by state law
Summary
Council approved a package of ordinances on second reading — including Ordinance 5, enacting local licensing and fingerprint-based background checks for massage-facility owners and managers as required by the Colorado legislature — and removed a numerical household-occupancy limit to comply with state law.
Sheridan City Council unanimously approved a package of ordinances on March 10 that change local licensing rules and update municipal code definitions.
Among the measures approved on second reading was Ordinance 5 of 2025, which enacts local licensing provisions for massage facilities consistent with recent Colorado legislation. The city attorney briefed council that the new state law requires local governments to adopt licensing regulations and fingerprint-based criminal-history background checks for owners, operators and managers "for the sole purpose of deterring illicit massage businesses and preventing human trafficking," and that the state statute currently does not permit local hours-of-operation restrictions for such businesses.
The council also adopted Ordinance 3 of 2025 to amend the citys household definition, removing a prior numerical cap on household occupants that state law now prohibits. Other measures passed on second reading included changes related to alcoholic-beverage tastings and a prohibition on gambling devices (Ordinances 2 and 4), and an update to specific nuisance provisions (Ordinance 6). All carried unanimously at the March 10 meeting.
The city attorney told council that existing massage businesses in Sheridan must meet the new licensing and background-check requirements; businesses must come into compliance by Oct. 1 under the adopted schedule. The attorney recommended adopting the ordinance as written because state statute enumerates permissible local licensing elements and does not currently include authority to impose operating-hour limitations.
Why it matters: The ordinance bundle updates Sheridans municipal code to align with recent state legislation, clarifies enforcement tools for city staff and standardizes local licensing responsibilities. The massage-facility licensing change provides a state-supported enforcement mechanism intended to curb illicit operations while preserving lawful massage therapy practice.
Next steps: Staff will implement the licensing program, coordinate background checks where required and notify affected businesses of the Oct. 1 compliance deadline.
