Council weighs restoring municipal ordinance to target unlicensed massage businesses

The Waukesha Common Council on Dec. 3 considered reinstating municipal code 8.19 to give the city a local tool for addressing massage businesses that operate without required state licensing.

Council members said the change follows a state statute (identified in meeting remarks as section 460.17) that limits municipal regulation of massage businesses when they are already licensed by the state. The draft ordinance would allow the city to issue municipal citations and forfeitures to persons or businesses providing massage services that require a state license but who do not hold one.

A city attorney and O&L representative described the measure as focused on illegal or unlicensed operations, not on properly licensed massage therapists. The attorney said the state law permits municipalities to create a municipal citation for unlicensed activity and noted that forfeitures could be up to $1,000, with each day of continuing violation constituting a separate offense.

Council members pressed for details about enforcement thresholds and penalty schedules. One alderman asked whether the city should instead refer enforcement to state agencies; staff responded that local citations allow more timely local action and immediate forfeiture collection in municipal court, while other enforcement paths (zoning, building code inspections) remain available.

Several council members said they supported adding local enforcement tools but saw no urgency to waive additional readings; the proposal was returned to a future agenda for formal consideration and possible vote.

What happens next: staff will return the ordinance for formal readings and any accompanying fee schedule; the council did not waive readings at this meeting and did not adopt the ordinance on Dec. 3.