As part of an effort to deter human trafficking, the city may soon take on the responsibility of regulating the many massage businesses in Lawrence.
At its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will consider a new draft of the ordinance to regulate massage and other bodywork businesses, which typically number more than 50.
The original draft, which was proposed in March 2017, was strongly opposed by a group of massage professionals, and the new version does away with several provisions. Those include provisions that allowed law enforcement to inspect business premises, banned businesses from operating overnight and required businesses to keep daily logs of services provided. Assistant City Attorney Maria Garcia said that city staff worked with local massage professionals to revise the ordinance. Garcia said she thinks the new version meets the goals of the city and addresses concerns that the previous draft was too heavy-handed.
“I do think that this ordinance strikes a good balance between the goals of the city, and in particular law enforcement, and the bodywork community,” Garcia said.
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