Moratorium considered for massage businesses

Tuesday, April 15, 2003 | 10:08 a.m.

Two weeks after the Las Vegas City Council voted to place a licensing moratorium on drug and alcohol treatment centers, a similar proposal for massage establishments will come before the council on Wednesday.

The council will decide whether to place a moratorium on massage businesses and for how long.

City officials would use the time to meet with industry leaders to discuss possible distance requirements between facilities and restrictions on hours of operation.

The proposal comes at the urging of Councilman Michael McDonald, who also backed the 60-day moratorium on treatment centers.

"We want to stop the clustering of massage establishments," McDonald said. "We want to clean up the industry."

This isn't the first time the city has restricted massage establishments. Last April the council passed a 120-day moratorium, and used the time to create an ordinance, passed in July, requiring massage therapists and reflexologists to obtain a business license and submit to thorough background checks.