Update: The Green Bay City Council unanimously approved a new massage establishment ordinance with no discussion on Sept. 16.
This is the story published Sept. 8:
Green Bay’s massage establishment ordinance, meant to curb prostitution by licensing and enforcing rules on massage parlors, is being recommended for an overhaul to streamline the license application process and to keep the city from running afoul of state statute.
The ordinance, which just finished its first yearly cycle approving and denying licenses, had “several sections identified by staff that could benefit from updates,” according to a memo by the city’s law department sent to all City Council members.
After deliberation between the law department, clerk’s office, police department, council members and local business leaders, the law department recommended during the Protection and Policy Committee’s Sept. 8 meeting that the city repeal and rewrite the ordinance with four changes, three of which related to keeping the city in line with Wisconsin law.
City Council members are currently vested with the ultimate decision-making authority on the entire massage establishment licensing process, from approving or denying massage establishment licenses to appeals of their revocation. Under the proposed changes, however, the balance of responsibility would fall largely on the shoulders of city staff.
The clerk’s office would take responsibility from the Protection and Policy Committee to approve or deny initial massage establishment license applications, according to the law department memo. Information about inspection compliance would still be provided by the Community and Economic Development Department, and police would continue to give background check information, according to the memo. All licenses would expire on Dec. 31, with applications for the following year due by Oct. 31. The clerk’s office would have until Nov. 30 to approve or deny an application.
The Zoning Board of Appeals, then, would hear any appeals of application denials through a quasi-judicial hearing, a responsibility currently given to the City Council.
The City Council would still keep its power to hear appeals of revoked or suspended licenses, though the process would be streamlined, according to the memo. Only complaints that the law department has determined to have grounds to be heard would go in front of the City Council in a quasi-judicial hearing.
Assistant city attorney Logan Wood told the committee the move to transfer the licensing process largely to the hands of city staff “is just kind of bifurcating where the applications are heard,” later explaining, “That way, [the City Council] will still have the ability to hear any revocations or suspensions of massage establishment licenses.”
Council member Melinda Eck further added, “It’s kind of to make it so it’s not one body that does all the aspects of the ordinance.”
The recommended changes come after court allegations the city’s current ordinance is not in line with state statute.
The owner of VIP Spa, Xiaodong Wang, asked Brown County Circuit Court to reverse the City Council’s July 15 decision upholding the revocation of VIP Spa’s massage establishment license. Wang alleged, in part, the city failed to comply with Wisconsin State Statute 68.11, which requires that administrative appeals should be heard by an impartial decision maker. According to court documents, Wang alleged the City Council had not been an impartial body because it had been responsible for both revoking the license and upholding the revocation in its later quasi-judicial hearing.
Wang’s attorney subsequently wrote to Brown County Judge Marc Hammer that they were “currently working with [the city] on finalizing the terms of a stipulated dismissal” and to disregard the original petition.
A second request by a second massage establishment owner on near-identical grounds alleging a violation of due process was also filed Aug. 20 in Brown County Circuit Court, just before Wang’s case was dismissed.
The Protection and Policy Committee members quickly endorsed the recommendation by city staff with little discussion aside from council member Craig Stevens saying, “It’s some deserved improvements.” The recommendation goes to the City Council for final approval on Sept. 16.
Jesse Lin is a reporter covering the community of Green Bay and its surroundings, as well as politics in northeastern Wisconsin. Contact him at 920-834-4250 or jlin@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay OKs new massage establishment license ordinance; previous one may have broken state statute
Reporting by Jesse Lin, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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