Are Masseuses Out of Hand? : Regulation: Newport police say investigation last year revealed one-third of city’s massage parlors were prostitution fronts.

Among today’s young professionals, the latest antidote to tension is an hour with a good masseuse. And with a good massage costing up to $75 an hour, it’s no surprise this upscale community has experienced a proliferation of massage parlors.

But those same masseuses are causing a bit of stress for some city officials and residents.

Police say an undercover investigation conducted late last year revealed that one-third of the city’s massage parlors are fronts for prostitution and other crime. That warning from police prompted city officials in December to impose a yearlong moratorium on new establishments while the city studies ways to better regulate the businesses.

“I can tell you from a community-interest standpoint, the average citizen doesn’t want to have to deal with drugs, sex and violent crime problems,” said Sgt. Andy Gonis, Police Department spokesman.

Gonis said police have made just one related arrest in the past year because prostitution is difficult to prove, but the information and evidence gathered by police will be turned over to the district attorney’s office in a bid to close down businesses that the department is convinced are “engaging in illegal acts regularly.”

The parlors are concentrated in three areas of the city: near John Wayne Airport, around Newport Center and near City Hall. City officials fear that the concentration in these areas may lead eventually to blighted conditions.

Several parlor operators said they came to Newport because its residents can afford such luxuries as massages, which range in cost from $50 to $75 an hour in the city.

They said they believe the solution lies in stricter regulation, instead of barring new parlors from opening.

“This is where the money is,” said Lonna Smith, owner of the ShangriLa Spa, who said most of her customers are stressed-out doctors, lawyers and judges.

Like Smith, John Black, owner of A Place to Relax, said tougher standards would help control the proliferation of establishments that are “hiding under the good name of massage.”

In addition, he would like to see more of a distinction between massage, which he said often is “adult entertainment,” and holistic health practice, he said.

Black, a director for the California Federation of Massage, said massage has always been intended for therapeutic purpose but conceded that it also has been used as a guise by people who offer other services.

In recent years, however, he’s seen the image improve as society has become more committed to better health. “As people are looking for ways to take care of themselves, people are finding that health-directed massage is good for that,” Black said.

He agreed that the city’s affluent residents and tourist create a ripe market for services like his. “There’s a lot of stress down here. . . . business people are under a lot of stress.”

City officials, however, say it is not demographics but the city’s lax regulations that have led Newport Beach to become the home of more massage parlors than any other city in Orange County.

In Newport, a parlor operator must have a $75 city business license and a health permit from the county and must pass a criminal background check that weeds out applicants convicted of sex or drug crimes. Owners also have to pass the city’s 50-question exam that tests their knowledge of local ordinances about massage.

To be a masseuse in the city, women are required to take 300 hours of training from a state-certified school and to pass a 100-question written exam administered by the city and a criminal background check.

Unlike nearby cities, Newport Beach does not require operators to obtain a land-use permit, a lengthy process that often involves public hearings.

In Irvine, where there are just six licensed massage businesses, the requirements are tougher. Irvine Police Sgt. Dave Freedland said the city requires at least 500 hours of training from a state-certified school or 300 hours of training supervised by one of several national professional massage organizations.

Irvine requires owners to have a business license, to pass a criminal background check and to obtain a land use permit, Freedland said.

Newport Beach officials acknowledge that their regulations may need strengthening. But Glen Everroad, the city’s licensing supervisor, noted that 50% of massage parlors he licenses offer massage in conjunction with other services, such as health spas and beauty salons, not “bump-and-grind facilities, if you will,” he said.

For example, at the plush Four Seasons Hotel, massage has been offered to guests since 1986 in its health spa, said Michael McDonald, the hotel’s fitness club manager. The hotel’s four massage therapists see 20 to 24 customers a week at a rate of $60 an hour.

He said most customers requesting massages at the hotel are guests staying there during business trips, but the number of requests from non-guests reflects a local demand. “It’s such a wealthy community,” McDonald said. “People are willing to pay.”

At the ShangriLa parlor, Smith has decorated the five massage rooms “to fit the mood of a person,” she said. The rooms each have piped-in music, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, a small space heater and carpeted floors.

“It isn’t a sterile little small room with white sheets,” said Smith, who quickly adds that professionalism is not sacrificed because of the decor.

“There’s no locks on these doors, no whips and chains,” she said.

At the businesses near Smith’s establishment--an architectural firm and flower shop--owners said her clients are no problem for their businesses. But some merchants elsewhere in the city feel differently.

Fashion designer Hiqui Aghajanian has two massage parlors as neighbors and she said she is uncomfortable when customers ask about the women who work in the establishments. Weary of pleas for patience from her landlord and city officials, Aghajanian said she will move her business. “I can’t be patient,” she said. “I’m losing money.”