UPDATE:

Fearing that some of its many massage parlors are fronts for prostitution, Costa Mesa is considering an urgent 45-day moratorium on issuing permits for new massage parlors and existing parlors that want to expand.

The city has 54 massage parlors by its count, which officials say makes for a much higher concentration than surrounding cities, and the volume of parlors is making regulation of the businesses a nearly impossible task for police.

The city will look at updating its municipal code to close “loopholes” in the certification and licensing process for massage services.

“Some businesses hint or imply [prostitution.] Others clearly suggest that sexual services are available. Many prostitutes working in the region openly advertise in the adult services section along with some of the massage providers. A review of these advertisements demonstrates that Costa Mesa appears over-represented in the offering of legitimate and illegitimate massage services,” according to a city report released Thursday.

A search of Internet marketplace Craigslist yields several massage parlors in Costa Mesa with provocative ads.

One posting for Mind over Muscles in the Circle K parking lot on Newport Boulevard, for instance, has a picture of a bikini-clad blond staring at the camera and advertises “SMOKING HOTT BLONDE LYNN IS IN TILL 10PM----U WONT BE DISSAPPOINTED… SWEET AND UNRUSHED…PUT A HAPPY END TO UR EXHAUSTING STRESSFULL DAY AND RELAX HERE!”

An Eastside parlor on Orange Avenue advertises: “Young sexy Asian girls,” and offers a “free table shower.” It’s accompanied by pictures of women in short skirts.

The moratorium would start at 45 days, but Lt. Clay Epperson said that the city is looking to extend it for as long as two years and in the meantime implement policies that give officers more discretion to deny suspicious permit requests.

“The overarching goal would be to eliminate the illegitimate massage practices here and get the number of businesses down to a level that we can manage,” Epperson said.

Other cities make it more difficult for massage parlors to establish themselves. Huntington Beach has limited the number of massage parlors to 10; Santa Ana has had a year-and-a-half-long moratorium on new parlors; Newport Beach’s laws allow for more discretion in denying permits.

In Costa Mesa, barring prior criminal convictions, it’s difficult for staff to deny permits even when significant subjective evidence suggests that an operation would not be legitimate, Epperson said.

The moratorium will go before the City Council for a vote Tuesday night.