Claremont City Zoning Code

Conditional Use Permit Required

All businesses proposing to conduct massage, including ancillary massage establishments, are subject to the approval of a conditional use permit as referenced in Chapter 16.303 (Conditional Use Permits).

Massage Establishment License Required

All such businesses that are proposing to conduct massage from a location that has an approved and active conditional use permit for massage services, must obtain approval of a massage establishment license prior to the issuance of a business license and initiation of operations.

Ancillary Massage Businesses—Alcoholic Beverage, Permit/License Required

Alcoholic beverages may be sold, served, furnished, kept, consumed, imbibed, or possessed on the premises only after having an approved and active conditional use permit in compliance with Chapter 16.303 (Conditional Use Permits) and any applicable California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control licenses. (Refer to Section 5.36.070(T)).

A recognizable and readable sign shall be posted at the main entrance identifying the establishment as a massage establishment; provided that all such signs shall comply with the sign requirements of the City.

A minimum of one separate washbasin shall be provided in each massage establishment for the use of employees of any such establishment. Said basin shall provide soap or detergent and hot and cold running water at all times, and shall be located within or as close as practicable to the area devoted to the performing of massage services. In addition, there shall be provided at each washbasin, sanitary towels placed in permanently installed dispensers.

Table Showers

No massage establishment employing a massage technician shall be equipped with tinted or one-way glass in any room or office.

Adequate equipment for disinfecting and sterilizing instruments used in performing the acts of massage shall be provided.

Hot and cold running water shall be provided at all times.

All walls, ceilings, floors, pools, showers, bathtubs, steam rooms, and all other physical facilities for the establishment must be in good repair and maintained in a clean and sanitary condition. Wet and dry rooms, steam and vapor rooms or cabinets, shower compartments, and toilet rooms shall be thoroughly cleaned each day the business is in operation. Bathtubs/table showers shall be cleaned after each use.

Clean and sanitary towels and linens shall be provided for each patron of the establishment, or each patron receiving massage services. No common use of towels or linens shall be permitted.

Minimum ventilation shall be provided in accordance with the California Building Code requirements.

All zoning requirements set forth in this chapter are deemed to be necessary for the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare and shall be applicable to and govern all existing and proposed massage establishments immediately upon the date the ordinance is codified in this chapter, and shall become effective.

In the event a massage establishment, lawfully in existence, in a commercial or industrial zone of the City (e.g., the zones designated as Commercial Professional, Commercial Recreational, Commercial Limited, Commercial Highway, Claremont Village Overlay with or without display window, Mixed-Use 2, Mixed-Use 3, and Mixed-Use 4, Business/Industrial Park, and the Village Expansion Specific Plan), other than the following zones: Commercial Freeway (CF), Mixed-Use 1 (MU1), and Commercial Neighborhood (CN), prior to the adoption of this chapter, and is not in compliance with the zoning requirements of this title, such massage establishment shall conform to all zoning requirements and obtain all necessary permits required for the operation of a massage establishment identified in this title and Title 5 (Business Regulation) within one year of the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter.

Any existing massage establishment in the Commercial Freeway (CF), Mixed-Use 1 (MU1), or Commercial Neighborhood (CN) zone of the City, which is a nonconforming use as of the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, shall be subject to an amortization period of one year.

Upon the conclusion of the amortization period, any massage establishment, which is a nonconforming use, shall cease all business operations, and all signs, advertising and displays relating to such business shall be removed within 30 days thereafter.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, zoning requirements regarding operation, sanitation and attire as set forth in this section shall become immediately effective and must be observed in full force by existing massage establishment as of the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter. All other zoning requirements, including those regarding facility improvement, shall be completed within one year of the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter.

An application for extension of the amortization period for a massage establishment, which is a nonconforming use, shall be made as provided herein.

The owner of the property on which the business is located, or the owner of the business, must submit a complete application for approval of an extension not later than six months prior to the expiration of the amortization period, unless the Director of Community Development determines that good cause is shown for late filing of the application. Such application shall be made in writing on a form prescribed by the Director of Community Development and shall be accompanied by the filing fee established by resolution of the City Council. The person requesting the extension of the amortization period shall bear the burden of proof in establishing that the amortization period established by subsection I of this section is unreasonable, and that the requested extension is a reasonable amortization period under the criteria set forth in paragraph 7 of this subsection J. The person applying for the extension shall furthermore be required, in order to meet its burden of proof, to submit the documentation set forth in this section.

Not later than 30 calendar days after submittal of an application to extend the amortization period, the Director of Community Development shall notify the applicant, in writing, if the application is not complete. The notice shall describe the manner in which the application can be made complete and shall be deemed given upon personal delivery to the applicant or upon deposit in the U.S. mail, first class, postage prepaid, addressed to the applicant at the address shown on the application. If a written determination is not provided to the applicant within 30 calendar days after the application is submitted, the application shall be deemed complete. A complete application shall include:

Within 60 days after a complete application is filed, the Planning Commission shall hear and act on the application and the secretary to the Planning Commission shall give the applicant written notice of the decision and findings made by the Planning Commission. Otherwise, the application shall be deemed granted by operation of law and the business shall be operated in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Notice shall be deemed given upon personal delivery to the applicant or upon deposit in the U.S. mail, first class, postage prepaid, addressed to the applicant at the address shown on the application. The secretary shall give the applicant at least 10 calendar days' written notice of the time and place at which the application shall be heard by the Planning Commission, in the same manner that notice of the decision is to be given pursuant to this subsection.

A decision of the Planning Commission to deny the application may be appealed, in whole or in part, by filing a complete notice of appeal with the City Clerk within 15 days after notice of the decision was given to the applicant pursuant to paragraph 4 of this subsection. To be deemed complete, the notice of appeal shall be signed by the appellant, shall state the grounds for disagreement with the decision of the Planning Commission, and shall be accompanied by the filing fee established by resolution of the City Council.

Within 45 calendar days after the appeal is filed, the City Council shall hear and act on the appeal, and the City Clerk shall give the appellant written notice of the decision and findings made by the City Council. Otherwise, the application shall be deemed granted by operation of law and the business shall be operated in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Notice shall be deemed given upon personal delivery to the appellant and applicant upon deposit in the U.S. mail, first class, postage prepaid, addressed to the applicant at the address shown on the application. The notice shall include a written statement verified by oath or affirmation attesting to the date that the decision was mailed to the party by first class mail. The City Clerk shall give the appellant and applicant at least 10 calendar days' written notice of the time and place at which the appeal shall be heard, de novo, by the City Council, in the same manner that written notice of the decision is to be given pursuant to this Subsection.

In determining whether to grant an extension of the amortization period, and in determining the appropriate length of such an extension, the Planning Commission and the City Council on appeal shall consider:

The Planning Commission or the City Council on appeal shall receive and consider evidence presented by the appellant and any other persons, and shall make findings that the extension to the amortization period it establishes is reasonable in view of the evidence and the criteria set forth in paragraph 7 of this subsection. In no event shall the amortization period extension be longer than four years.

The decision of the Planning Commission shall be final and conclusive, unless a timely and complete appeal is filed with the City Clerk pursuant to paragraph 5 of this subsection. The decision of the City Council on appeal shall be final and conclusive, unless timely judicial review is sought pursuant to Code of Civil Procedures Section 1094.8. In the event that a timely action or proceeding is brought pursuant to Code of Civil Procedures Section 1094.8 from the decision to deny the requested extension, in whole or in part, the decision shall be automatically stayed pending a final decision on the merits by the trial court. As used in this subsection, final decision on the merits does not include rehearing or appellate procedures.