James Boyle, the Wire
A proposed zoning ordinance in Upper Southampton will make it a little tougher for massage parlors to get their hands on occupancy permits. Township manager Joe Golden says that the revisions have been in the works for more than a year, but a recent raid of a day spa accused of hosting a prostitution ring sped the process along.
The township’s board of supervisors approved advertising the ordinance at the July 7 meeting, agreeing that a future adoption of the language will give Upper Southampton more oversight of a small but unregulated business segment.
Currently, massage parlors have the option to invoke the “unspecified uses” of the township’s zoning ordinances to acquire permits. The category is a catch-all that covers businesses not specifically defined in the code.
“We do not have a recognized zoning ordinance for establishments that provide massages,” said township solicitor Don Williams. “The guidelines the township uses now is too vague and does not have specific standards or conditions for this type of business.”
Under the proposed changes, a massage parlor or a business that offers massage therapy by individuals licensed by the Pennsylvania State Board of Massage Therapy will be eligible for zoning approval as a special exception in the retail service zoning district as long as four conditions are met:
- Hours of operation will be limited to 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
- Licenses of all individuals administering massages must be on file at the establishment and the township. The list must be updated on a monthly basis.
- The establishment must comply to all regulations imposed by the state, including the massage therapy law.
- Massage establishments are subject to random inspections to confirm that licenses at the business match the ones on file at the township.
The pending changes to the zoning ordinance prompted township supervisor Keith Froggatt to point out that a Shiatsu acupressure business is seeking zoning approval to occupy space on Second Street Pike.
The applicant cannot be forced to follow an ordinance that has not been adopted, said Williams, but he will ask them to postpone their zoning board appearance until after the changes have been approved.
Golden told the supervisors that the zoning revisions will be presented to the Bucks County Planning Commission for comment, followed by a Sept. 1 public hearing in the township.
The changes come on the heels of the break-up of an alleged prostitution ring that operated out of The Rose Spa located on County Line Road in Upper Southampton. Three women were arrested in March by Upper Southampton police following a three-month undercover investigation.
Carolyn Camm-Winston, 22, of Philadelphia, Victoria Wise, 27, of Philadelphia, and Ashley Paster, 25, of Croydon, face prostitution charges.
According to reports, the spa did not have a use-and-occupancy permit, and the three suspects were not licensed massage therapists.
In other news, traffic consultant Brian Keaveny of Pennoni Associates updated the supervisors on the progress of a grant application that would provide state funding to implement a progressive traffic signal program for the Second Street corridor between Street and County Line roads.
The money would come from PennDOT’s red light camera fund, revenue generated by the use of red light cameras to enforce traffic violations, primarily along Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia. If approved, the state would contribute $650,000 to the township’s $98,000 to install a system that uses cameras to monitor traffic flow and adjust signal timing in real-time.
Keaveny said the camera system would be restricted to traffic flow operations and would not be used as a ticket-generating tool.
