Santa Barbara proposes new rules on massage businesses, aims to combat human trafficking

The Santa Barbara Police Department will propose stricter, more expensive permitting requirements for massage businesses Tuesday, aiming to crack down on fronts for human trafficking or prostitution. The new regulations come packaged in the city’s massage ordinance, which hasn’t been modified since 1976. Police have documented 32 cases and investigations of sexual offenses connected to massage businesses in Santa Barbara since January 2021, according to the staff report. The changes were proposed to improve public safety, but many local massage therapists fear their small businesses are at stake if the ordinance passes. “It’s pretty clear where the sex parlors are, why not start there rather than punish those of us who have legitimately been in business for a long time?” said massage therapist Kathy Gruver. Gruver’s has been seeing clients since around 2002, around the time when the state of California began requiring certification. She opted to “grandfather in,” meaning she