Yakima City Council approves new ordinance on massage businesses, discusses airport - Yakima Herald-Republic

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The Yakima City Council heard updates about the airport and approved new regulations on massage businesses Tuesday after a Yakima Police Department undercover investigation into sexual exploitation in the industry.

Residents also spoke out at the meeting, discussing public safety and advocating for Pride Month.

New ordinance on massage businesses​

YPD and the city attorney’s office proposed new rules for local massage businesses due to concerns about illegal sexual exploitation. Detective Thomas Priestman said the rules were proposed after an undercover operation into nine local massage and reflexology businesses led to eight arrests.

Reflexology is a type of massage therapy.

“The new ordinance would provide law enforcement with the additional and necessary tool to identify establishments engaging in sexual services for money,” Priestman said. “The city seeks to ensure a safe environment for both consumers and licensed practitioners.”

The ordinance would allow YPD to inspect common areas and ensure that massage therapists are licensed by the state, have government-issued IDs and are at least 18 years of age.

It would also prohibit massage businesses from operating between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. and require that they display licenses for their therapists.

Businesses and employers that violate the new rules could face a gross misdemeanor charge that carries jail sentences of up to 364 days and a $5,000 fine.

Their business licenses could also be revoked or denied for people with a history of human trafficking, prostitution or practicing unlicensed massage therapy.

The City Council approved these new rules in a 7-0 vote. Council Member Janice Deccio, a former licensed massage therapist, said there were plenty of legitimate massage therapy businesses and the rules helped stop illegal practices.

“The industry itself needs to be more legitimized and this kind of (illegal) practice makes it delegitimized,” she said.

According to city documents, a meeting for massage business owners was held March 25 and one person showed up to ask questions.

Airport updates​

Yakima Airport Director Rob Hodgman shared updates on renovations at the Yakima Air Terminal as council members unanimously approved an application for a $1 million federal grant.

The efforts are part of a wider campaign to improve the Yakima Air Terminal.

Hodgman was positive about the city’s chances of getting the grant, which would be used for baggage claim renovations.

He said this grant would be combined with another federal grant application and $1.1 million in savings from roof and HVAC renovations to pay for updates to the baggage claim, restrooms and a family room.

Hodgman also discussed changes in state funding to projects at the airport. Washington legislators faced a steep budget deficit this year and projects for the airport were shuffled around.

The Yakima Air Terminal received funding for an overflow parking lot. However, Hodgman said, state transportation funding for a solar canopy in the parking lot was canceled, though he said the project is still on the table.

“I think we have a way forward, but we have a little more work to do,” Hodgman said.

Public shows up​

Three public commenters urged the council to support Pride Month and the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Last year, council members voted against a Pride Month proclamation, 5-2.

This year, speakers urged the council to take a different approach and create a more welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ people.

“In 2024, the council made a big show of not supporting June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month,” said Dr. Margaret France, a Yakima resident. “The LGBTQ population is in every single culture, every single ethnic group and, believe it or not, every single religion. In most of these groups we are the most marginalized of the marginalized.”

Christina Nyirati, another resident and former director of nursing at a local college, urged the council to show support for LGBTQ+ community members.

“Pride is not about division,” she said. “It is about affirming that we belong here.”

Nationwide, pride celebrations began in 1970, the year after the Stonewall uprising in New York. Yakima had a Pride proclamation as recently as 2023.

Council members did not discuss a Pride proclamation, but did move forward with proclamations for Older Americans Month and recognizing idiopathic hypersomnia, a long-lasting sleep disorder.

Two community members also raised issues about public safety. Isidro Reynaga, a Yakima resident, said he was concerned with homelessness and crime in the city.

“We need involvement,” he said. “The city needs to be involved.”