Chapter 5.46 — BATHHOUSES

Whenever in this chapter the following words or phrases are used, they shall have the meaning established in this section:

(a)

Bathhouse shall mean any establishment having a fixed place of business where any person engages in, conducts, or carries on any business of providing Turkish, Russian, Swedish, Finnish, hot air, vapor, electric cabinet, steam sweat, mineral, salt, sauna, fomentation, alcohol, shower, tub or sponge baths, soaking facilities such as a spa, or baths of any kind whatsoever. Any establishment carrying on or permitting any combination of massage and bathhouse shall be deemed a massage establishment and not a bathhouse. "Bathhouse" shall not include hospitals, nursing homes, sanitariums, or establishments where a person provides baths pursuant to his or her unrevoked certificate to practice the healing arts under the laws of the State of California. "Bathhouse" shall not include hotels, motels, and similar lodging establishments. "Bathhouse" shall not include establishments primarily providing physical fitness services, except where cubicles, rooms, or booths are provided for use by individual patrons of such establishments.

(b)

Person shall mean any natural person, firm, association, club, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, company, or other entity whatsoever which is recognized by law as the subject of rights or duties.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

It shall be unlawful for any person to operate, maintain or keep in the City, any bathhouse without an annual permit therefore issued by the Finance Director. The permit, or any renewal thereof, may be denied if the bathhouse operation, as proposed, does not comply with

the provisions of this chapter, regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter, and all building permits and fire codes.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

Any person desiring a permit or renewal thereof required by this chapter, shall make application to the Finance Director. The Finance Director shall verify that the application is complete and contains the information specified by Section 5.46.040.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

The application for a permit to operate a bathhouse shall set forth the exact nature of the baths to be administered, the proposed place of business and facilities therefore, and the name and address of each applicant. In addition to the foregoing, any applicant for a bathhouse permit shall furnish the following information:

(a)

The two previous addresses immediately prior to the present address of applicant.

(b)

Written proof that the applicant is over the age of 18 years.

(c)

Applicant's height, weight, color of eyes and hair.

(d)

Two portrait photographs at least two inches × two inches.

(e)

Business, occupation or employment of the applicant for the three years immediately preceding the date of the application.

(f)

The bathhouse or similar business license history of the applicant; whether such person, in previously operating in this or another County or State under license, has had such license revoked or suspended, the reason therefore, and the business activity or occupation subsequent to such action of suspension or revocation.

(g)

All criminal convictions except minor traffic violations.

(h)

Such other identification and information necessary to discover the truth of the matters hereinbefore specified as required to be set forth in the application.

(i)

Nothing contained herein shall be construed to deny to the Finance Director the right to request fingerprints and additional photographs of the applicant, nor shall anything contained herein be construed to deny the right of the Finance Director to confirm the height and weight of the applicant.

(j)

If the applicant is a corporation, the name of the corporation shall be set forth exactly as shown in its articles of incorporation; the names and residence address of each of the officers, directors and each stockholder owning more than ten percent of the stock of the corporation. If the applicant is a partnership, the application shall set forth the name and residence address of each of the partners, including limited partners.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

The annual nonrefundable application fee for the permit required by this chapter shall be $100.00. The fee shall be paid at the time of filing the application for permit issuance or renewal.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

No permit to conduct a bathhouse shall be issued unless an inspection by law enforcement and the County Director of Health Services reveals that the establishment complies with each of the following minimum requirements:

(a)

Construction of rooms used for toilets, tubs, steam baths and showers, shall be made waterproof with approved waterproof materials.

(1)

For toilet rooms, toilet room vestibules and rooms containing bathtubs, there shall be a waterproof floor covering, which will be carried up all walls to a height of at least six inches. Floor shall be covered up on base with at least 3/4 inch cover. The walls of all toilet rooms and rooms containing bathtubs shall be finished to a height of six feet from a smooth, nonabsorbent finish surface of Keene cement, tile, or similar material.

(2)

Steam room and shower compartments shall have approved waterproof floors, walls and ceilings.

(3)

Floors of wet and dry heat rooms will be adequately pitched to one or more floor drains properly connected to the sewer. (Exception: dry heat rooms with wooden floors need not be provided with pitched floors and floor drains.)

(4)

A source of hot water shall be available within the immediate vicinity of dry and wet heat rooms to facilitate cleaning.

(b)

Toilet facilities shall be provided in convenient locations, and every bathhouse shall provide at least one water closet. When five or more employees and patrons of each sex are on the premises at the same time, separate toilet facilities shall be provided. A single water closet per sex shall be provided for each 20 employees or patrons of that sex on the premises at any one time. Urinals may be substituted for water closets in the toilet facility for males after one water closet has been provided; however, that there shall be at least one water closet for each 60 employees or patrons of the male sex. All toilet rooms shall be equipped with self-closing doors opening in the direction of ingress to the toilet rooms. Toilets shall be designated as to the sex accommodated therein.

(c)

Lavatories or wash basins provided with both hot and cold running water shall be installed in either the toilet room or the vestibule. Lavatories or wash basins shall be provided with soap in a dispenser and with sanitary towels.

(d)

All portions of bathhouse establishments and baths shall be provided with adequate light and ventilation by means of windows or skylights with an area of not less than 1/8 of the total floor area, or shall be provided with approved artificial light and a mechanical operating ventilating system. Areas of the bathhouse, other than those areas provided only to individual patrons, shall, at all times during bathhouse operation, have a direct illumination level of at least 15 foot candles of light measured 30 inches above the floor. When windows or skylights are used for ventilation, at least 1/2 of the total required window area shall be operable.

To allow for adequate ventilation, cubicles, rooms, and areas provided for patrons' use not served directly by a required window, skylight, or mechanical system of ventilation shall be constructed so that the height of partitions does not exceed 75 percent of the floor-to-ceiling height of the area in which they are located.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

All bathhouse permittees shall comply with the following operating requirements:

(a)

Every portion of a public bathhouse including appliances, apparatus and personnel, shall be kept clean and operated in a sanitary condition.

(b)

All employees shall be clean and wear clean outer garments, whose use is restricted to the bathhouse. Provision for separate dressing rooms for each sex must be available on the premises, with individual lockers for each employee. Doors to such dressing rooms shall open inward and shall be self-closing.

(c)

All bathhouses shall be provided with clean laundered sheets and towels in sufficient quantities and shall be laundered between consecutive uses thereof and stored in an approved sanitary manner. No towels or sheets shall be laundered or dried in any public bathhouse unless such establishment is provided with approved laundry facilities for such laundering and drying. Approved receptacles shall be provided for the storage of soiled linens and paper towels.

(d)

Wet and dry heat rooms, shower compartments, and toilet rooms shall be thoroughly cleaned each day the business is in operation. Bathtubs shall be thoroughly cleaned after each use.

(e)

Provide educational programs for patrons in accordance with standards promulgated by the Department of Health Services in consultation with the San Diego County Regional Task Force on AIDS.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

(a)

The Finance Director shall issue a bathhouse permit if all the requirements for a bathhouse described in this chapter are met and shall issue a permit to any person who has applied for a permit to operate a bathhouse unless the Finance Director finds:

(1)

That the operation proposed by the applicant, if permitted, would not comply with all applicable laws.

(2)

That the applicant or any other person who will be directly engaged in the management and operation of a public bathhouse has been convicted of:

a)

An offense involving conduct which requires registration pursuant to Section 290 of the Penal Code.

b)

An offense involving the use of force and violence upon the person of another that amounts to a felony.

c)

An offense involving sexual misconduct with children.

d)

An offense as defined under Sections 311, 647(a), 647a, 315, 316 or 318 of the Penal Code of the State of California.

e)

The Finance Director shall disregard any conviction mentioned in subsections a), b), c) or d) of this section, if he finds that the applicant has fully completed any sentence imposed because of such conviction and has fully complied with any conditions imposed because of such convictions, which convictions has occurred at least three years prior to the date of applications, and the applicant has not subsequently been convicted of any of the crimes herein mentioned, nor has suffered any subsequent felony convictions involving the use of force of violence on the person of another.

(b)

After issuance of a permit, the Finance Director shall retain a copy of the issued permit for filing.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

The operator of a bathhouse must maintain a register of all persons employed as an employee of a bathhouse, which register shall be available for inspection at all times during regular business hours. The register shall contain the following information for each employee:

(a)

Name and residence address;

(b)

Social Security number and driver's license number, if any;

(c)

Employee's height, weight, color of eyes and hair;

(d)

Written evidence that the employee is over the age of 18 years;

(e)

Business, occupation or employment of the employee for the three years immediately preceding the date of beginning employment with the bathhouse;

(f)

The Finance Director shall have the right to request fingerprints and photographs of an employee and the right to confirm the information contained in the register.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

It shall be unlawful for the owner, proprietor, manager or any other person in charge of any bathhouse to employ any person under the age of 18 years.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

Upon sale, transfer or relocation of a bathhouse, the permit therefore shall be null and void.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

No person granted a permit pursuant to this chapter shall operate under any name or conduct his business under any designation or in any location not specified in his permit.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

Every person who engages in or conducts a public bathhouse as herein defined shall keep a daily register, approved in form by the Finance Director, of the number of patrons admitted, their hour of arrival and their hour of departure. Said daily register shall, at all times during business hours, be subject to inspection by the County Department of Health Services and by law enforcement and shall be kept on file for one year.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

No service enumerated in Subsection 5.46.010(a) of this chapter may be carried on within any cubicle, room or booth, or in any area within a bathhouse by whatever designation whatsoever which is fixed with a door capable of being locked.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

No private room, as hereinafter defined, shall be maintained within any bathhouse. "Private Room" shall mean any enclosed space large enough for more than one person to enter with a door capable of being locked from the inside, unless one or more of the following applies:

(a)

There is an opening no less than five feet nor more than six feet above the floor through which the full exterior of the enclosure is viewable from the exterior; or

(b)

The enclosure is not made available for use by patrons of the establishment; or

(c)

No more than one person at a time is allowed to enter the enclosure, the occupancy restriction is conspicuously posted on the entrance to the enclosure, and there are no openings between any adjoining enclosures through which physical contact between persons in adjoining enclosures is possible.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

(a)

No person shall operate a bathhouse unless employee monitors are provided for the exclusive and sole purposes of observation of activity on the bathhouse premises. Two monitors shall be provided for any floor or portion of a floor open to patrons; provided, however, that the bathhouse operator may, in the alternative, provide one monitor for each 20 patrons based on the average hourly patronage for the bathhouse during the preceding calendar month, calculated for the hours that the bathhouse is open, provided that at least one monitor shall be on duty at all times the bathhouse is open. The average number of patrons during each hour shall be calculated from the daily register required by the provisions of Section 5.46.130. Such monitors shall survey the entire portion of the bathhouse open to patrons every 15 minutes.

(b)

The bathhouse operator shall immediately expel from the premises any and all persons observed causing the maximum occupancy requirements of this chapter to be violated, any and all persons committing any crime on the premises, or any and all persons engaged in high risk sexual activity on the premises. For the purposes of this chapter, "high risk sexual activity" shall mean:

(1)

The placing of the male penis on or into the anus, vagina or mouth of another person;

(2)

The placing of the mouth of one person on the anus, vagina or penis of another person; or

(3)

The contact of feces or urine of one person with any part of the body of another person; or

(4)

The entry of any part of the body of one person into the anus or vagina of another person.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

Every person to whom or for whom a permit shall have been granted, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall display said permit in a conspicuous place in a bathhouse so that the same may be readily seen by persons entering the premises.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

Law enforcement and the County Department of Health Services shall, from time to time and at least once a month, make an inspection of each bathhouse for the purpose of determining that the provisions of this chapter are complied with.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

No bathhouse permit shall be transferred from person to person or from one location to another.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

It shall be unlawful for any person to give or administer any bath or baths as defined herein, or to give or administer any of the other things mentioned in this chapter, which violate the provisions of this chapter or the regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter or which violate any State or local laws or ordinances. Any violation of this provision shall be deemed grounds for revocation of the permit granted hereunder.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

Every bathhouse shall be maintained and operated in a clean and sanitary manner. All bathhouses shall comply with all applicable building, health, zoning and fire laws of the City. In addition, law enforcement and the County Director of the Department of Health Services may, after a noticed public hearing, adopt and enforce reasonable rules and regulations not in conflict with, but to carry out, the intent of this chapter. All bathhouse operators holding a valid permit shall be given written notice of the public hearing, including a copy of the proposed regulations, at least ten days prior to the date of the hearing. In addition, notice of the public hearing and a summary of the proposed regulations shall be published in an appropriate newspaper of general circulation one time at least ten days prior to the date of the hearing. In addition, notice of the public hearing and a summary of the proposed regulations shall be published in an appropriate newspaper of general circulation one time at least ten days prior to the public hearing. The rules and regulations shall include reasonable requirements to protect the health and safety of bathhouse patrons, including reasonable necessary requirements for educational programs and other measures for the prevention and control of the spread of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and other infectious or communicable diseases.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

Every person who violates any provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor. Further, any violation of the provisions of Sections 5.46.020, 5.46.140, 5.46.150, or 5.46.160, shall constitute a public nuisance.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

Any permit issued pursuant to this chapter may be suspended or revoked by the Finance Director on proof of violation by the permittee of any provisions of State law, this chapter, County ordinances or any rule or regulation adopted and approved pursuant to Section 5.46.210, or in any case where the Finance Director, on the advice of the County Director of Health Services, determines the bathhouse is being managed, conducted or maintained without regard for the public health, or the health of patrons or customers, or without due regard to proper sanitation or hygiene. Where a permit is denied or revoked by the Finance Director, such denial, suspension, or revocation may be appealed by the permit applicant or permittee in accordance with the provisions of the uniform licensing procedures of this Code.

(Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)

If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter or any part thereof, is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid or ineffective by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of effectiveness of the remaining portions of this chapter or any part thereof. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared unconstitutional or invalid or ineffective.

(Ord. 88-779, 4-12-88; Ord. No. 2017-1451, § 2, 10-24-2017)