ROSWELL, Ga. — In the wake of a police investigation throughout Metro Atlanta, those looking to establish new massage parlors and spas in Roswell will likely have to state their case to the City Council.
While a 90-day moratorium is underway, Roswell Planning and Zoning Director Jackie Deibel presented a text amendment to the city’s Unified Development Code at the City Council meeting Jan. 22, requiring conditional-use approval of new massage establishments.
In September, Roswell police announced the arrest of three principal figures within a human trafficking network, after more than 70 officers and investigators across Fulton County served search and arrest warrants at 10 locations in Roswell, Johns Creek, Sandy Springs and Atlanta.
If the amendment passes, new massage parlors would be allowed in all commercial areas throughout Roswell but would have to come before the council to acquire a business license. Currently, massage therapy businesses are allowed by-right under personal services.
The Roswell Planning Commission also recommended that approval be attached to the owner, not the land, providing a stopgap in any changeover.
“If there have been multiple arrests made at a specific location, the way that there are currently loopholes, it can just be transferred through ownership, and they can just continue doing it with their cousin who’s just running the same business,” Councilwoman Sarah Beeson said.
The amendment also defines massage parlors as an establishment that calls for a patron to “disrobe.” For the second reading scheduled Feb. 12, Beeson advised that language be adjusted given that other kinds of businesses require clients to disrobe, like full body waxing and cryotherapy.
Police checks
Mayor Kurt Wilson said there are more than 180 massage businesses in Roswell.
“The super-supermajority are incredibly…
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