The City of Leon Valley is cracking down on massage parlors, shutting down three this week for code violations.
"There had been numerous complaints about our massage parlors and numerous accusations surrounding the licensing problems we were having,” City Manager Kelly Kuenstler said.
Kuenstler added that the ongoing issues led to the city council passing a new ordinance, requiring massage parlors to obtain a permit to do business in the city.
Kuenstler said that a team of city workers visited three establishments on Tuesday.
“We wanted to make certain that we informed them of the new code,” Kuenstler explained. “So while they were there, they noticed multiple code violations, such as residents actually living in the businesses, such as fire exits blocked, and active prostitution going on.”
At Sunshine Massage located at the corner of Huebner and Bandera, police also made two arrests, one for prostitution and one for providing massages without a license.
The other two businesses closed down are Healing Massage at 7074 Bandera Road and Massage & Spa at the corner of Bandera and Seneca.
"Citations were actually issued for zoning, health, and fire code violations," Kuenstler said.
“All three locations were issued stop work orders and their certificates of occupancy were revoked for all three, and they will have to reapply for permits under the new massage establishment ordinance,” Leon Valley Police Chief Joe Salvaggio said.
Chief Salvaggio went on to say that the people arrested are from China and have temporary or permanent resident immigration cards.
KENS 5 tried reaching out to all three businesses and found locked doors and no answers when we called them.
Kuenstler said that Leon Valley recently became a “home rule city,” and they now have more control over code enforcement, so they said they are using that new power to keep people safer.
Kuenstler also noted that city staff will be checking the businesses in the coming days to make sure they are compliant. She said that getting the newly required permits is simply a matter of filling out a form and paying the required fee.
"Once they're able to demonstrate that they have the proper license and that they're in compliance with codes, then they'd certainly be welcome back in our city,” Kuenstler said.