12-17-2025 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Staff Report To: Mayor Fischer and Members of the City Council From: Ben Harrington, AICP, Community Development Director Date: December 17, 2025 Re: Ordinance 921 – Amending Massage and Complementary and Alternative Health Care (CAHC) Practices Regulatory Standards Action To Be Considered: To adopt, adopt with amendments, deny: • Ordinance 921, an ordinance amending chapters 2202 and 2203, massage and complementary and alternative health care practices, of the Little Canada City Code to regulate non-massage touch-based complementary and alternative health care practices as defined by the City’s ordinance, and approve publication of a summary ordinance. Background: Minnesota Statutes §146A defines “complementary and alternative health care” (CAHC) broadly and includes numerous therapeutic, wellness, and touch-based practices that fall outside conventional medical care, such as reiki, healing touch, reflexology, and similar modalities. While §146A establishes basic conduct and disclosure requirements for practitioners, it does not create a state licensing system or impose strict operational standards on business establishments. Local governments may adopt their own licensing and performance requirements. Little Canada’s existing ordinances in Chapters 2202 and 2203 were written at a time when “massage therapy” was the primary non-medical touch-based practice operating in cities. As a result, the Code narrowly defines massage and ties operational rules (hours, security, inspections, conduct, and decorum) to massage establishments alone. The emergence of other non-massage, touch-based practices have highlighted gaps in the Code. Staff have received inquiries from practitioners whose services involve intentional physical touch but fall outside the current definition of massage therapy. These practices raise similar public health, safety, and welfare concerns as massage establishments, yet they exist in an undefined regulatory space. This ambiguity in the Code was reviewed with the City Council at the November 12, 2025 Workshop meeting. Council evaluated several regulatory approaches, including taking no action, and determined that establishing a clear licensing and performance framework was the most appropriate method to address the public health, safety, and welfare concerns associated with touch- based therapeutic practices. Staff drafted the proposed ordinance in accordance with that direction. Ordinance 921 updates the City’s standards to: • Distinguish massage therapy from other touch-based practices definitionally, including but not limited to those listed by Minnesota Statutes §146A. • Establish a parallel regulatory framework for non-massage touch-based practices where purposeful physical contact is a central component of the service. • Ensure all touch-based practices operate under clear, enforceable conduct expectations.