Sec. 10-25.4. Revocation, suspension or nonrenewal of license or permit; grounds.
A. The license of a massage establishment or the permit of a manager, may be revoked, suspended or denied renewal upon any one or more of the following grounds:
1. That the licensee, a controlling person, designated agent, or permittee is guilty of fraud in conducting the business of a massage establishment or of fraud or deceit in obtaining a license or permit.
2. That the licensee, a controlling person, designated agent or permittee has been convicted within the last five years in a court of competent jurisdiction of a felony or misdemeanor offense having a reasonable relationship to the functions of a massage establishment or a massage practitioner.
3. That the licensee, a controlling person, designated agent or permittee is guilty of untrue, fraudulent, misleading or deceptive advertising.
4. That the licensee, a controlling person, designated agent or permittee is engaged in the business of massage practitioner, massage manager or massage establishment under a false or assumed name, or is impersonating another practitioner or manager of a like or different name.
5. That the licensee, a controlling person, designated agent or permittee has violated any of the provisions of this Article. This paragraph shall apply regardless of the location at which the violation occurred.
6. That, in the case of a massage establishment, any individual who did not qualify as a controlling person at the time the license was issued has acquired a twenty percent or greater interest in the licensee.
7. That, in the case of a massage establishment, the massage establishment has operated at a location that has not been licensed for use by the massage establishment by the City Clerk.
8. That, in the case of a massage establishment, the licensee has ceased to use the license for purposes of offering massage or touching techniques or massage therapy. The failure to offer massage or touching techniques or massage therapy at a massage establishment for thirty consecutive days shall create a rebuttable presumption that the licensee has ceased to use the license for purposes of offering massage or touching techniques or massage therapy.
9. That, in the case of a massage establishment, the licensee has failed to maintain in the records of the City Clerk the name of an individual as a designated agent who has not been convicted of an offense listed at subsection 10-22(B) within the previous five years.
10. That the licensee, a controlling person, designated agent or permittee has knowingly photographed a customer, while the customer was on the premises of a massage establishment and located within any treatment room, restroom, locker room or dressing room, without the express, written permission of that customer. for purposes of this paragraph the word photographed shall mean the use of any electronic or mechanical device to record, reproduce or transmit an optical image.
B. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A of this section, the license of a massage establishment, or the permit of a manager, shall be revoked or denied renewal if the licensee, a controlling person, designated agent or permittee has been convicted within the last five years of any offense proscribed by Chapters 14, 32, and 35.1 of the Arizona Criminal Code (Title 13, Arizona Revised Statutes) or by Sections 23-52 and 23-53 of this Code, or any offense committed outside this State or City which if committed in this State or City would constitute a violation of any offense proscribed by Chapters 14, 32, and 35.1 of the Arizona Criminal Code, or by Sections 10-25.3(A)(2) through (A)(6), 23-52 or 23-53 of this Code.
C. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A of this section, the license of a massage establishment shall be revoked or denied renewal if on two or more occasions within a twelve month period, the licensee, a controlling person, designated agent, or an agent, employee or independent contractor of the licensee, a controlling person or designated agent, while on the premises of the licensee, commits an offense proscribed by Chapter 14, Chapter 32, or Chapter 35.1 of the Arizona Criminal Code (Title 13, Arizona Revised Statutes), Section 10-25.3, Paragraphs (A)(2) through (A)(6), Section 23-52 or Section 23-53 of this Code. In order to establish the application of this section, the City Clerk is not required to prove that the same person, or category of person, committed both offenses.
D. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A of this section, the permit of a manager shall be revoked or denied renewal if:
1. The manager has knowingly hired any person to engage in the practice of massage therapy who did not then possess a valid massage therapist license issued pursuant to Chapter 42, Title 32, Arizona Revised Statutes.
2. A person who does not possess a massage therapist license has provided massage therapy on the premises of a massage establishment, regardless of compensation, while the manager was present at that massage establishment. For purposes of this paragraph, a massage therapist with a suspended massage therapist license is an unlicensed massage therapist.
3. The manager was present on the premises of a massage establishment while two or more violations of paragraph 10-25.3(A) occurred within a consecutive twelve month period on at least two separate calendar days.
For purposes of paragraphs 2 and 3 of this subsection, it shall not be a defense that the licensee, a controlling person, designated agent or another manager was present on the premises at the time of the violation.
4. The manager has knowingly permitted massage or touching techniques or massage therapy to be offered by the licensee in any location of the business not specifically identified as available for such services on the sketch or diagram required to be submitted to the City Clerk pursuant to Section 10-20 or in any location of the business identified as leased, subleased or licensed for use by any person other than the licensee on that same sketch or diagram.
E. To deny, suspend or revoke a license or permit, the City Clerk shall personally serve or mail by certified mail to the licensee’s or permittee’s address as shown on the application, or otherwise more recently of record, a written notice that said license or permit is denied, suspended or revoked. Personal service may be upon the massage establishment licensee or upon any responsible person at the business address on file with the City Clerk, or at the actual business address, if different. The cause for such denial, suspension or revocation shall be set forth in the notice. A suspended or revoked license or permit shall be surrendered to the City Clerk on demand. An applicant, licensee, or permittee may appeal the denial, nonrenewal, suspension or revocation of a license or permit to the License Appeal Board pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 19, Article III of this Code. If the denial, nonrenewal, suspension or revocation of a license or permit results from a conviction, the applicant, licensee, or permittee shall be given an opportunity upon appeal to explain the circumstances of the conviction or demonstrate why such conviction does not render the applicant, licensee, or permittee unfit for a license or permit.
F. Neither the suspension nor the revocation of a license or permit issued pursuant to this Article shall be affected by the voluntary surrender of that license or permit. (Ord. No. G-1117, § 2; Ord. No. G-1564, § 1; Ord. No. G-2461, § 1; Ord. No. G-3624, § 13; Ord. No. G-3667, § 3; Ord. No. G-3683, § 21; Ord. No. G-4525, § 18, 2003; Ord. No. G-4752, § 16, 2005)