When Apple Valley residents discovered a suspected house of prostitution masquerading as a massage business near an elementary school, city officials reacted quickly.

The place was shut down within days by police, who then helped draft a new ordinance to better regulate how massage parlors operate.

City Council quickly approved the ordinance this month after Police Chief Scott Johnson warned that prostitution rings might target Apple Valley because of its lax oversight of massage establishments. The new ordinance requires background checks, investigation fees, disclosure of owners and a business license.

The council's decision, and Johnson's comments, have outraged massage therapists, especially those working out of their homes.

"You have a cottage industry here of people who work out of their home that become criminalized under this ordinance," said Barbara York, president of the Minnesota Touch Movement, a statewide organization of and for massage therapists.

York said there are as many as 3,000 such practitioners in the state, many of whom work in their own homes.

The new ordinance would not prohibit such businesses, but would add possibly hundreds of dollars in fees and payments to people who might not be able to afford it.

"This is really a great way to make a living," said Victoria McCurdy, a massage therapist in St. Paul who works out of her home. "All kinds of people do this on a part-time basis" to make ends meet.

Police see a threat

Police argue the lack of stronger regulation might have played a part in the establishment of a suspected prostitution operation near Westview Elementary in October.

"We think that's why they are coming out to Apple Valley," Johnson told the council. "This is something we need. Most cities already have such ordinances. Apple Valley is one of the few that does not."

The council agreed with Johnson, passing the ordinance 3-2 and waiving the second reading of the law so it could go into effect quicker.

"Absolutely no prostitution in Apple Valley," said Mayor Mary Hamman-Roland. "We can't condone that."

York argued that placing more restrictions and regulations on massage therapists would not stop prostitution or guarantee that criminals will not use a massage business as a front for illegal activity.

"This is a prostitution ordinance, it's not a massage ordinance," York said last week.

"I work out of my home and it's great. If I'm not doing something right, my neighborhood is watching."

Heron Marquez • 952-707-9994