The Fortuna City Council adopted Ordinance 2026-788 on Sept. 21 by a 3-1 vote, adding Chapter 5.30 to the Fortuna Municipal Code to regulate massage establishments.
The council meeting transcript shows Councilmembers Carlos Diaz, Tami Trent and Mayor Mike Johnson voted for the ordinance. Councilmember Abe Stevens voted against it.
The vote completed action that began Sept. 8, when the council introduced the ordinance and scheduled a second reading. At that meeting, police staff said the proposal would establish a local business-registration program, operating standards and sanitation requirements. Staff also said it would authorize administrative inspections and background checks for certain employees or owners, and give the Police Department authority to deny, suspend or revoke registrations for qualifying criminal violations.
Police staff described the ordinance as a way to address prostitution, sexual exploitation and human trafficking that officials said can be associated with massage establishments, while protecting businesses operating lawfully. Those statements were presented as the policy rationale for the ordinance and do not, by themselves, establish the prevalence of those crimes in Fortuna.
Stevens questioned whether massage businesses were being singled out and said he would be more comfortable with a broader ordinance covering illegal activity across business types. The Sept. 8 council meeting transcript records his comments.
The adopted ordinance’s effective date and the details of its licensing, inspection, enforcement and appeal procedures were not established in the meeting discussion reviewed for this story.
