OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Public Safety Subcommittee Meeting - April 21, 2026: Illicit Massage Enforcement & Department Updates

City Council — Tuesday, April 21, 2026
BodySanta Rosa, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, April 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:02:01

Transcript — Verbatim
3:11

I'd like to ask the interpreter currently on the Spanish channel to continue interpretation of the meeting.

3:17

For those just joining the meeting, live interpretation in Spanish is available, and members of the public or staff wishing to listen in Spanish can join the Spanish channel by clicking on the interpretation icon in the Zoom toolbar.

3:29

It looks like a globe.

3:36

Click done to activate and begin the interpretation.

5:00

Mayor Stapp here.

5:02

And Chair O'Krepki.

5:03

Here.

5:04

Let the record reflect that all council members are present with the exception of a council member Fleming.

5:09

All right, thank you very much.

5:10

We have no remote participation today.

5:13

We have no staff announcements.

5:15

We do have approval of the minutes to do from the February 3rd meeting.

5:19

Any additions to that?

5:20

Seeing none, we will adopt those as submitted and move on to public comment on non-agenda matters.

5:28

This is your opportunity.

5:29

You will have three minutes to talk about anything you want under the purview of the public safety subcommittee meeting or of subcommittee.

5:36

So if you would that is not agendized, so if you would like to say anything, you can move towards one of the microphones.

5:43

Nobody's moving, so we will go ahead and close public comment on non-agenda matters and move on to our new business item 6.1 illicit massage business update.

5:57

And when you're ready.

6:29

I'm John Kriegen, our chief of police, and I'm joined today by our director of planning and economic development, Gabe Osborne.

6:35

And we're gonna go through this presentation together.

6:38

It's been really been a joint collaboration between the Santa Rosa Police Department with our domestic violence sexual assault team and the code enforcement team addressing this uh vital community issue.

6:52

Thank you, Chief, and good morning, Chair and members of the committee.

6:54

Uh Gabe Bosburn, director of planning and economic development.

6:57

Um, as we kick off today's presentation, we thought it made sense to first really just give an overview of where we are for on the enforcement of illicit massage.

7:04

Um in March of 2025, the council adopted an ordinance that essentially created more regulations associated around the use of massage as a business type.

7:14

Uh that regulation injected a certification process, um required inspections and quite a bit of regulation on the actual use of materials and behavior and certification inside of the business.

7:30

Um, what we did more recently is the council adopted amendments to that ordinance to really tighten up how we handle the review process.

7:37

Um what we actually saw as we started going through the review is that businesses that had somewhat of an evidence of illicit activity were actually going through the permitting process.

7:47

So the more recent council action tightened that up and made it easier for us to deny permits.

7:52

So really what we've seen, and these numbers are very fluid, uh, so they are different today than when we added the slide.

7:57

Um so we've we've made a few changes on the number of denials that all verbalize.

8:02

Uh so we've received 83 applications.

8:04

Um, and if the committee recalls when we first went down this journey of understanding the total business use, uh, there were around 130 identified massage uses within Santa Rosa.

8:14

Uh 80 feels like a norm more normal number um for the size of our city.

8:20

Uh so that's really what we saw as we we had the cutoff.

8:23

Uh, my guess would be was we see more of these trickle in as businesses change over, and as some of the legitimate massage uses start coming back into the picture.

8:31

Out of that 83, we approved 40.

8:34

So there's 40 businesses worth certifications.

8:37

Uh what we've seen through that process is we wanted to put as many resources as possible to educating the legitimate business community on this.

8:44

Uh really the balance with this ordinance is to ensure that we're not overly penalizing those that are attempting to operate as a small business in Santa Rosa.

8:52

Uh so through that, we had six denials, which is actually nine now.

8:56

So we had some changes there.

8:57

Uh so really as we bolstered up that language, it made it easier for us to deny the applications.

9:02

Uh, we have 37 that are pending review.

9:04

Uh, what we've seen through this application process is we often identify flaws in the application, which are very similar to any plan review process.

9:12

The applicant is given time to address those flaws and resubmit.

9:15

Uh, that would be the 37.

9:16

Uh, we typically put those businesses on a clock.

9:19

Uh, they can't hold that in perpetuity.

9:21

Uh so that's usually a 30 or 90 day period in which they need to respond.

9:25

Uh we do have discretion in that arena.

9:27

So returned in complete and withdrawn are four, and then it's important to note that we conducted 36 inspections.

9:33

So, as we complete an application, we inspect the site.

9:37

And I do want to point out that one of the common pieces that we catch is the neon sign.

9:42

Uh, that often has been identified as an indicator of an illicit use.

9:46

It is not necessarily the case.

9:48

Uh, the the neon signs are one of those items that we do a correct with that initial inspection on a legitimate business.

9:54

Uh so I just wanted to point that out that uh that is not an immediate indicator of an illicit use.

10:00

So that's really the summary of where we are from an ordinance standpoint.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████47%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████14%
Public Engagement███████████12%
Procedural████████8%
Economic Development██████6%
Community Engagement████4%
Personnel Matters███3%
Intergovernmental Relations██2%
Traffic Safety██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Public Safety Subcommittee Regular Meeting - April 21, 2026

The Santa Rosa Public Safety Subcommittee met on April 21, 2026, from 9:01 a.m. to 9:58 a.m., with Chair Jeff Okrepkie and Mayor Mark Stapp present; Council Member Victoria Fleming absent. The meeting focused on an update on the city's illicit massage business enforcement, followed by reports from the Police and Fire Departments.

Approval of Minutes

  • The minutes from the February 3, 2026 regular meeting were approved as submitted.

Illicit Massage Business Enforcement Update

Chief John Cregan and Planning and Economic Development Director Gabe Osburn presented a joint update on implementation of the massage ordinance adopted in March 2025 and amended thereafter. Enforcement is led by the Police Department’s Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault (DVSA) team and Code Enforcement.

  • Application Statistics: To date, 83 applications have been received (down from an initial estimate of ~130 massage businesses in Santa Rosa). Of those, 40 have been approved, 9 denied, 37 are pending review, and 4 were returned incomplete or withdrawn. 36 inspections have been conducted.
  • Enforcement Actions: On April 15, 2026, Code Enforcement and DVSA detectives visited six locations. Four had received denials; two were operating without certification. Cease-and-desist orders were served on all six, triggering fines that can reach $500/day per violation. One business received an initial fine of $8,400.
  • Criminal Enforcement: A prior “shock and awe” operation involving the FBI resulted in felony charges (pimping, pandering, wage theft, money laundering, tax evasion) against three suspects. Five illicit businesses were shut down, and six victims were rescued and placed with Verity. Asset forfeiture is being pursued.
  • Landlord Outreach: Letters are sent to landlords to inform them of illegal activity and encourage evictions. In one case, a business used cash profits to purchase a building outright.
  • Regional Coordination: The city’s ordinance has been shared with all Sonoma County police chiefs and five adjoining counties. Officials have met with local mayors and city managers to encourage adoption of similar regulations, as illicit operations may be pushed into surrounding jurisdictions.
  • Reporting: Community members can report concerns via a Code Enforcement request form online or at SRCity.org. The chair suggested adding a specific category to the My Santa Rosa app.
  • Public Comment: Five members of the public spoke, all expressing strong support for the city’s efforts. Speakers included Lauren Friedeman, Kurtis Bennet, David Bloomer (campus manager, National Holistic Institute), David Cerretti (physical therapist), and Michelle Reckon. Bloomer noted the ordinance legitimizes licensed massage therapists and improves client safety. Cerretti observed neighborhood changes with illicit businesses appearing on nearly every corner since 1996. All thanked city staff and council for their leadership.

Police Department Update

Chief Cregan provided a high-level overview of operations:

  • Hiring: 7 officers are in two police academy classes (graduating May and August); 3 officer vacancies remain. Civilian positions: 2 vacancies, with 3 dispatchers and 2 police technicians in training. Two positions are frozen pending budget decisions.
  • Deployable Staffing: Out of 175 sworn positions, 21 officers are out with on-duty injuries, 4 are on FMLA leave, and 7 are in the academy. Combined with vacancies, 35 positions are non-deployable.
  • Violence Reduction: In 2025, there were 12 homicides (9 firearm-related). So far in 2026, zero homicides have occurred. Shootings are down 33% year-to-date. 255 illegal firearms have been seized through March, including 189 ghost guns—that number was heavily influenced by one large ghost gun lab with three 3D printers, yielding 160 ghost gun lowers. The chief noted ongoing challenges with legal loopholes for ghost guns.
  • Traffic Safety: Traffic stops and citations are down 18% and 22% respectively due to reduced traffic enforcement capacity (9 officers lost last budget cycle). Injury collisions are up 31%. DUI enforcement and DUI-related collisions are up 41.6%.
  • Community Engagement: Planned events include Taco with a Cop (Apple Valley, late May), Chat with the Chief at Wednesday night markets, a youth Community Police Experience (July), a Spanish-speaking program (fall), and Churros with the Chief at Bear Park. The eight-week Community Police Experience is underway with 28 participants.
  • Public Comment: None.

Fire Department Update

Chief Scott Westrope presented an update:

  • Staffing: Authorized strength is 174 FTE. 12 employees are funded through a SAFER grant (staffing ALS squads), 14 through County Measure H (with 6 more deferred to FY 2026-27), and 10.25 through PSAP/Measure O. An academy of 5 new firefighters began April 20. Three vacancies are being held pending budget decisions in May. The fire prevention administrative staff is fully staffed.
  • Reorganization: Following the loss of a deputy chief and deputy emergency manager, command staff was reorganized. Redundancy for emergency management has been implemented.
  • Apparatus: Five new Type I fire engines are arriving from Wisconsin; they will be in service by June 2026 (funded via general fund fleet replacement and PSAP). The chief noted that fire apparatus costs have nearly doubled (now $1.2–1.5 million per engine, $2.5 million per ladder truck) with build times of 4–5 years due to a monopoly of private equity firms in the industry. LA County and San Diego County are suing these firms over monopolization; the chief will bring more information to a future meeting.
  • Fire Stations: Fire Station 5 is open. Construction of Fire Station 8 (Roseland) is underway, with completion expected June 2027. The city has entered escrow to purchase the former Mancini Sleep World building at Santa Rosa Avenue and Court Street for Fire Station 9—a 30-year need now being addressed by Measure H. A CIP account has been opened for Fire Station 11 (temporary since 2007).
  • Public Comment: Stephan Dal Porto, representing Local 1401, noted 12 line staffing vacancies that must be filled at minimum staffing levels (three on engine, four on truck). He argued that unfilled positions save salary/benefit costs but increase overtime, and asked the subcommittee to consider both sides during upcoming budget discussions.

Key Outcomes

  • Vote: Minutes from February 3, 2026 were approved unanimously.
  • Directives: Chair Okrepkie requested that a specific category for illicit massage business complaints be added to the My Santa Rosa app. Chief Westrope will share more details on the LA County/San Diego County lawsuit against private equity fire apparatus manufacturers at a future meeting.
  • No additional decisions or votes were taken. The meeting adjourned at 9:58 a.m.

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to ask the interpreter currently on the Spanish channel to continue interpretation of the meeting. For those just joining the meeting, live interpretation in Spanish is available, and members of the public or staff wishing to listen in Spanish can join the Spanish channel by clicking on the interpretation icon in the Zoom toolbar. It looks like a globe. Click done to activate and begin the interpretation. Mayor Stapp here. And Chair O'Krepki. Here. Let the record reflect that all council members are present with the exception of a council member Fleming. All right, thank you very much. We have no remote participation today. We have no staff announcements. We do have approval of the minutes to do from the February 3rd meeting. Any additions to that? Seeing none, we will adopt those as submitted and move on to public comment on non-agenda matters. This is your opportunity. You will have three minutes to talk about anything you want under the purview of the public safety subcommittee meeting or of subcommittee. So if you would that is not agendized, so if you would like to say anything, you can move towards one of the microphones. Nobody's moving, so we will go ahead and close public comment on non-agenda matters and move on to our new business item 6.1 illicit massage business update. And when you're ready. I'm John Kriegen, our chief of police, and I'm joined today by our director of planning and economic development, Gabe Osborne. And we're gonna go through this presentation together. It's been really been a joint collaboration between the Santa Rosa Police Department with our domestic violence sexual assault team and the code enforcement team addressing this uh vital community issue. Thank you, Chief, and good morning, Chair and members of the committee. Uh Gabe Bosburn, director of planning and economic development. Um, as we kick off today's presentation, we thought it made sense to first really just give an overview of where we are for on the enforcement of illicit massage. Um in March of 2025, the council adopted an ordinance that essentially created more regulations associated around the use of massage as a business type. Uh that regulation injected a certification process, um required inspections and quite a bit of regulation on the actual use of materials and behavior and certification inside of the business. Um, what we did more recently is the council adopted amendments to that ordinance to really tighten up how we handle the review process. Um what we actually saw as we started going through the review is that businesses that had somewhat of an evidence of illicit activity were actually going through the permitting process. So the more recent council action tightened that up and made it easier for us to deny permits. So really what we've seen, and these numbers are very fluid, uh, so they are different today than when we added the slide. Um so we've we've made a few changes on the number of denials that all verbalize. Uh so we've received 83 applications. Um, and if the committee recalls when we first went down this journey of understanding the total business use, uh, there were around 130 identified massage uses within Santa Rosa. Uh 80 feels like a norm more normal number um for the size of our city. Uh so that's really what we saw as we we had the cutoff. Uh, my guess would be was we see more of these trickle in as businesses change over, and as some of the legitimate massage uses start coming back into the picture. Out of that 83, we approved 40. So there's 40 businesses worth certifications. Uh what we've seen through that process is we wanted to put as many resources as possible to educating the legitimate business community on this. Uh really the balance with this ordinance is to ensure that we're not overly penalizing those that are attempting to operate as a small business in Santa Rosa. Uh so through that, we had six denials, which is actually nine now. So we had some changes there. Uh so really as we bolstered up that language, it made it easier for us to deny the applications. Uh, we have 37 that are pending review. Uh, what we've seen through this application process is we often identify flaws in the application, which are very similar to any plan review process. The applicant is given time to address those flaws and resubmit. Uh, that would be the 37. Uh, we typically put those businesses on a clock. Uh, they can't hold that in perpetuity.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com