Joliet council to vote on massage parlor in the mall

The Joliet City Council will vote Tuesday on a zoning variation that would allow a massage parlor to open inside Louis Joliet Mall.

The Relax the Body massage business needs both a zoning variation and a special-use permit to open inside the mall.

The Joliet Zoning Board of Appeals previously reviewed the application and recommended approval for the variation and permit.

Massage therapist Xanxia Zhang is requesting the permit to open the business, according to a city staff memo to the council.

Zhang has had a massage therapy license from the state since 2013 and initially would be the only massage therapist on staff. He may hire up to three additional massage therapists in the future.

Zhang has completed the background check required for his city business license. Future therapists also would be required to pass background checks, according to the staff memo.

Relax the Body would occupy a 1,260-square-foot space in the mall.

Staff said massage businesses are allowed to operate in areas zoned as B-3 for general business if granted special-use permits. The mall is zoned B-2, a designation for central business areas where massage parlors are not generally permitted.