Charge against Elburn massage business dropped

Elburn dropped a zoning violation charge Friday against a massage business because it added a tanning bed, which brings it into compliance with the law, according to village officials.

Xiaomei-Feng Castro, the proprietor of Asian Massage and Bodyworks, 151 E. Route 38, had been accused in April of operating a non-permitted business, or massage parlor. The village’s complaint said there was no record of the business or Castro being registered with the state’s Department of Finance and Professional Regulation, which licenses massage practitioners. The business opened in June 2012, according to the complaint.

The owner would have had to obtain a special-use permit from the village to operate an adult massage parlor in the strip mall.

Castro did not attend Friday’s court hearing.

Tanning salons, beauty parlors, barbers and nail salons are allowed under village law to offer massages as ancillary uses, according to the village attorney Brian O’Connor.

A call to Castro at the business was answered by a woman who said she did not understand English.

On Thursday afternoon, the business’s door was locked and a small sign instructed visitors to ring a doorbell for service, though no one responded to the bell. A tanning bed was visible, and a reception desk was unattended. There were several signs on the business that said it was open. A neon sign said it offered therapeutic massage and a wall sign said “Beauty Parlor.”

Elburn’s building commissioner, Thomas Brennan, said he found the tanning bed when he revisited the business this week.

The village had also charged the owner of the strip mall, Red Oaks LLC, with operating a non-permitted business. It was found guilty Aug. 9 and fined $2,655, according to Kane County court records.