City Council Okays Changes to Massage Business, Council Meetings

Here are highlights from the March 10 Newark City Council Meeting:

• Council members gave the green light to T-Mobile West Corporation’s plans to establish a wireless telecommunications facility at 37600 Central Court. According to the agenda packet, this facility would replace another T-Mobile site at the former Cargill Salts Property, 7220 Central Ave., where crews added antennas to a 126.5 feet water tank. Council members approved a conditional permit use for this project with a vote of four ayes and one abstention. Councilmember Luis Freitas excused himself from the vote because he ownsa business within 500 feet of the new site.
• HY Foot Massage may move forward with plans to offer full-body massages at 5680 Thornton Ave. after council members approved its conditional use permit. This permit is contingent on whether the Newark Police Department approves the business for a massage establishment permit. HY Foot Massage opened inside the Newark Square Shopping Center in 2010.
• Council members also approved a municipal code amendment that would change the way the council conducts its meetings. Among them is a five-minute limit on speakers during the public comment period at council meetings. The previous limit was 10 minutes.
• During the meeting, Councilmember Alberto Huezo asked city leaders to recognize senior Kuhuk Goyal, who was named as a National Merit Scholarship finalist last month. "That doesn’t happen too often,” Huezo said. “We recognize athletes and he (Kuhuk Goyal) is also a star.”

To review Thursday night’s agenda packet, click here.