Minneapolis Council Refers Ordinances on Adult Bathhouses

The Minneapolis City Council has taken initial steps toward potentially legalizing and regulating adult bathhouses and similar venues where consenting adults can engage in sexual activity, marking a possible reversal of a ban enacted during the height of the AIDS crisis in 1988.

On Wednesday, the council referred a package of four draft ordinances to city staff for further review and development. The proposals aim to create a licensing framework for adult sex venues, update zoning regulations to accommodate sexually oriented businesses, revise health and sanitation codes related to contagious diseases, and introduce exceptions to indecency laws for licensed establishments. No vote on legalization has occurred, but the action signals serious consideration of the issue. A spokesperson for Mayor Jacob Frey stated that the mayor supports continuing to explore the matter.

The push comes from the Safer Sex Spaces Coalition, a group including local organizations like the Aliveness Project and OutFront MN, which successfully lobbied for changes to the 1988 ordinance's language in 2023. Advocates argue that the original ban, which prohibited businesses facilitating certain sexual...