Decision Still Awaits on Tattoo Parlor Location

As an interim ban on tattoo parlors remains in effect, the City Council was unable Tuesday night to come to a decision on where such businesses will be allowed to operate within Hermosa Beach.

The council had three options as to where tattoo and body piercing businesses can open shop—the C3 zone, which encompasses the PCH corridor and Aviation Boulevard; the C2 zone, which is limited to the downtown area, mainly Pier Plaza; or both.

The council voted on allowing such businesses to operate in both of these zoning areas during its meeting Tuesday. But with Mayor Peter Tucker on vacation, the vote was 2-2.

City Councilmen Kit Bobko and Michael DiVirgilio opposed the idea.

"I have indicated that I thought it was appropriate for this type of use to be limited to the C3 zone, and I maintain that belief," Bobko said.

DiVirgilio asked the council to consider allowing tattoo studios to operate solely in the PCH-Aviation district. But when the council voted on the recommendation, the result was another deadlock.

The only decision the councilmen could agree on was to vote again at the next City Council meeting when Tucker returns from vacation to break the tie.

"Peter has no idea what waits for him when he gets home," Bobko joked. The other councilmen chuckled at his remark.

Once the council decides on where tattoo and body piercing studios may be located, the businesses will still be subject to certain standards, said community development director Ken Robertson. They will be required, for instance, to follow the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health's regulations for distributing body art.

Other standards include "limiting the concentration of these establishments," Robertson said, "and that the hours be limited between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m."

The city adopted its temporary ordinance Sept. 28, prohibiting tattoo studios from operating on city property until a new policy is crafted. Municipal code had banned tattoo studios from opening in town.

Tattoo artist three years ago for denying him a permit to open a tattoo studio within the C3 zoning area near the corner of PCH and Aviation Boulevard.

The lawsuit made its way to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, where a three-judge panel ruled in Anderson's favor.

The court decided that the city's ban on tattoo parlors was unconstitutional, and the law must be amended because tattoos are protected forms of expression.

"The tattoo itself, the process of tattooing, and the business of tattooing are forms of pure expression fully protected by the First Amendment," according to Judge Jay S. Bybee.

This decision is the highest court ruling to date that addresses First Amendment protection of tattooing.