Council Rejects Tougher Tattoo Parlor Restrictions

The Hermosa Beach City Council on Tuesday rejected putting further restrictions on tattoo businesses within the city. 

Despite pleas from some residents for tougher regulations, the council voted 4-1 to shelve recommendations from the Planning Commission regarding governance of tattoo studios.

Representatives on both sides of the issue spoke before the council prior to the vote.

William F. Clark, the lawyer for a group of residents called Citizens United, argued that "enacting additional restrictions is necessary."

Citizens United filed a lawsuit in April claiming that city officials didn't give adequate public notice before deciding how to integrate tattoo parlors into the city. 

Tattoo business owners attending the meeting argued that the residents' group was spreading false claims around town about the dangers of tattoo shops in an effort to whip up fear. The business owners said they’re abiding by current rules and want to be a positive part of the community.

Raising the specter of lawsuits, should the city tighten restrictions on tattoo artists, Councilman Howard Fishman said, "I feel we’ve done the best we can at this stage. Putting some restrictions in place already could subject us to further litigation.

"I’m not inclined to want to further restrict, and I’m basing that on a lack of documentation and substantial facts that indicate that there are problems,” said Fishman, who motioned for the council to receive and file the Planning Commission’s recommendation without further action.

He added that if problems arise in the future, the council could then reconsider the restrictions.

Mayor Peter Tucker said he would like to consider a 9 p.m. closing time for tattoo businesses, as recommended in the commission’s report. Current law allows tattoo businesses in Hermosa Beach to open at 10 a.m. and close at 10 p.m.

Other recommendations presented to the council from the Planning Commission were to:

• Require tattoo business not be within a 100-foot or larger buffer zone around residential property (the zone measurements are from one property line to another);
• Require tattoo businesses not be within a 200-foot buffer zone around park-recreational facilities and schools;
• Ban body piercing by the businesses;
• Clarify municipal code to specify that “tattooing” could include the business of tattoo removal, except when removal is performed by a physician or other state Medical Board-licensed professional as part of a medical practice.

Referring to a concentration of tattoo businesses in Hermosa Beach, Planning Commissioner Shawn Darcy told the council, "We’re way above the per square mile [ratio of other cities]."

Hermosa Beach resident Greg Maffei of Citizens United, just moments after the council decision Tuesday, posted onto Facebook: 

"The city council hid behind fear of potential future lawsuits by the tattoo establishments as the basis of doing nothing more. Welcome to Hermosa Beach ... now the prestigious Tattoo Per Capita capital of California ... by a factor of more than 5x the nearest city with what now seems like a small proliferation of tattoo parlors. Venice Beach, move over. Ventura, move over. Fullerton, move over. We are Number One."

There are three tattoo parlors open in Hermosa Beach and one undergoing renovations on PCH (see accompanying city staff report under photo.)

Hermosa Beach resident Gene Smith, who is a co-owner of Hermosa Ink on Hermosa Avenue, told the council Tuesday that Citizens United is spreading fear and misinformation.

"The bottom thing that’s fueling this is the value of the real estate," Smith said. His business partner Shane McColgan added that some residents are worried about their property values being affected by tattoo parlors opening nearby.

City officials said that since there's no apparent evidence that tattoo businesses pose a direct threat to the community, their decisions on how to govern them are bound by a federal court ruling.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that tattooing is a form of expression protected by the First Amendment, requiring that Hermosa Beach overturn its ban on such businesses.

The case was brought by Johnny Anderson, who now owns on Pier Plaza. He  in 2007 after it repeatedly rejected his efforts to open a tattoo parlor in town.

"I advocated on a number of occasions not to proceed," said City Councilman Kit Bobko about Anderson's lawsuit years ago, adding that, with the 9th Circuit Court decision that tattooing is protected speech, "treating new tattoo businesses worse than we treat any other business in town" could invite more lawsuits.

City Councilmen Jeff Duclos and Michael DiVirgilio agreed. 

Earlier coverage of the Anderson vs. City of Hermosa Beach lawsuit, and City Council decisions on tattoo policy, on Hermosa Beach Patch: