On Tuesday, the Manhattan Beach City Council unanimously approved an ordinance regulating tattoo studios.
The ordinance requires that those who seek to open tattoo studios in commercial districts must obtain a use permit approved by the city. Tattoo studios will not be permitted within 600 feet of parks or schools and must be 200 feet away from other tattoo studios, the council decided.
The hours of operation must be between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. – more restrictive hours may be imposed if a proposed studio location is next to a bar or nightclub, according to the ordinance.
With the new guidelines, about three or four studios could probably open along Sepulveda Boulevard, said Richard Thompson, the city’s director of community development. While there currently are no formal applications pending for tattoo studios in Manhattan Beach, the city has received inquiries about potentially opening them.
The city can deny a use permit application for various reasons, including if the applicant is under the age of 18 or made a fraudulent statement on the application.
“We have to make sure we don’t step on First Amendment freedom of speech rights, but we can provide reasonable time, place and manner restrictions,” said Mayor Pro Tem Wayne Powell.
Inside a tattoo parlor, operators must provide a separate lobby for people waiting for services, and no services that are in progress shall be visible from outside or inside the studio at any time, according to the ordinance.
Last year, Hermosa Beach attempted to put a ban on tattoo parlors in the city. A federal appeals court ruled the ban unconstitutional last September, citing that tattoos are a form of expression protected by the First Amendment.
In July, Manhattan Beach placed a moratorium on the approval of tattoo studios to provide the Planning Commission and the city time to develop regulations for tattoo parlors.
