Tattoo and body-piercing studios
At Tuesday’s Signal Hill Council meeting, City officials took final action on what had been a controversial zoning ordinance for tattoo studios. Tattoo and body-piercing studios may now apply to operate in Signal Hill, but it may be some time before any studios set up shop within city limits, after a number of residents championed tight zoning regulations. In a second-reading vote, the City Council unanimously approved a zoning-ordinance amendment that would effectively allow tattoo and body-piercing shops in limited areas around the city.
Signal Hill moved to change its ordinances since a federal court ruled that tattoo and body-art businesses are protected under the First Amendment, according to a recent staff report.
Under the terms of the amendment to the zoning ordinance, tattoo and body-piercing studios may now operate in specific commercial and industrial zones. The ordinance also prohibited these businesses from operating within 1,000 feet from what the City called “sensitive” areas, which included residential zones, schools, churches and parks. They also must be located at least 1,000 feet away from other such businesses.
In addition, the Council voted unanimously in a second reading to pass another ordinance that adopts Los Angeles County health code provisions surrounding body-art establishments. According to Director of Community Development Scott Charney, this second ordinance was needed in order to allow the County to perform inspections in Signal Hill.
During past City Council and Planning Commission meetings held earlier this year, the zoning issue had been marked by some controversy between prospective tattoo-business owners and residents who opposed these businesses operating close to “sensitive” areas. Earlier this summer, the Planning Commission initially recommended a zoning ordinance change that would allow the businesses to operate within 500 feet from those areas. Keeping the restriction at that distance would have opened up more possible locations for body art businesses, and the Planning Commission’s recommendation was supported by Tiffany Garcia, a tattoo artist who had attended a few city meetings to advocate for the tattoo businesses. She had hoped to start a studio in the city.
However, the Council ultimately rejected the Planning Commission’s recommendation at its Oct. 4 meeting and instead said that they favored setting the ordinance at the 1,000-foot restriction. At that meeting, a few speakers said they had surveyed a number of residents and reported that a majority of those they surveyed favored the zoning ordinance set at 1,000 feet. By Oct. 18, the Council was ready to vote on the first reading of the ordinance at that greater distance restriction.
“Hundreds of residents made it overwhelmingly clear that they wanted more restrictions on tattoo parlors than were approved by the Planning Commission,” said Signal Hill resident Maria Harris at the Nov. 1 meeting. Harris said that she and other Signal Hill residents formed a nonprofit organization called Signal Hill Community First. She credited the foundation for presenting the tattoo studio survey results to the Council and Planning Commission.
It’s unknown if there are any serious prospective tattoo-business owners still interested in operating in the city now. No tattoo-art advocates appeared before the Council when they voted for the ordinance in its first reading on Oct. 18, nor did any such advocates appear at Tuesday’s meeting when the ordinance was adopted in the second-reading vote.
Garcia indicated in a phone interview Wednesday that she will not pursue establishing a business in Signal Hill since she did not like any properties currently available under the new zoning ordinance. According to Charney, no other potential business owners have contacted his community development department to apply for a business license yet. The ordinance will take effect in early December.
City commission appointments
Councilmembers resisted the idea of amending Signal Hill’s charter to change the process of appointing commissioners. The City Council voted 5-0 to receive and file a report that outlined the process for filling vacancies in the planning, parks and recreation and civil service commissions. In this same vote, the Council also moved to make no changes to the appointment process at this time.
According to a staff report from City Manager Ken Farfsing, if the Council determined that they would like to change the process of filling a vacancy on a commission, they would have to modify the City’s charter and possibly the municipal codes.
The city charter had not been changed since voters adopted it in 2000, according to Farfsing’s report.
Earlier this year, Wilson had requested City staff to report on the commission appointments after he heard complaints from residents who felt that commission appointments were pre-determined.
Signal Hill resident Bob Mendoza echoed Wilson’s concern. Mendoza said that a number of fellow city residents he’s met did feel that way.
“Most of them think that you need to sharpen up your selection,” Mendoza told the Council at Tuesday’s meeting. Mendoza recommended that the Council do side-by-side comparisons of potential commission appointees.
“Because you don’t want people on a commission that all have the same qualities and the same experiences in their background. You want people that are going to represent the city,” Mendoza explained.
The City publicizes commission vacancies when they become available. Appointments are made in May, and the commission terms begin on June 1, according to a staff report. Farfsing and City Attorney David Aleshire did clarify a detail surrounding the overall process of filling a commission vacancy. The mayor must appoint candidates and the Council must confirm the mayor’s appointments with at least a three-fifths vote. Although there were some questions over the process and the estimated cost involved with changing the City’s method of appointing commissioners, many of the councilmembers said they did not see the need to change how commissioners are appointed.
“I look at our commissions and how strong they are and what excellent representation we have… and I just feel our method is better,” Councilmember Ellen Ward said Tuesday, when she recommended to make no changes to the process.
Even though he eventually supported the Council’s recommendation to avoid changes to the process, Wilson emphasized the need to address the concerns of the residents, “I was not necessarily looking for a charter change. I’m looking for a process that allows people to feel that the process is more inclusive of everybody in the community,” Wilson said in an interview Tuesday night.
Other City Council highlights
Signal Hill preschools
Mayor Larry Forester presented a proclamation to Farah-Naz Khaleghi of the Community Improvement League to pledge support to quality education in preschool programs in the city.
Shell Pipeline Company
In a second-reading vote, the Council unanimously passed an ordinance that would allow Shell Pipeline Company to operate their pipeline facilities in the city’s right-of-way areas. The franchise will operate about 9,485 feet of pipeline, according to a staff report.
The next City Council meeting will take place on Nov. 15 at 7pm in the Council Chambers
