Posted on Jun 27, 2023
Sign of the times: City will no longer ban tattoo parlors in downtown Belleville
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It’s been 22 years since Belleville City Council members took action to limit the number of tattoo parlors in the city to two and prohibit any from operating in downtown Belleville.
Times have changed, and apparently so has the city’s attitude toward the now-booming industry.
At last week’s City Council meeting, 15 aldermen voted to amend the ordinance that regulates tattoo parlors, doubling the maximum number in the city and allowing two out of four to operate downtown. Ward 4 Alderman Raffi Ovian was the only “no” vote.
Cliff Cross, director of economic development, planning and zoning, had suggested an ordinance change at a recent meeting of the council’s Ordinance and Legal Review Committee.
More people are getting tattoos, and tattoos are widely considered works of art, Cross said in an interview.
“(Tattoo parlors are) destination businesses,” he said. “People travel to go to their tattoo artists, and that brings people to eat in your restaurants and drink at your bars and walk by and shop at some of your stores. It just makes sense to get at least one downtown.”
Times have changed, and apparently so has the city’s attitude toward the now-booming industry.
At last week’s City Council meeting, 15 aldermen voted to amend the ordinance that regulates tattoo parlors, doubling the maximum number in the city and allowing two out of four to operate downtown. Ward 4 Alderman Raffi Ovian was the only “no” vote.
Cliff Cross, director of economic development, planning and zoning, had suggested an ordinance change at a recent meeting of the council’s Ordinance and Legal Review Committee.
More people are getting tattoos, and tattoos are widely considered works of art, Cross said in an interview.
“(Tattoo parlors are) destination businesses,” he said. “People travel to go to their tattoo artists, and that brings people to eat in your restaurants and drink at your bars and walk by and shop at some of your stores. It just makes sense to get at least one downtown.”
Sign of the times: City will no longer ban tattoo parlors in downtown Belleville
Posted from news.stlpublicradio.orgPosted in these groups: 
Belleville
Tattoos
Belleville Tattoos
Posted 11 mo ago
Responses: 1
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Changing attitudes
Wilson acknowledges that “roughneck bikers” and tattoo artists who lacked respect, education and artistry helped give the tattoo industry a bad reputation in the 1970s and ‘80s.
In 2001, former Belleville Mayor Mark Kern argued that tattoo parlors, like bars and pawn shops, needed to be limited and regulated due to “general concern” in the community.
In June of that year, the City Council approved an ordinance requiring that tattoo parlors obtain special licenses and providing that only two licenses be granted at time.
Six months later, aldermen amended the ordinance to prohibit tattoo parlors from operating in a downtown “special service area” that straddled Main Street (one block north and one block south).
“I think it is a very clean-cut issue of discrimination,” Wilson told the BND after the second vote. “How can they say that our type of business shouldn’t be allowed downtown?”
Former Ward 6 Alderman Bob Blaies, then chairman of the Ordinance and Legal Review Committee, insisted that the city wasn’t trying to discriminate against tattoo parlors, but he maintained that they didn’t fit in very well with other downtown shops.
Blaies said tattoo parlors kept late hours and required more parking.
Two decades later, Alderman Randle agrees that societal attitudes about the tattoo industry have changed and that more people are embracing the idea of “body art” for themselves.
“I don’t have any (tattoos),” he said. “I don’t have any desire to get one. But that doesn’t mean I feel like I can make those decisions for other people. That’s really up to the individual.”"
..."Changing attitudes
Wilson acknowledges that “roughneck bikers” and tattoo artists who lacked respect, education and artistry helped give the tattoo industry a bad reputation in the 1970s and ‘80s.
In 2001, former Belleville Mayor Mark Kern argued that tattoo parlors, like bars and pawn shops, needed to be limited and regulated due to “general concern” in the community.
In June of that year, the City Council approved an ordinance requiring that tattoo parlors obtain special licenses and providing that only two licenses be granted at time.
Six months later, aldermen amended the ordinance to prohibit tattoo parlors from operating in a downtown “special service area” that straddled Main Street (one block north and one block south).
“I think it is a very clean-cut issue of discrimination,” Wilson told the BND after the second vote. “How can they say that our type of business shouldn’t be allowed downtown?”
Former Ward 6 Alderman Bob Blaies, then chairman of the Ordinance and Legal Review Committee, insisted that the city wasn’t trying to discriminate against tattoo parlors, but he maintained that they didn’t fit in very well with other downtown shops.
Blaies said tattoo parlors kept late hours and required more parking.
Two decades later, Alderman Randle agrees that societal attitudes about the tattoo industry have changed and that more people are embracing the idea of “body art” for themselves.
“I don’t have any (tattoos),” he said. “I don’t have any desire to get one. But that doesn’t mean I feel like I can make those decisions for other people. That’s really up to the individual.”"
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