Lyndhurst City Council fine-tunes tattoo parlor legislation

Lyndhurst City Council members on dais

Lyndhurst City Council, and newly elected Vice Mayor Joseph Marko, discussed in committee Monday regulations pertaining to tattoo parlors and body-piercing businesses. (Jeff Piorkowski, special to cleveland.com)

LYNDHURST, Ohio -- Tattoos have become more popular and accepted within society over the past 30 or so years, but city leaders want to make sure that if such a business were to open in Lyndhurst, it would be well regulated.

Currently, Lyndhurst code does not allow for tattoo or body-piercing businesses to operate within city borders.

Mayor Patrick Ward said a potential owner of such a business had threatened a lawsuit against Lyndhurst last year when the code prohibited them from opening a business at a Mayfield Road location.

In response, in early August 2019, City Council heard the first reading of proposed legislation that would regulate tattoo parlors and body-piercing establishments.

After being read before council three times by Sept. 16, the legislation was placed on hold, without a vote, while the city’s Planning Commission discussed the topic and made recommendations to council. On Monday (Jan. 20), council’s Legislative Committee again took up the topic.

When asked what reservations he might have about a tattoo parlor opening in Lyndhurst, Ward said: "Just like anything else, it has to represent the community. We had people (residents) come to council meetings, because it was on council’s agenda, and speak that they had some reservations about (such a business opening).

“Does it represent Lyndhurst? At the end of the day, that is what a representative council should be looking at.”

Ward was asked if Lyndhurst looked at ordinances such as those in Eastlake and Cleveland Heights, which allow such businesses, in drawing up its own guidelines.

“(Tattoo parlors) may be in a neighboring community, they may not be in a neighboring community. They could allow things that we don’t, we could allow things that they don’t. We could allow things with certain conditions. We have communities around us that allow drive-thru services. We don’t,” he said.

“We just don’t allow them (tattoo businesses) now, period,” Ward said. “Some might say, ‘That was 1966,’ or whenever (a prohibition was established). So we look at what has changed since then.

"Tattoos are now far more mainstream. We know a lot more people that have tattoos. This is not a value judgment. It’s just establishing whether having a business like that represents Lyndhurst.”

In council’s proposed legislation, it is stated that tattoo parlors and body-piercing businesses, if improperly operated without sterile conditions, could lead to “serious infectious diseases.”

During the committee meeting, council members and Ward discussed the possibility of adding a couple of restrictions that would prohibit a tattoo business from operating within 1,000 feet of a school, day care or indoor/outdoor playground, and that would require the business to be located at least 150 feet from the street.

Ward said the 150-feet restriction would allow only for a tattoo business to be located, in Lyndhurst, within the Crossroad shopping center on Mayfield Road or at the Greens of Lyndhurst. The Greens of Lyndhurst, however, now has an operating day care facility.

In addition, such businesses would need approval from the Planning Commission and City Council of a conditional use permit in order to operate. The permit would extend only through Dec. 31 of each year, when a new permit would be required.

It is believed that by setting such guidelines in advance, the city will be protected from future lawsuits. Ward said he is not aware if the business owner who threatened suit was still interested in operating in Lyndhurst.

Council could take a vote on the ordinance at its next meeting, Feb. 3.

Vice Mayor

Council elected at its Jan. 6 meeting to make Joseph Marko, a 20-year councilman, vice mayor. It is Marko’s fourth time serving the two-year term as vice mayor. In Lyndhurst, the vice mayor presides at council meetings.

“It’s an honor that your colleagues have the confidence in you to do the job,” said Marko, who takes over the position from Councilman David Frey.

Fire station is coming along

The $4.3 million renovation and expansion of the city’s fire department building at City Hall is proceeding to the point, Fire Chief Michael Carroll said, that the department will be able to move its equipment into its new, larger apparatus bay sometime in March.

Firefighters should be ready to move into their new living quarters, Carroll said, in late May or early June.

“The guys have been great,” Ward said of firefighters. “They had a constricted space to begin with (before construction), and we made it even smaller (to make room for construction).”

“We’re ready to move in," Carroll said. "We’re ready to spread our wings. We’ll get through it (construction) and it will pay off in the end.”

New law director

John Luskin is now Lyndhurst’s law director, taking over from Paul Murphy. Muprhy served 15 years as Lyndhurst’s law director. He said he will continue for the next two years to serve as Mayfield Heights’ law director, where he has also worked for several years.

“I’m just trying to lighten my load,” said Murphy, 69. “I’ll retire (from Mayfield Heights) when (Mayor Anthony DiCicco’s) term expires in two years.”

By retiring from Lyndhurst at the end of 2019, Murphy served through the end of Ward’s first term. Ward was re-elected in 2019 to a second four-year term.

Murphy received a resolution of commendation and appreciation from Lyndhurst City Council and Ward on Jan. 6.

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