Tattoo Parlors Slated for Prohibition in Downtown S.C.

The San Clemente City Council this week initiated the process of tweaking the city code to bar tattoo parlors on Avenida del Mar and from Palizada to Presidio on El Camino Real.

City staffers put the item on the agenda in response to a business owner's request to open a tattoo parlor in a space on Del Mar. The Planning Commission shot down the idea on the grounds that a tattoo shop was too dissimilar to other businesses on the street.

The business owner's attorney contacted the city to further discuss the matter, according the to an agenda staff report. As a result, the city attorney suggested that the council specifically address the issue with some code amendments.

The staff report states that the space the tattoo parlor owner wanted to occupy was subsequently leased to someone else, rendering the point moot in this specific case, however.

John Ciampa, assistant city planner, said the amendments will be drafted and brought to the city Planning Commission. If approved, they’ll be sent to council to vote into law.

Ciampa said the amendments will align the city code with a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision against Hermosa Beach that said it was unconstitutional for cities to ban tattoo parlors outright. The decision stated that tattoo parlors were protected under the First Amendment guaranteeing free speech.