Residents fight proposed tattoo parlor

Holland A conditional-use permit to allow a tattoo parlor in the Tower Shopping Center on Iron Bridge Road was sailing through the planning process without objection until last month’s board of supervisors meeting. The application by Eric Waite and Eddie Espada was remanded back to the planning commission even though it already had recommendations of approval from the commission and the planning department.

Now the businessmen are having to almost start over. Last Monday night (after this paper’s press deadline) there was another community meeting, and this time residents were organizing in opposition to the parlor. Mike Janosik, the county’s planning administrator, said one resident was anticipating problems and asked that a sheriff’s deputy be present.

At an October community meeting, only the applicants, Janosik and Commissioner Bill Brown showed up. Notices were mailed to nine businesses, but none were sent to area homeowners’ associations.

Jaeckle “If the applicant knows of a homeowners’ association that’s close by, he should contact them,” explained Janosik, “but that’s not official or something he has to do.”

“It’s painfully obvious to me that we failed to contact everyone who should have been included in this decision – the residents of the surrounding neighborhoods,” said Dale Supervisor Jim Holland, who represents the area.

“The Tower Shopping Center is in Dale District, and the residents who are complaining are in Bermuda District, so that’s why we didn’t contact their associations,” said Waite. “County politics is about to drive me into bankruptcy.”

Waite and Espada have already set up shop in their location and were ready to service customers until their fortunes were reversed. A sign posted on their door reads: “We are sorry to inform you [that due] to discriminatory reasons we will not be operating as a body art studio quite yet. However, we are still operating as Central Virginia’s only tattoo equipment supply center.”

To notify the general public the county posts a sign on the property with a phone number to call for information. Chesterfield also ran legal notices in this newspaper for the public hearings before the commission and the county board. The case continues to be posted on the county website. Before the unanimous commission vote, no one spoke in opposition at the hearing, and no letters opposing the parlor had been received. According to one source, the residents were tipped off about the tattoo parlor by a supervisor.

Residential leaders – Judy Stoneman, Phil Lohr and former Bermuda Supervisor Jack McHale – believe the shopping center is in a residential area, and the tattoo parlor would attract the wrong clientele, affecting property values. The county’s map shows mostly commercial zoning around the center with some industrial nearby.

Across Iron Bridge Road, the Ironbridge Corporate Center runs for several blocks with Arbor Landing – the closest residential neighborhood – tucked behind it.

On Dec. 13 the commission will render another recommendation as community activists marshal their troops to voice their opposition. “It’s an inappropriate location,” said Lohr.

“The county has mishandled this case,” insisted Stoneman. She alleged supporters of the parlor provoked a confrontation outside last month’s board meeting.

“I wasn’t harassed by them, but I could hear several folks talking loudly,” said McHale.

The State Board of Barbers and Cosmetology regulates tattoo parlors. The county staff report says the “requested use is similar in characteristics and impact to a beauty shop.” With a conditional-use permit, the zoning of the center is appropriate for the parlor.

The supervisors approved the county’s first parlor on Hull Street Road in the southeast quadrant with Speeks Drive last May on a 4-1 vote. “I may never use this service, but we have freedoms in America,” Holland said in making the motion.

Bermuda Supervisor Dorothy Jaeckle voted against that case, saying tattoo parlors have “a negative stigma” and “are a sign of decline.” Then she added, “I don’t know why people want to mutilate their bodies.”

“We already have several supervisors supporting denial of the case,” said Lohr.

The Chesterfield Planning Commission meeting begins at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 13, in the public meeting room, 10001 Iron Bridge Road.