LB Okays Tattoo Shops

The Long Beach City Council voted unanimously to update long standing regulations on tattoo parlors on May 1 following a federal court decision that the restrictions limit First Amendment rights.

The Long Beach City Municipal Code, Title 21 made it near impossible to open new tattoo parlors thanks to a buffer requirement of at least 1,000 feet between other shops, adult entertainment businesses, or schools.

Long Beach’s newest tattoo shop, Paper Crane Studios, opened up in 2013. “Emphasis on privacy and custom art is what helped it become the first tattoo shop to open outside of the City’s strict zoning restrictions,” said the Long Beach Post in an article about the shop’s grand opening.

Under the new regulations, the buffer zone is reduced to 700 feet and building zone codes were relaxed. The decision came after a Federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case involving James Real, an entrepreneur that fought with the City since 2011 to open a tattoo parlor.

The court sided with Real in March of 2017, saying Long Beach’s restrictions violated Real’s first amendment right to open up a studio. The regulations were so heavy that there are only nine legal tattoo studios in all of Long Beach’s 51 square miles for its 460,000 residents. By comparison, Newport Beach, at 52 square miles and only 80,000 residents, has 12 of its own tattoo shops.

The pre-updated regulations point to the historic tension between Long Beach officials and the tattoo industry. Tattooing in Long Beach has long been linked to the Pike—the once attractive stretch of coast that suffered in reputation before eventually closing down in 1979.

Tattoo legend, Bert Grimm, established his Famous Tattoo Shop at the Pike in the early 1950s. Grimm trained other famous artists who then dispersed across the country, taking the Long Beach tattoo culture and designs with them.

Grimm’s shop, despite a name change, is still considered the oldest continuously operating tattoo shop in the world. The parlor/museum now goes by the name Outer Limits Tattoo and is the last remaining original business from the Pike’s heyday.

The California Safe Body Art Act of 2012 established the current legal precedent for what counts as “body art.” Tattooing, piercing, branding, and permanent makeup are all regulated equally in 14 LA County cities, including Long Beach.

Interestingly, ear piercing via a mechanical gun device, much like the piercing guns that patrons of children’s jewelry chain Claire’s or other retail shops are familiar with, is not regulated under the act.

Piercing guns are a popular option for parents looking to get their young children’s first pierced earrings. Claire’s, arguably the most famous proponent of the gun, boasts that 9.5 thousand ears are pierced with their guns daily.

Unlike body art and tattoo shops that require yearly licenses and inspections in order to operate, retailers using piercing guns are not subject to the same rigorous standards. Piercing gun users in California must complete only one hour of formal training, and slightly more training if they will be piercing the tougher cartilage tissue at the top of the ear.

Additionally, critics of the piercing gun method, which can only be used with studs as opposed to rings, say that it is impossible to sanitize the device thoroughly and that the blunt force impact of the gun’s spring mechanism is unsafe for piercing practices.

Despite the discrepancy between regulations for piercing guns and the rest of the body art industry, Long Beach may see more tattoo shops in the near the future. New players in the industry will have a higher chance of opening their doors and honoring the legacy of Long Beach’s iconic artists.

vanessa@beachcomber.news