Selectmen, Planning Board working on draft tattoo parlor regulations
Date: 6/4/2012
June 4, 2012 By Chris Maza
chrism@threminder.comEAST LONGMEADOW — The Board of Selectmen, operating as the Board of Health for the town, has been charged with the creation of a licensing procedure for body art businesses.
The Planning Board was approached at its May 22 meeting by Melvin Lockett, owner of Fabulous Ink tattoo parlors, about the possibility of opening a location in East Longmeadow. Fabulous Ink currently has two locations in Springfield — one at 1295 Boston Road and the other at Tower Plaza on State Street.
Planning Board Chair George Kingston told the Board of Selectmen at its May 29 meeting that they are currently working on establishing the parameters for such a business to move into town and planned to have a zoning by-law amendment ready to be voted on by the fall Special Town Meeting.
"Currently, that is not an allowed use by the zoning by-law, but we have been advised by the state that it is unconstitutional to not allow such establishments in the town," Kingston said. "The Planning Board is starting to work on a zoning by-law change that would set the zone and the special permit procedure for body art establishments."
Kingston went on to explain that while the Planning Board would be in charge of overseeing the zoning changes and enforcement, licensing was the Board of Selectmen's task to handle because the state does not regulate licenses for such establishments.
"Obviously it's the Board of Selectmen, acting as the Board of Health, who would have to do the actual licensing and health regulations associated with that," he said. "My understanding is we do not have any license procedure or health regulations relating to that in the town right now."
Kingston added that Planning Director Robyn Macdonald had recently sent the Board of Selectmen a copy of the state's draft regulations.
"Basically, this is a boilerplate that has been worked up and it appears to work. It's used in most towns," he said.
Board of Selectmen Chair Jack Villamaino said the state template would be forwarded to town counsel James Donahue in the hopes that draft regulations would be written within a month's time.
***The Board of Selectmen also recognized the winners of the Green Committee Scholarship and Writing, Invention and Art Contest.
East Longmeadow High School senior Alex Cotter received the $3,000 Green Committee Scholarship, which was sponsored by Allied Waste.
For the writing contest, second grader Marie Hua took first place in the kindergarten through second grade age bracket (K-2), while Ian Hua, a fourth grader, and Cailin O'Connor, a third grader, both won first place honors in the third through fifth grade division (3-5).
Kindergartener Moroni Hua earned second place in the K-2 division, while fourth grader Margaret Kuhn and fifth grader Cassidy O'Connor took second in the 3-5 division.
Jack Frisbie and Hana O'Brien, both in fourth grade, earned third place honors in the 3-5 division.
