The city used to ban all tattoo parlors outright, until a tattoo artist sued. Following a four-year legal battle, a three-judge federal appeals court panel ruled that tattoos are a form of “pure speech” protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and struck down Hermosa’s ban.
Tattoo artist Johnny Anderson, who had sued the city, opened a shop on the Pier Plaza. Then another parlor readied to open on Pacific Coast Highway, a third is preparing to open on the corner of Hermosa Avenue and Eighth Street, and a fourth is preparing to open on Aviation Boulevard between Ocean Drive and Prospect Avenue.
The group Citizens United, which includes some people who live close by the planned Hermosa Avenue tattoo studio, filed a lawsuit aimed at overturning an ordinance allowing tattoo parlors, which the City Council approved following the appeals court ruling.
On Thursday, Superior Court Judge James Chalfant denied the group’s request for a temporary restraining order while the lawsuit is contested.
Hany Fangary, a member of the citizens group, saw a silver lining in the defeat of the restraining order.
“I’m disappointed about the results, but the judge said if [Citizens United prevails], the tattoo places can be closed down,” Fangary said. “Everybody got the impression that once they are open, you throw up your hands and say, what can you do? But that’s not the case.”
City Attorney Michael Jenkins called the lawsuit “regrettable.”
“The City Council knows that some residents are frustrated by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that tattoo studios are protected by the Constitution and cannot be banned. The city has grappled with the implications of the court decision and developed reasonable restrictions that protect Hermosa Beach from the proliferation or concentration of tattoo studios,” Jenkins said in a prepared statement.
“The city has worked with the community to weigh its options and develop tattoo parlor regulations that respect the needs of residents while still adhering to the court’s mandate to permit tattoo studios in Hermosa Beach. It is regrettable this group chose to file a lawsuit. We encourage them to join the City Council and the city’s staff in the ongoing dialogue about how to most effectively regulate tattoo studios in Hermosa Beach,” Jenkins said.
The lawsuit contends that city officials failed to adequately notify residents about public meetings on the tattoo issue, and failed to have the tattoo ordinance adequately vetted by the city Planning Commission, in violation of state law and the Hermosa municipal code, Fangary said. ER
