By Adam Swift
A revision to the city’s body art and tattooing ordinance is headed to the Revere City Council’s zoning subcommittee.
The new ordinance, which would expand the districts where tattoo and body art businesses would be allowed in Revere, had the support of councillors who spoke on the issue. Currently, body art establishments are only allowed in the city’s Technology Enterprise District by special permit.
The revisions to the ordinance would allow the businesses in General Business, Central Business, and Highway Business districts by special permit.
The move to promote local businesses by allowing tattoo shops in additional districts had the support of the councillors who spoke during Monday night’s public hearing on the ordinance. The only questions raised were if the businesses should be allowed in more zoning districts and whether they should be allowed by special permit or by right.
Council President Anthony Zambuto said that those details could be hashed out in the zoning subcommittee meeting on Monday, August 10.
Revere resident Aliscia Thompson, who operates the Legacy Tattoo shop in Danvers, spoke in favor of the ordinance change.
“I grew up in Revere … graduated from Revere High in 2007; opened my family-owned tattoo shop in Danvers, Massachusetts because five years ago when I attempted to open here I ran into a few roadblocks with the zoning and being able to open and operate here,” said Thompson.
Thompson noted that up to 40 percent of her customers are from Revere, and that she would like to open a shop in her own community.
“I feel like we need to bring that money back to our home,” she said.
Ward 3 Councilor Anthony Cogliandro, who has more than a few tattoos of his own, said he would like to see the tattoo and body art shops allowed in more zoning districts.
“I didn’t want to get too heavily into this, but we sell alcohol in the same zones I’m asking for, we sell cigarettes, we sell all this stuff,” Cogliandro said. “This is old legislation by people who didn’t know any better.”
Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya said she supported the revised ordinance because it updates an outdated section of the city’s zoning.
“Revere currently doesn’t have any body art establishments, which means residents who choose to get tattoos go out of the city and they bring their business there to neighboring cities,” she said. “By allowing these businesses in appropriate locations through the special permit process, we are giving our city the opportunity to thrive and we are in support of local entrepreneurship, creating new jobs, and keeping the economic activity and tax revenue in this city.”