Board of Zoning Appeals approves home-occupation certificate for Franklin Street nail and henna studio

The Salina Board of Zoning Appeals on May 15 voted to issue a home-occupation certificate allowing Caitlin Wells to operate a one-chair nail and henna studio in a portion of a detached garage at 508 Franklin Street.

The board approved application AP25-1 after staff described the garage layout, neighborhood context and code provisions that require Board review when a home-based business would be located in an accessory (detached) building. Staff noted the proposed salon occupies a roughly 7-foot-8-by-15-foot-8 portion of a 481-square-foot detached garage and that customers would park on a roughly 95-foot driveway leading from Franklin Street to the garage.

The case mattered because, under the city’s zoning rules, most home occupations must be conducted inside the principal residence; detached accessory buildings may sit closer to property lines and can change the nature of impacts on neighbors. Staff referenced Section 42.60 of the zoning ordinance, which lists beauty shops, including nail salons, as permitted home occupations, and Section 42.597(d), which allows appeals to the Board of Zoning Appeals when the zoning administrator denies an administrative request. Staff told the board that a home-occupation certificate may be issued by the board if it finds the detached-garage use will not have an adverse effect on neighboring properties.

Staff explained the principal practical impacts of a beauty or nail salon are customer parking, arrival and departure rather than in‑space noise. The applicant’s proposed layout puts the studio in the northwest corner of the garage, creating an approximately 15-foot separation from the adjacent lot to the east and about 30 feet to the property to the north; a 6-foot privacy fence also separates the subject structure from those neighbors. Staff also noted the driveway length provides space for customers to park off the street.

Applicant Caitlin Wells told the board the studio is appointment-only, that she typically serves two to three clients a day and “at most during the holidays, like, 4 people a day.” She said state cosmetology rules require a separate entrance and exit for cosmetology salons and that converting space inside her primary residence would be costly and disruptive. On describing henna work she said, “Henna is, it’s a plant. You crush it up and add essential oils, lemon juice, sugar, and things like that, and you apply it to the skin...and then after a few hours, you take it off and it leaves a stain for 2, 3 weeks.”

Board members asked whether nail salons must provide restroom facilities; staff clarified that nail salons must have an operational sink, not a separate restroom, and confirmed the proposed studio includes a sink. Staff also noted standard home-occupation conditions in the code that apply to all home occupations and said the board may apply the packet’s restrictions if it approves the certificate.

A motion to direct that a home-occupation certificate be issued with the restrictions and limitations listed in the packet carried; the board took the vote by voice and no opposing votes were recorded. The board’s approval allows the proposed use in the detached garage subject to any conditions the board applied and existing home-occupation requirements in the zoning code.

The board record shows staff mailed property-owner notices to surrounding properties and reported no written comments were received by the department and no members of the public attended to protest the application. The approval resolves AP25-1 and authorizes the applicant to operate the described nail and henna services from the specified portion of the detached garage pending compliance with the conditions set out in the board packet.