Bay County commissioners on Jan. 7 approved an amendment to the county code that removes medical spas from the county's definition of tattoo establishments for the tourist corridor.

The change, presented by County Attorney Brian Liebreich, modifies the ordinance to exclude medical spas from the definition of tattoo establishments. Liebreich told commissioners the amendment is intended to narrow the scope of the tattoo-establishment rules in the tourist corridor.

The amendment drew one public comment in favor. John Holnak, vice president of operations and innovation for Tech Farms and Strategy 1 Management, said a potential tenant moving to Panama City Beach would perform permanent cosmetics and some restorative services for burn patients under physician supervision. Holnak said the practice "does the permanent eyeliner, type thing" and that "I wouldn't be here before you if I thought it would be something disreputable for our community." He told the commission the tenant's services would be compatible with existing tenants in his building.

After no other public comment, a motion to approve the ordinance amendment passed on a roll-call vote with all five members present voting yes: Commissioner Carroll, Commissioner Peace, Commissioner Crosby, Commissioner Raffield and Chairman Moore.

The change applies only to the local definition of tattoo establishments in the tourist corridor; commissioners did not state any additional regulatory or licensing changes during the hearing. The county attorney characterized the exempted medical-spa services as those provided "under the supervision of a physician" that include permanent-cosmetic techniques distinct from body-art tattooing.

The commission moved on to other agenda items following the vote.