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Council approves Image Studios spa conditional use 4–1 after licensing concerns
Summary
Council approved a conditional use allowing Image Studios to operate salon suites with limited spa services at Windward Plaza, 4–1, after a councilmember raised concerns that the landlord (Image Studios) would not hold massage licensure and that independent tenants would require oversight.
The Alpharetta City Council approved a conditional use (CU-25-14) on Sept. 22 to allow Image Studios to provide limited spa services in an 8,304-square-foot salon-suite building at the Terraces at Windward. The Planning Commission had recommended unanimous approval on Sept. 4, and staff presented five recommended conditions to limit expansion and regulate signage.
Applicant Oyadele Oladeji, who operates Image Studios franchise locations in the area, said the site will offer up to 40 individually leased suites for cosmetologists, hairstylists, aestheticians and others. Oladeji told council that tenants must hold appropriate state licenses (cosmetology, massage or other professional licensure) before leasing and that the operator enforces access controls and uses security cameras for deterrence.
Councilman Heitz voiced concern about Condition 2, which limits the spa use to Image Studios as the landlord; he said that the landlord does not hold a massage therapy license and that having many independent massage operators in the suites creates oversight and safety questions. "This is going to be an environment with kids and adults...the landlord does not have a massage therapist license," Heitz said, and he said he planned to vote according to that concern. Staff and the applicant said tenants will be required to have proper Georgia licenses and that code enforcement and public-safety processes are the city's enforcement paths.
A motion to approve the conditional use was made by Mayor Pro Tem Merkel, seconded by Councilman Durito, and passed 4–1.
Next steps: The conditional use is approved subject to the recommended conditions staff outlined; Code Enforcement and business-license processes apply if operational or licensing issues arise.
