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Brentwood council opens debate and directs staff on allowing tattoo parlors in downtown
Summary
After hours of public comment split between supporters and opponents, the council directed staff to draft changes to the municipal code and downtown specific plan: redefine 'personal services' to include body‑art, analyze CUP and grandfathering options, propose location limits (exclude Oak and 1st facing storefronts) and cap new permitted providers, and return with a package for future hearings.
Council members debated whether the existing Downtown Specific Plan’s prohibition on tattoo parlors violates First Amendment protections while balancing downtown character and business impacts. Planning Manager Eric Bacalar summarized legal constraints and the planning commission’s 3–2 recommendation against the amendment; he noted courts treat tattooing as expressive activity, requiring careful time‑place‑manner findings in any regulation.
Multiple residents and downtown business representatives told council the amendment would diversify downtown retail and provide economic benefit; one proponent noted more than 30 downtown businesses and roughly 1,200 residents had signed in support. Opponents said amending the DSP for a single building or business would set an unwanted precedent and urged caution. Council member (and judge) asked, "What distinguishes our ordinance from that in Hermosa Beach?" pointing to the Anderson v. Hermosa Beach framework during the legal discussion.
After extended deliberations on location, caps, and fairness to existing permanent‑makeup or cosmetic businesses, council voted to direct staff to prepare new municipal code language defining 'personal services' (including tattoo and cosmetic services), produce DSP language changes showing permitted zones and excluded frontages (Oak and 1st), analyze grandfathering for existing vendors, assess whether CUPs should apply to new uses, and return with a proposal for a September discussion and a later first reading of ordinance changes.
