The Sycamore City Council considered amending its municipal code during the April 20 meeting to allow a tattoo parlor to open in the city.

Mayor Ken Mundy says that tattoo parlors were never banned in the city, they just weren’t on the list of approved businesses. The city considered an amendment to the Unified Development
Ordinance to put tattoo parlors on that list. The ordinance was redone last summer, when the city went through a list of hundreds of businesses which were identified as allowable within certain zones of the city.

“At that time there wasn’t anybody there to speak for [tattoo parlors] and no one to speak against them, and it just wasn’t an issue,” said city manager Bill Nicklas. “It became a matter of public interest when the petitioners said they wanted to have a business in Sycamore, so as we have with other types of things, we considered it and accepted it as a possibility under certain restrictions.”

During the meeting, the City Council allowed for the changes necessary in the ordinance which would identify tattoo parlors as a special use on the second floor of Sycamore’s business district downtown, and in the highway district, Nicklas said. The next step would be for the council to agree to proposed restrictions and guidelines which would govern body art establishments.

“The regulations would ensure public safety and health for the consumer and also for people working in such establishments,” Nicklas said.

City Attorney Kevin Buick has drafted a set of guidelines with the help of Rick and Gloria Kramer, those that petitioned for the guidelines to be changed. The new set of guidelines will be presented to the Council at the next meeting.

Among the drafted guidelines are specific regulations regarding cleaning surfaces of the tattoo parlor; the use, sanitation and disposal of needles and equipment; and regulations for the use of gloves and sanitizing a client’s skin before a procedure.

Nicklas said the Kramers already have a place in mind and if everything is approved, they will remodel the building and establish their tattoo parlor.

“We respect the Kramers for how they run their business,” said Mundy of the Kramers’ already existing tattoo parlor in Oak Park. “They have a strong track record of following the rules and using their skills and their art for people’s preferences in a good way.”

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