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Business & Tech

Rosemount Says OK to Tattoo, Piercing Parlors in Homes—for Now

Some city councilors feel move sets a bad precedent and call for all-out ban of the home-based businesses.

Body artists in Rosemount are free to operate in-home tattoo or body piercing parlors, at least for the time being, says the city's planning commission.

The issue of banning such businesses from private residences was discussed at planning commission meetings in March, April and again Wednesday, but no conclusion has been reached.

The body art issue "will be on a future regular council meeting for a vote, probably in June," said Dwight Johnson, Rosemount city administrator. "At the (Wednesday) meeting, the council was given background information about this subject including the new state licensing laws."

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As it currently stands, any Rosemount resident is allowed to operate an in-home tattoo/body piercing parlor as long as the business adheres to the Minnesota regulations on licensing and health and safety standards defined by the Minnesota Department of Health.

Minnesota statute 146B.02 (Subdivision 7) states that if the body-art establishment is located within a private residence, the space where the body art procedures are performed must:

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  • Be completely partitioned off;
  • Be exclusively used for body-art procedures;
  • Be separate from the residential living, eating and bathroom areas;
  • Have a separate and secure entrance accessible without entering the residential living, eating and bathroom areas; and,
  • Be made available for inspection upon the request of the health and safety commissioner.

The state guidelines also allow local governments to establish ordinances more restrictive than the state statute if they see fit. Rosemount body artists also need to follow the city zoning standards for home occupations:   

  • Home-based businesses must be conducted solely by resdients of the home
  • All business activity and storage must take place within structures;
  • There can be no alteration to the exterior of the residential dwelling, accessory building or yard that in any way alters the residential character of the premises;
  • No sign, display or device identifying the occupation can be used;
  • The occupation cannot be visible or audible from any property line;
  • The occupation cannot involve the retail sale or rental of products;
  • Unless completely enclosed within an approved structure, no vehicle used in the conduct of the occupation can be parked, stored or otherwise present at the premises other than such as is customarily used for domestic or household purposes such as a van or three-quarter ton truck;
  • Only those parking facilities normal for residential use can be used; and,
  • The conduct of an occupation or the use of substances that may be hazardous to or may in any way jeopardize the health, safety or welfare of neighbors and neighboring property is not permitted.

Even within these restrictions, however, the issue has been tabled twice because some city councilors foresee a dangerous precedent. 

"Similar to the rationale behind many zoning-ordinance restrictions, the issue of certainty and preservation of value are behind the staff's recommendation" to ban home-based body-art parlors, according to the conclusion of the May 11 meeting.  

The conclusion continued: "Staff believes most people would be surprised to find a tattoo parlor or body piercing establishment in their neighborhood and would be more surprised to find that it was a legal use." 

Tattoo and body piercing parlors in surrounding communities are regulated in a variety of ways.

For example, Apple Valley allows in-home body art parlors while Eagan, Inver Grove Heights and Lakeville do not. West St. Paul is currently reviewing, and possibly revising, its city ordinance while Burnsville's city council is scheduled to open this issue in a work session Sept. 13.   

Burnsville Senator Dan D. Hall authored a bill (SF1134) on April 11 regulating license requirements and establishing contamination standards and fees for body-art technicians.

The bill passed through the Senate on May 4 and had its second reading in the House on May 5.  

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