Parlor owner irked by city commission
Planning officials approve location for new tattoo store next to a similar business that had to relocate
The planning commission approved a conditional use permit for a tattoo parlor set to open across the street from a recently relocated rival shop.
The decision has forced an owner of a Santa Clarita tattoo parlor to “rally the troops” after the city put up a sign the Planning Commission is considering a new tattoo parlor across the street.
This notice came as a surprise to Adam Guyot, the owner of Eternal Art Tattoo, who was recently relocated from his original location on the corner of Sierra Highway and Soledad Canyon Road, where the a Community Center is being built, to his new spot on Flying Tiger Drive.
The Santa Clarita Planning Commission Tuesday approved a Conditional Use Permit to allow Revenant Body Art Studio to set up shop on the corner of Flying Tiger Drive and Sierra Highway.
“The city told me it wasn’t going to go through,” Guyot said when he found out Revenant was applying for the permit. “I’ve been talking to all my friends who own (businesses) to sign letters saying they don’t want the standing of this valley to be changed by having a tattoo shop on every corner. I don’t want Sierra Highway turning into Lancaster Boulevard.”
When the Planning Commission is approached with an application, it takes a look at the zoning and so long as it is in the proper zone and meets the requirements of the planning code, they likely will approve, according to Tim Burkhart, a member of the city’s Planning Commission.
“We don’t use the planning department as a sword to protect one man’s business from another,” Burkhart explained. Proximity for certain types of businesses like liquor stores and tattoo parlors is also a factor the Planning Commission looks at to ensure that it meets code standards, Burkhart said.
If the conditional use permit is approved, Revenant Body Art Studio would move into 27125 Sierra Highway, Suite 316 of the Sierra Crest Shopping Center, just 250 feet away from Eternal Art Tattoo, which is located at 18760 Flying Tiger Dr, a one-minute walk, according to Google Maps. The Signal was not able to reach Revenant for comment.
Guyot “rallied the troops” on a Facebook post trying to gather support to shut down the approval of the permit, by either contacting the city or attending the Planning Commission meeting.
“Nobody wants to have a business that’s doing exactly what you are doing 150 feet from you,” Guyot said, though did acknowledge that nothing prevents Revenant from setting up shop there. “I understand that it’s a free market, you can open up shop where ever you want. But I would never do that.”
Revenant Body Art Studio originally applied for the permit in June 2017, however due to unpermitted construction violations within the Sierra Crest shopping center, the city was unable to continue with the application at the time according to the supporting documents in Tuesday’s agenda. The city offered the new studio the option to either withdraw the application with a full refund or put it on hold until the violations were corrected by the property owner.
The studio decided to put the application on hold in August, instead of withdrawing it. On Jan 8, the violations were cleared by the City’s Building and Safety Division, and city staff deemed it appropriate to move the project ahead.
The decision could be appealed, which would land the matter before City Council.