County Draws Up Tattooing Rules

From where Steve Lorens sat, a needle etching the image of a Rottweiler into his upper back, the idea of Los Angeles County government regulating the tattoo business areas sounded absurd.

“Are they going to walk around and give each tattoo an A, B, C or D?” Lorens asked as he sat in a Covina tattoo parlor, referring to the county’s rating system for restaurants. “They call this America. You should be able to do what you want.”

It may sound odd to Lorens but the tattoo--that American emblem of rebellion--will soon require a governmental seal of approval. State officials are drawing up a list of health standards for tattoo and body piercing parlors and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today is likely to pass a package of regulations to mandate regular health inspections and require business licenses. The board already has approved new zoning requirements.

Until recently, tattoo parlors in unincorporated parts of the county were virtually unregulated, and no health agency inspects parlors countywide.

All that is changing. Earlier this year supervisors restricted parlors in unincorporated areas to industrial zones, requiring them to win a conditional use permit, which could be revoked if there were complaints about the business. After today, those parlors will probably need business licenses and be subject to regular health inspections, with other cities in the county able to pass laws to allow county inspectors to examine their operations.

The regulations are being pushed by Supervisor Gloria Molina in the wake of complaints from neighbors that the establishments draw youths into a bad crowd. “It’s a negative hangout,” she said. “It ain’t the library.”

Tattoos have caught regulators’ eyes for decades, but the increasing popularity of body piercing is behind a new wave of laws, said Katrina Hegge, executive secretary of the Alliance for Professional Tattooists in Maryland.

“It’s kind of a shocker when Daddy’s little girl comes home with a face full of metal,” Hegge said. “And right now, Daddy’s the person in charge of legislation.”

Governments from Rhode Island to Boulder, Colo., to California are toughening laws on tattooing and piercing, with an eye toward boosting monitoring of health risks.

Former Gov. Pete Wilson signed legislation in 1997 requiring parental approval before minors could receive body piercing and requiring the state to formulate standards for tattoo parlors--though the state is still drawing up its standards, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Health Services said. In Los Angeles County, several cities--from Claremont to Manhattan Beach--have banned tattoo establishments.

Some proposed regulations reflect how the blue suit crowd views tattoo shops, Hegge said. She laughed as she recalled one proposal to require steel walls and a large central drain in each shop.

“You would have thought it was an abattoir,” Hegge said.

Hegge said that although her organization prefers self-regulation, it understands the increasing scrutiny of tattoo establishments by local health agencies.

Tattoos are drawn by injecting ink under the flesh through a tiny needle, and body piercing’s impact on the flesh is self-explanatory. Yet in Los Angeles County there is no requirement that those needles be sterilized, nor any inspections to determine whether tattoo shops are sanitary.

Many shops advertise that they use sterilized needles, but some proprietors say they would welcome health inspections.

“It’s going to upgrade everybody to a certain standard,” predicted Steve Potts, 28, owner of Inflictions Body Art in Covina. “I wouldn’t want to eat at a restaurant that had a dirty kitchen.”

Dr. Hildy Meyers, Orange County’s interim medical officer, said there is little data showing tattoo parlors increase blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS. But, she said, “any time needles are penetrating the skin you have concerns.”

While generally approving of proposed health regulations, some owners are suspicious of government’s increased interest in tattooing.

“They’re trying to zone us out,” said Karen Mitchell, 33, who has seen zoning regulations proliferate during her six years running a tattoo shop in Santa Clarita. “They’re treating us like we’re strip clubs.”

Saying that police officers and even a Catholic priest are among her customers, Mitchell blames the tide of regulations on misperceptions and prejudice.

“Maybe some people don’t want to be the same as everybody else,” she said.

Molina said she has nothing against tattoos, rattling off mainstream types such as former Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater who sported the drawings. “We’ve tried to be as thoughtful as we can on this,” she said. “It’s not going to be that onerous on these people to continue their business.”

Molina’s office maintains that tattoo parlors can become magnets for trouble, especially in lower-income areas. There are at least two tattoo parlors along the stretch of Beverly Boulevard in East Los Angeles that is the home to Molina’s field office--including one, Penny Lane Tattooing, just a few doors down the block.

While some merchants on the street said they have no problems with Penny Lane, one said patrons play loud music and leave beer bottles and other trash outside at night.

“When too many of those places move in, that’s an indication that an area is going to seed,” said the businessman, who requested anonymity.

Inside Penny Lane, piercer Kenny Wong said the store has begun closing at 10 p.m. in order to keep the bad element away. “We used to get a lot of drunks,” he said, moments before turning away a teenager who lacked identification and wanted her navel pierced.

Wong, 29, said he favored the proposed regulations. “There are some shops that aren’t responsible,” he said. “This is a business that requires medical sterilization and there’s no shortcuts.”

Although he favors the health inspections, Potts is one of the tattooists hit hardest by the new zoning laws. When he testified before the supervisors at a hearing on the regulations earlier this year, the elaborate graveyard tattoo enveloping his left arm and the Teflon balls surgically embedded under the skin of his forehead drew as much attention from county bureaucrats and aides as Potts’ pleas to be treated as a responsible businessman.

To avoid any new zoning requirements, Potts moved his shop across East Cypress Street in Covina to a heavy commercial zone. Once located in a small building down from some houses, it is now sandwiched between a gas station and a liquor store. But he didn’t entirely avoid government oversight. County bureaucrats told him he had to take down a new sign because it was too close to the street.

Construction workers, students and even an Air Force pilot queued up in Potts’ shop on a Friday, some sitting on plush couches, some leafing through sketchbooks to select new tattoos and others peeking at the fish swimming in the parlor’s koi pond. B.B. King played on the CD player, meshing with the buzz of electric-powered tattoo needles.

Wendi Ramirez, who was busy tattooing Steve Lorens’ back, said she supported the regulations. “People like us are trying very hard,” she said, citing the shop’s sink, sterile needles and autoclave. “We should be recognized for that.”

But Ray Palisoc, 20, a computer student at Cal Poly Pomona, scoffed at all the government attention. “I think it’s overboard,” he said. “No one makes you get a tattoo.”