St. Louis Redevelopment says “No” to Tattoos & Pizza by the Slice

Today I was shocked to find 285 St. Louis City Ordinances containing the word “Tattoo.” One ordinance regulates Tattoo & Body piercing establishments. The remaining 284 are redevelopment ordinances where an area is blighted for redeveloped. Tattoo parlors are one of the uses prohibited from the redevelopment areas:

Pawn shops, adult bookstores, x-rated movie houses, massage parlors or free-standing health spas, auto and truck dealers (new or used) pinball arcades, pool halls, secondhand or junk shops, tattoo parlors, truck or other equipment rentals requiring outside storage, blood donor facilities, free standing package liquor stores, check cashing centers, any use (except financial institutions or pharmacies) that utilize a sales or service window or facility for customers who are in cars or restaurants that sell products to customers who are in cars or who consume the sold products in cars parked on the restaurant premises, or sell products through a sales window to customers who are in cars or to pedestrians outside the building for immediate consumption by the customer either on or off the premises, automobile or service stations.

The above language seems to be a standard paragraph that is placed in all legislation pertaining to redevelopment areas. I don’t know yet if this is a requirement from some other ordinance or if city staff simply cuts & pastes this language without any thought. Either way, I have issues with the language and its implications to the vibrancy of the city.

What a mix of prohibited uses, all lumped together as undesirable. Presumably all are thought to be counter productive to redeveloping a blighted area. For the most part I agree. Some tend to prey on the poor – pawn shops, blood donor facilities, and check cashing centers. Adult bookstores, x-rated movie houses, massage parlors and free-standing health spas appeal to certain segment of society – men. Auto & truck dealerships, outdoor truck & equipment rental places, and auto service stations are generally anti-urban.

But secondhand or junk shops can go either way – even Ladue has a resale shop! Who is to say what constitutes junk? Pinball arcades and pool halls sound like a fun place to hang out. We’ve got trendy new bowling alleys, maybe the dawn of trendy arcades & pool halls is just around the corner? Before I get to tattoo establishments let me repeat one section:

Any use (except financial institutions or pharmacies) that utilize a sales or service window or facility for customers who are in cars or restaurants that sell products to customers who are in cars or who consume the sold products in cars parked on the restaurant premises, or sell products through a sales window to customers who are in cars or to pedestrians outside the building for immediate consumption by the customer either on or off the premises.

Based on my reading of this basically a drive-thru restaurant is banned. No McDonald’s or Taco Bell with drive-thru. No Sonic either. No big loss to me. In fact, ridding the City of all these excessive drive-thru lanes will make our city more urban. The Applebee’s at Kingshighway & Chippewa “sell products to customers who are in cars” with their to-go spaces. Do they intent to ban this type of establishment? I found that 265 ordinances contained this language. The ordinances relating to the Southtown site at Kingshighway & Chippewa did not include the language. Perhaps they knew in advance that Starbucks wanted a drive-thru?

But other urban uses are prohibited. Don’t look for a Ted Drewes in these areas because they sell to pedestrians from a window. When I travel to other cities what I find very appealing is buying a slice of pizza from a sidewalk window. The first time I bought a slice of pizza from a sidewalk window was in the late 80s in Austin Tx. Sixth street was hopping. I’ve enjoyed pizza by the slice from a window in Chicago, NYC, Philly, DC, Seattle, and Vancouver. All exciting cities that we should be learning from. We can encourage pedestrian-friendly establishments while continuing to ban auto-oriented drive-thru lanes.

OK, Tattoo parlors. First, I prefer the more modern ‘Tattoo Studio.’ Today’s tattoo places, for the most part, are artists studios. The canvass for the work of the artist is the client’s skin. But people still seem to have a notion of tattoo places as attracting the wrong element such as bikers. Maybe they are right, I’m a biker and have tattoos. Granted, my bikes have pedals…

Anyone that says tattoo studios attracts the “wrong” element is saying I’m the wrong element. I have four tattoos. My first was done at Iron Age in the loop, a nifty design interpreted from a tattoo design by internationally famous NYC industrial designer Karim Rashid. My next tattoo was a barbed wire design on my ankle at Edgewater Tattoo in San Diego. In December 2003 I got my third tattoo, a tribal sun on my right calf. I’m proud to say mine was the first paid tattoo at Cheap Trx on South Grand. Terina was the artist – she did a great job. My most recent tattoo I got last year the day before my 37th birthday. I was in San Francisco visiting my brother and sister-in-law. I planned this one ahead of time because getting a tattoo as a walk-in is difficult. A week prior I had talked with the artist and paid a deposit to schedule my appointment. The place was Ed Hardy’s Tattoo City at 700 Lombard. For those that don’t know, Ed Hardy is a bit of a celebrity in the tattoo world and his studio well known and respected. Dalton was the artist that branded me with the Apple Computer logo of my dreams. As you can tell, I like my tattoos.

Two of my four tattoos were done here in the St. Louis area – one at Iron Age in the Delmar Loop and the other at Cheap Trx on South Grand. By all accounts, both are among the most lively areas in St. Louis. Our city, through our redevelopment ordinances, is suggesting that Iron Age and Cheap Trx are detrimental elements. In fact the opposite is true, these are key elements in the positive mix of businesses in their respective areas. Trader Bob’s also adds, in my view, a positive element to that stretch of Jefferson Avenue. A couple of tattoo places on South Broadway in Carondelet neither add or subtract from the area.

Here is the thing. The St. Louis area can only support a given number of tattoo studios. This fear of tattoo studios around every corner are completely unjustified. The fear other places won’t open near a tattoo studio is also without merit. Banning tattoo studios as a matter of practice is backward thinking that is part of a bigger issue. I sometimes wonder if those in charge at City Hall understand what makes a city exciting and if they do I further wonder if they don’t want St. Louis to be more exciting. I think many would rather maintain a boring but familiar city than take a chance on pushing the envelope.

– Steve