Gulf Shores, Alabama Refuses to Grandfather Tattoo Shop Use

City Adopted Restrictions on Tattoo Shops in 2013

In 2013 the City Council voted to restrict the areas in town where it would allow tattoo shops. Today that means that Precision Ink Tattoos will close its doors. The city so severely limited the locations where it would let them relocated, that they've decided to close their shop. The business had been in Gulf Shores since 1993. 

The zoning code states that they limited the location "because of their very nature tattoo parlors and body piercing studios are recognized, especially when several are concentrated in the same area, to have deleterious effects upon adjacent areas." 

In Gulf Shores this translated into the following requirements. 

1. No tattoo parlor could located within 500 feet of of the State Highway 59 right of way. 

2. If one tattoo parlor had already located in an area, a second tattoo parlor must be at least 1,000 feet from it. 

3. No tattoo parlor could located within 500 feet of a residential zoning district, school or park. The measurement begins that the property line. 

Precision Ink Tattoos was protected from the zoning change, because it existed in its location prior to the zoning. This is known as a grandfathered use. However, they rented space in a building and the owners have decided to tear the building down. If Precision Ink Tattoos moves from that location, it loses its protected status. 

Motel McCready, the owner of Precision Ink Tattoos, says that the location restrictions force him to relocate behind Jack Edwards Airport or beside a landfill west of State Highway 59. Those locations are so hidden and undesirable, he says he has no hopes of attracting customers.