Menifee considers extending ban on tattoo parlors, hookah lounges

The Inland city of Menifee is reconsidering its longstanding ban on tattoo parlors. The City Council will consider lifting the ban at its meeting tonight.

Banning commercial tattoo parlors was one of the first actions Menifee officials took after the city incorporated two years ago. That’s because leaders in the southwestern Riverside County city believe the shops can lead to increased crime, blight and other unsavory activity.

The city is reconsidering that stance after the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a similar ordinance in the city of Hermosa Beach earlier this year. The court ruled that tattooing is a “form of pure expression” protected by the First Amendment.

Menifee will decide whether to permit tattoo parlors in areas zoned for medical and commercial office spaces. The recently incorporated city will also consider imposing a permanent ban on hookah lounges over concerns that the tobacco salons could become havens for illicit drug use.