DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Daytona Beach is known for spring break and NASCAR, and could soon be known for tattoos.
The city’s current zoning laws prohibit tattoo parlors except in the industrial district.
There are tattoo shops in the city, but people can’t get their ink done within city limits.
The owner of the beachside shop Hardcore Tattoo said his customers will come in and pick out their design, but then he has to shuttle them miles away to Holly Hill to get the work done.
Dave Keezer worries it’s a turnoff for potential customers.
He said he has plenty of people coming in during spring break and Bike Week.
“Once they figure out they got to load up in a shuttle across town, I lose some sales from that,” he said.
After a recent circuit court ruling found tattooing to be a protected form of artistic expression under the First Amendment, the city of Daytona Beach is considering redoing its zoning laws to allow tattooing.
Keezer said if the city does decide to change things, he wants to see a cap put in place on the number of tattoo shops that can open up so that the shops do not try to undercut each other on price and put out inferior products.
He said he worries without such a cap, it will lower the cleanliness standards and the quality.
The proposal must make its way through the city’s planning board first, then sent to the city commission for approval.
Daytona Beach’s Convention and Visitors' Bureau and the chamber declined to comment on the proposal.