HANCEVILLE – The city of Hanceville decided to revoke an old ordinance on Thursday, May 23. This ordinance, which dates back decades, set rules about who could get tattoos or body piercings within the city.
The council proposed a change to its laws to get rid of Ordinance No. 466. This ordinance, passed in October 1998, said that anyone giving a tattoo or body piercing to someone under 18 without written permission from their parents could face a fine of up to $500 or up to six months of hard labor for the city.
City attorney Dan Willingham explained that since the local ordinance started, the Alabama legislature made a new law. This law, in effect from 2000, has the same age rule but different penalties: up to 90 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $100 for each violation.
Kourtney Quick, a resident, talked about the ordinance earlier in the month. She wanted to open a tattoo shop in downtown Hanceville. She got permission from a local business owner, but she still had questions about the city’s rules.
Quick knew about the tattoo shop ordinance but saw it wasn’t in the city’s zoning laws. Willingham explained that the zoning laws only allow businesses listed in the rules. He told Quick that without changes to the laws, she couldn’t get a license.
After the May 23 meeting, Willingham said removing the 1998 ordinance wouldn’t help Quick get a license. The zoning laws still stand.
The council will talk more about whether to get rid of the ordinance at its next meeting on June 13.
In other news from the meeting:
- They agreed to buy two headsets from Mobile Communications America for $3,180.
- They approved Mullins Building Products to put a steel, fireproof door in the Hanceville Municipal Jail for $2,421.
- They started the process to change the zoning of property owned by Jonathan Black from R1 to B2.
- They announced the city’s 26th annual Tractor Show would be at Wallace State Community College on Saturday, June 8, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- They also said the city’s annual rodeo would be at the Cullman County Agricultural Center on Saturday, June 29, at 7 p.m.