New Tattoo Parlor Gets Greenlight From Lake Elsinore Planning Commission

Rooster Tattoo Art and Body Piercing LLC received approval Tuesday night from the Lake Elsinore Planning Commission to open in the city.

With its unanimous consent, the commission approved a conditional use permit to open the body art facility in suite C-1 of the Lakeside Commercial Center located at 16782 Lakeshore Drive.  

The commissioners welcomed Brett Beale, the Corona-based applicant on the project. Commission Chairman Rick Morsch said he spoke to local business owners in the area to take a pulse on how they feel about a tattoo parlor in their neighborhood.

“I didn’t hear a single objection,” he said.

Morsch noted he had some reservations about another tattoo shop in the city, but he’s since reconsidered.

“I am concerned about the reputation of Lake Elsinore,” he said, but added that he doubted another tattoo shop would tarnish the city’s standing.

Beale did not give a specific date on when he plans to open his tattoo studio, but explained modifications to the long-vacant indoor space will be minimal -- mainly painting, installing partitions and setting up security cameras.  

Commission Vice Chair Mike O’Neal also welcomed Beale and expressed concern that tattoo operators are subject to the city’s more costly and cumbersome requirement of a conditional use permit. The process seems like a way to discourage operators from opening, and O’Neal said perhaps the red tape is reflective of a time when tattoos were seen as more taboo.

“[It’s] a holdover from the 1950s,” he said. “I would like to see the CUP go away for this – it wastes everyone’s time and money.”

Jack Martin operates InkSanity Tattoo located at 31089 Riverside Drive. He turned out Tuesday night to speak against the project’s location, which is close to other operators, including his own a few hundred feet away.

“The distance between the studios is ridiculous,” he said.  

Martin supported Beale’s opening, but called for some sort of ordinance that would prohibit studios from stacking up next to each other, a situation he said leads to sniping between competing tattoo artists and lost business for all.

The commissioners listened to Martin’s concerns, but there were no comments offered Tuesday to suggest the city will make any changes.

When Rooster opens, Beale said it will feature eight tattoo stations and a piercing room in the shop sandwiched between the stores known as Video 94 and the Indoor Shopping Bazaar. The parlor will feature six tattoo artists and one licensed body piercer.

Rooster would be open Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to city documents.