HANCEVILLE — Despite the famous idiom’s suggestion that you can’t fight city hall, Hanceville resident and tattoo artist Kourtney Quick discovered that moving the needle of bureaucracy is still possible as she received the first major victory in her campaign to amend the city’s zoning ordinance to allow tattoo facilities.

Quick first informed the Hanceville City Council of her plans to open a tattoo shop in the downtown area in early May. She had permission to rent an unused portion of Mann’s Garden Shop from owner Charlie Mann. However, because Hanceville’s current zoning ordinance does not allow for tattoo facilities within the city limits, she was unable to proceed with her plans.

Efforts to amend the ordinance briefly stalled until Hanceville Planning Commission President, Nolan Bradford, submitted a draft proposal to amend the zoning ordinance after what he described as an overwhelming showing of public support last month.

The proposal received some pushback from councilmember John Stam, which caused the matter to be tabled until a distance requirement away from schools and churches could be included.

“If they’re going to go in by schools and churches, that’s a big ‘no’ from me,” Stam said in June. “I have talked to some other people about this. I guess it’s more of a generational difference, but a lot of the older generation are skeptical about tattoo places, especially in the downtown area.”

The debate drew residents on either side of the issue to the Thursday, July 11, council meeting, as the plan was revisited. Stam’s wife, Deborah, introduced several parishioners of St. Bonafice Roman Catholic Church, located just across Church Street from Mann’s Garden Shop, who largely echoed his original concerns. The majority shared they had relocated to Hanceville within the last 10 years. Almost all mentioned the city’s family values as one of the primary reasons for their relocation. Maggie Shot said she and her husband were charmed by the downtown Hanceville area and chose to move from Mt. Vernon, Washington two years ago. She said she would like to see more “family oriented” businesses coming to the area.

“I thought that downtown area was supposed to be a family friendly environment. It’s important to keep that as a goal because things can get out of hand fairly quickly if you don’t have a handle on it,” she said.

Several members of Quick’s family spoke in her defense. Her mother, Kelly Armstrong said her Southern Baptist values sympathized with many of the previous statements, but was unable to rectify how they should not also apply to businesses selling alcohol or hemp-derived products.

“I don’t understand how a tattoo parlor is having such a taboo effect when we have people selling alcohol and CBD oil on the same blocks,” Armstrong said. “She [Quick] deserves the chance as much as anybody else to bring some money into this city.”

Hanceville’s zoning ordinance allows for the outside sale of alcohol with 400 feet of a church and 1,000 feet of a school. Lounges are allowed within 1,000 feet of either establishment and restaurants with less than 40 percent revenue derived from alcohol sales have no distance restrictions.

Quick presented the council with 640 signatures of support, including Bradford and councilmember Kim Brown, she had received through an online petition she launched Saturday, July 5, (as of press time Friday afternoon 20 more signatures had been added) and requested to address the public rather than the council themselves. In an unexpected showing of solidarity, she reverberated the previous sentiments of family values and love of the Hanceville community which had spawned her desire to open her business in Hanceville.

“I have lived here since the day I was born 33 years ago. I have no desire to disrupt Hanceville. The charm of this town is the reason that I stay here. I have four children at home and I want to raise them here,” she said. “All I am asking for, is for you guys to get to know me and give me the opportunity to support my kids in the place I love.”

The council unanimously approved for city attorney Dan Willingham to draft an ordinance from an amended proposal submitted by Bradford.

The amended proposal kept the majority of the original’s requirements such as requiring they remain within the B-2 business district, must close by no later than 10 p.m. and must have all outside signage approved by the council. Additions to the proposal borrowed heavily from the city of Cullman’s ordinance, which includes separation requirements from any: park, place of worship, school, kindergarten, child care facility, public pool, athletic facility, amusement park, miniature golf course, theater, library, place of amusement or “other facility which in the judgement of commission, minors under the age of 18 years generally frequent or are encouraged to attend or are in the general spirit of intent of the above areas.”

Bradford reduced Cullman’s 1,000 foot restriction to 350 feet due to Hanceville’s smaller footprint which prompted a brief, amicable discourse from Stam who favored a 500 feet restriction. However, the discrepancy was largely due to the pairs differing opinions on the physical distance between certain locations. Both agreed on the actual intent of the proposal, which was to find a solution which would allow Quick to operate within the city that all parties could agree on.

Willingham agreed to leave the exact footage section open until Bradford was able remeasure the area and allow the council to specify the distance at the time it is brought up for a vote.

Despite details which remain to be ironed out, there was no ill will amongst neighbors as they exited city hall Thursday evening.

Deborah Stam said that she felt good about the compromise and felt it created a good opportunity for the entire community.

“We just want to do it right the first time,” she said. “The initial issue was the location near St. Bonafice, but we also want to give them a good opportunity to be successful where they’ll be located and to let them be able to grow and expand.”

Quick said she couldn’t say she wasn’t a little disappointed that she would not be able to pursue her original location, but that she was already looking into a handful of alternatives.

“I do consider this a really big win. In my opinion, it’s a step in the right direction for Hanceville. It’s not exactly what I wanted to hear because the building I had my heart set on is off the table now, but I’ve had a couple of offers to use different places and there are some others that I think I can look into,” she said.