Relaxing the Municipal codes?
Formerlyjerseyjack said:
a marijuana store will bring the increased litter of thousands of EZ-wider discarded paper on the sidewalk.
Not to mention the throngs of aging baby boomers it would attract to our town. We won't be able to walk through the without hearing a near constant "back in my day..." and "kids theses days..."
Not to mention the criminal element that it would attract to town. We don't need these types here
No tattoo wrappers visible outside Jinx Proof in Montclair last time I was in the area.
One doesn't have to own a business that has throw-a-way paper, containers and such to make a mess. Some hair salons that specialize in weaves often have weave hair flying about their front. It's not just the cleanliness of the shop owners; it's their customers habits as well. I can barely walk my dogs past Cluck U because of chicken bones thrown onto the sidewalk. I may be out of date with my views of the tattoo spots I've seen (last one, Neptune, NJ a few summers ago) but my thoughts about shop and customer responsibilities are not.
Klinker said:
kibbegirl said:
I've never seen the parlors in Montclair. The ones I recall are not well maintained on the outside -- kinda like the row of shops on S.O. Avenue that are close to the university. Just not a good look: their sidewalks aren't cleaned and often there is trash strewn about. I think we can and should do better. How? Not quite sure.
I'd say that there are all sorts of businesses in all sort of communities and they vary as such. I can't think of anything specific to tattoo parlor that would increase the amount of litter in front of a store. Its not like people are tossing away their "tattoo wrappers". From your post, I get the impression that your info may be a little out of date.
re bookstores: the big Canadian bookstore chain Indigo is moving into the US, and the first store will be in Short Hills Mall. There's also a new independent bookstore coming to Millburn.
kibbegirl said:
One doesn't have to own a business that has throw-a-way paper, containers and such to make a mess. Some hair salons that specialize in weaves often have weave hair flying about their front. It's not just the cleanliness of the shop owners; it's their customers habits as well. I can barely walk my dogs past Cluck U because of chicken bones thrown onto the sidewalk. I may be out of date with my views of the tattoo spots I've seen (last one, Neptune, NJ a few summers ago) but my thoughts about shop and customer responsibilities are not.
Why would you assume that tattoo parlor owners and their customers are irresponsible?
No assumptions. Personally, I just don’t want a parlor in town based on my previous posts. We are not as large as Montclair where we can have a little bit of this and that in a variety of areas. If we have one successful nail salon, we now have four. We have a tendency to allow the same types of stores to set up shop and a successful parlor could possibly could be the seed for more.
Klinker said:
kibbegirl said:
One doesn't have to own a business that has throw-a-way paper, containers and such to make a mess. Some hair salons that specialize in weaves often have weave hair flying about their front. It's not just the cleanliness of the shop owners; it's their customers habits as well. I can barely walk my dogs past Cluck U because of chicken bones thrown onto the sidewalk. I may be out of date with my views of the tattoo spots I've seen (last one, Neptune, NJ a few summers ago) but my thoughts about shop and customer responsibilities are not.
Why would you assume that tattoo parlor owners and their customers are irresponsible?
kibbegirl said:
.... If we have one successful nail salon, we now have four. We have a tendency to allow the same types of stores to set up shop and a successful parlor could possibly could be the seed for more.
That isn't the way it works. We don't have four nail salons because we allowed them. They are there because they fill a need and thus, are successful.
Its the same reverse, "trickle-down" thinking that says if we lower taxes on businesses, they will hire more people. More people will be hired when there is more business to be conducted. No business with extra income is going to hire more people to just hang around.
kibbegirl said:
No assumptions. Personally, I just don’t want a parlor in town based on my previous posts. We are not as large as Montclair where we can have a little bit of this and that in a variety of areas. If we have one successful nail salon, we now have four. We have a tendency to allow the same types of stores to set up shop and a successful parlor could possibly could be the seed for more.
Well, I do tell myself, every time I get my tax bill, "Thank goodness we don't have more successful businesses in this town".
Not to belabor the tattoo angle here (I am the parent of two young adults who appreciate that their tat-free status* makes them unusual), but the two Montclair shops I'm aware of are right on Bloomfield, not in some out-of-the-way corner. They're part of a vibrant street scene on the main drag, two among many shops and restaurants that appeal to a wide variety of people, making Bloomfield Ave. a destination.
Which, it seems to me, is vastly more appealing to prospective residents than vacant storefronts.
It's one thing to apply community standards to keep out peep shows and strip clubs. But heavy restrictions on legitimate businesses will surely backfire.
*(as far as the parental eye can see)
I don’t understand the excessive discussion about the tattoo thing. Another example of how a stupid idea always jumps front and center in place of meeting real needs in this town. I feel like there’s no wholistic approach to how stuff happens. Just a bee getting in somebody’s bonnet followed by a “serious” discussion.
I miss the old days when people argued about another nail salon, instead of tattoo shops. I blame people from Brooklyn.
j_r said:
So @annielou, what kind of new business would meet your needs?
To address the OP, you should ask what new business would meet their needs that is currently not allowed by code.
I wouldn't use a tattoo parlor. I don't have any tattoos, and am not planning on any. I'm not saying we should open one, I'm just saying I'm not opposed to one and don't understand the opposition.
It's based on the antiquated notion that tattoo parlors were only found in rough waterfront dives and frequented only by drunken sailors.
ml1 said:
It's based on the antiquated notion that tattoo parlors were only found in rough waterfront dives and frequented only by drunken sailors.
To be fair, my grandfather had four tattoos, he got them when he was in the navy in WW2, and he even admitted that he only remembered getting two of them 
But that was 75 years ago. The clientele, tattoo artists, and tattoo parlors have all changed drastically since then.
This 64 year old Jewish mom drives up to Montclair to get her tattoos (Morgan at Powerhouse is GREAT!) Last week had a great book discussion with another artist there (She was totally covered from neck to toe and had some great intellectual insights into books even I wouldn't tackle)> Just to point out that tattoo parlors, that meet municipal codes, are not part of a slippery slopes to brothels and check cashing storefronts. Maybe marijuana shops tho 
Seems like there's good reason to let arcades back into town. Apparently they are making a comeback!
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/westfield/articles/yestercades-arcade-coming-to-downtown-westfield
I guess if I squint a lot about the tattoo issue I can maybe see the reason to not want one (but no, not really) - but an arcade? That would be awesome. I mean, I know from experience that hanging out in arcades can cause a lot of peril later in life because you might end up holding down a 20-year career in IT in New York City and then move to the suburbs with your kids and family to raise them. I mean, no one wants that to happen.
Also who cares about, paint and sip? I mean, it's a bit faux-pretentious and may lead to cougars on the prowl. But it's otherwise harmless.
"Oh, you have a tattoo? I hope you got it in a sketchy neighborhood, because something like that doesn't belong in a respectable community like ours "
qrysdonnell said:
Also who cares about, paint and sip? I mean, it's a bit faux-pretentious and may lead to cougars on the prowl. But it's otherwise harmless.
"As she reached for her glass, I could tell by the light blue and green dried oil paint drips on her fingers that she had already spent some time earlier in the evening at the 'sip 'n paint'."
"And as her arm moved further her sleeve moved back and there it appeared like a beacon. A subtle a Pac-Man tattoo bearing the tale-tell signs of being done by the local artisan. I wouldn't make me move now, as I would surely see her later at the arcade."
South_Mountaineer said:
qrysdonnell said:
Also who cares about, paint and sip? I mean, it's a bit faux-pretentious and may lead to cougars on the prowl. But it's otherwise harmless.
"As she reached for her glass, I could tell by the light blue and green dried oil paint drips on her fingers that she had already spent some time earlier in the evening at the 'sip 'n paint'."
jedben said:
Seems like there's good reason to let arcades back into town. Apparently they are making a comeback!
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/westfield/articles/yestercades-arcade-coming-to-downtown-westfield
People are rightly concerned that South Orange might become a Red Bank or Westfield.
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