FAST FACT

STRAND ITCHING TO INK

Though they're months from inking their first tattoo, entrepreneurs looking to open tattoo parlors are scouting storefronts almost as fast as local governments are rushing to restrict them.

Last month, Gov. Mark Sanford signed a bill lifting the state's 40-year ban on tattooing. But tattoo parlors can't open until the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control issues tattoo regulations. That could take several months.

Local governments already are drawing up rules to say where parlors will be allowed.

Horry County, Conway, North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach have or will shortly adopt rules that prevent tattoo parlors from opening in most areas. Officials say they want to keep parlors away from neighborhoods, schools, churches and most other businesses.

"You don't think anyone wants to see them on [U.S.] 17," said North Myrtle Beach Zoning Administrator Paul Blust.

Myrtle Beach already relegated parlors to medical facilities and the semi-industrial area near Seaboard Street - the same area the city has set aside for strip clubs and body-piercing parlors.

"They should put up a sign, 'Piercing industry and tattoos this way,'" said Jackie Chattaj, a former registered nurse who operates two piercing parlors on Seaboard and hopes to open a tattoo parlor there soon.

Chattaj already has found a nearby storefront on Seaboard for her tattoo parlor. Tattoo designs hang on the freshly repainted wall. She's even hired a tattoo artist, Joe Maupin, who has 14 years' experience doing tattoos in other states.

"We're ready to go," Maupin said. "I could have this place ready in a day."

Early drafts of the state regulations would prohibit parlor owners from operating out of existing businesses. That means body-piercing parlors and other businesses looking to offer tattoos must open a separate office and apply for a second business license. The same rules also would prohibit parlors from selling anything.

But body-piercing parlor owners expect the tattoo business to thrive, no matter how tight the regulations.

Body piercing has proven to be a lucrative business, with several opening on Seaboard since DHEC approved regulations last year.

At Elite Body Piercing in Myrtle Beach, Diana Garon said her business is considering opening a parlor. She said many of her competitors are, as well.

"I know of eight shops ready to open," Garon said. "Everybody thinks they're going to be open next week."

If those parlors open, chances are they'll be on Seaboard or on one of its side roads - an area that once was mostly known for its warehouses and industrial contractors. With nary a church, school or residence in sight, officials say Seaboard is a good place for adult-natured businesses.

Several business owners on Seaboard said they were initially hesitant about their body-piercing neighbors. But many now say they've learned to live with Seaboard's changing nature. They say the tattoo parlors will fit right in.

"We've got three or four strip clubs and several body-piercing places," said Greg Alford, owner of Nova Lighting, a lighting contractor. "I don't think the tattoo parlors will cause much trouble."

Alford said the clubs and parlors do most of their business at night, when his store is closed. But he worries about burglaries.

Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride opposes the restrictions on tattoo parlors, as he did the rules for body piercing. He said it's unfair to parlor owners, who already must comply with state health rules. And it's unfair, he said, to Seaboard's existing businesses.

"If you want to get a tattoo, you should be able to get one," McBride said. "I say spread it out. Don't concentrate it in one area. There are enough restrictions already."

Officials in other parts of the Grand Strand are grappling with the same issue.

A proposal in Horry County would limit parlors to areas zoned for medical offices. The county's Planning Commission met Thursday to discuss the proposed rules.

Conway adopted similar restrictions in May.

North Myrtle Beach officials are considering a plan that would limit tattoo parlors to light-industrial areas.

"Tattoo parlors are like any of the other uses that people don't like," said Horry County Planning Commission Chairman Adam Parness. "Whether it's light industrial or a sexually related business, the purpose of zoning is to ensure quality of life for everybody. The law allows them to operate, so we've got to find them a place that's suitable."