Since the city’s zoning board of appeals approved an in-home tattoo and body piercing studio at 209 Wilshire Drive, heated arguments have arisen on both sides of the street.
A handful of neighbors who spoke at the city council meeting last week passionately condemned what they call an ‘adult business’ that somehow sneaked its way into their peaceful neighborhood. This X-rated embarrassment will, in their opinion, bring with it needles, naked body parts and noise.
“This is just going to bring in more traffic, undesirable traffic like chopper bikes and bike gang members,” said Bill Schell, who lives at 300 Wilshire Drive. “They roar in, they roar out.”
With this statement, Schell may have won applause from his peanut gallery, but he ultimately demonstrated his closed-mindedness by assuming that everyone with a tattoo or body piercing is a member of boisterous biker gang.
Some of the examples Schell gave as acceptable in-home businesses, such as pet grooming and music lessons, likely are much louder than the tattoo and body piercing studio located in a basement about 300 feet away from Schell’s house.
It may not have been known by the city, but the Coppenbargers have carried out the same hobby in their basement for the past two-and-a-half years, according to some neighbors.
“And it hasn’t affected our lives in any way, shape or form,” said Carol Eichelkraut, who lives directly across the street from the Coppenbargers.
Eichelkraut should be commended for voicing a view opposite of dozens of other Wilshire Drive residents. And she is correct. It is a petty argument that will only make hairs grayer and wrinkles deeper.
Rather than chastising a business that is doing the neighborhood no harm, the nay-sayers of Wilshire Drive should open their minds and shut their mouths. This shop, after all, is going to bring in cash for the city.
More importantly, if Washingtonians like these continue voicing their intolerance, the city is going to be branded with a reputation far worse and more permanent than a tattoo.
Washington, Ill. —
