Currituck County has refused an offer by a tattoo parlor owner to warn schoolchildren on the hazards of body art if the county will forgive more than $25,000 in fines.
Instead, the county has offered to forgive all but $5,000 in fines, Currituck County Attorney Ike McRee said.
Parlor owner Steve Canady said he might fight the fines in court.
"I have never admitted to being open," he said. "I believe I can beat this in court."
In July 2007, the Board of Adjustment denied Canady's application to open his Harbinger tattoo shop. Canady appealed to Superior Court.
Currituck County says he opened his shop without a permit and began fining him $100 a day. Fines accumulated to $26,100 until Aug. 11, when a Superior Court judge ruled in Canady's favor. Based on the court order, the Board of Adjustment issued Canady a permit last week.
In exchange for forgiving the fines, Canady proposed speaking in Currituck schools about the dangers of getting tattoos from technicians without state permits. Some tattoo artists operate without a permit and ignore safety standards, he said.
Currituck turned down the request, McRee said.
Currituck County had considered tattooing an adult-oriented business that was permitted only in out-of-the-way industrial zones. A new Board of Commissioners changed the ordinance to allow tattoo parlors in commercial districts. Two were permitted in Moyock in 2007.
Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com
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