Galion City Council Tuesday night heard two public hearings for an ordinance to amend the planning and zoning code to add a site for tattoo and body piercing services and to amend the planning and zoning code for residential handicap ramps.

Some council members are not in support of amending the planning and zoning code to add tattoo and body piercing services as a conditional use in the General Commercial District.
 

Councilman Walter Keib said he's concerned residents would not be able to stop a business from opening in their neighborhood.

The proposed legislation would list where the tattoo and body services businesses could operate. 
 

Law Director Reese Mills told council members that a city government can not exclude any type of business from operating under federal law. He said that would be discrimination.

"The purpose of the legislation is to regulate the business and also to have a place where they can legally be. As the law director touched on if we just say they can't be anywhere then we are discriminating against them based on what they do," city manager Gene Toy said.

"Our general commercial district is our least restrictive commercial district and it's generally in places where its not in the middle of neighborhoods. In areas where there are shopping malls or where there are large general commercial districts on the out skirts of town," Toy said. 

The first reading for the legislation passed 6 -1.
 

The first reading for the handicap ramp included a change to the setback and lot size requirements for installation of residential handicapped ramps.

  In other business, council tabled legislation to authorize an agreement with Richland County for a residential and commercial back-up inspector to allow for changes.

Council also heard an update from Galion Center YMCA Director Terry Gribble about the 2012 Heise Park swimming pool season.

Gribble said this was a good year for the pool. He said the pool generated more than $42,000 in revenue. He said the city will reimburse the YMCA a little more than $500 compared to more than $3,000 in 2011.