Scott Diffee says he's the "oldest, youngest" licensed tattoo artist in Arkansas, being in the tattoo business for 25 years.
Now he will bring his tattoo business experience to the Argenta Arts District in North Little Rock's downtown, pending final approval by the North Little Rock City Council.
The North Little Rock Planning Commission approved a special-use permit Tuesday for Diffee's tattoo business, The Parlor, to relocate from 4603 E. Broadway to 112 Main St. The site, to be in a leased space, is between the City Services Building and the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce. A special-use permit still requires City Council passage.
Tuesday's unanimous approval by the commission is a turnaround from December 2013 when the Planning Commission, then the City Council in January 2014, both voted down a special-use application for a tattoo parlor on Seventh Street a block off of Main Street, also in the Argenta Arts District.
One complaint from a resident at that time was that other areas of town would be "a better fit" for a tattoo studio.
"It's a perfect fit," Diffee, 47, said after Monday's meeting. "What's an arts district without a tattoo shop?"
Diffee said he will "probably" close the Broadway shop and sell the property and only have a business in Argenta. He will also live downtown and "be able to ride my bike to work," he said.
"I want to be here in Argenta," said Diffee, a founding member of the Arkansas Tattoo Association. "I've been in business in North Little Rock for 20 years, being on MacArthur [Drive] for 10 years and in Rose City for 10 years.
"People from Little Rock can ride over to North Little Rock," he said of the Argenta location near the Main Street Bridge that crosses the Arkansas River. "We'll be here for the bands that appear. This part of town is a really, really good spot for a tattoo shop."
No one spoke in opposition to the tattoo parlor, though an information sheet provided to commissioners said a representative of the Chamber of Commerce had called city Planning staff to oppose the special-use permit. Commissioners didn't express opposition before the vote.
Commissioner Steve White did raise a question after the vote about how he would have preferred Commissioner Don Chambers, who represents Argenta, to have voted first so he would have a better understanding of the neighborhood's support.
"If it had been in my ward, I think I would have voted no," said White, who represents the Lakewood area. He said he would prefer knowing the opinion of a commissioner from the ward in question before casting a vote affecting that ward.
Assistant City Attorney Mike Mosley said in response that the meeting was a public forum, so his query would be "a fair question to ask" if he wanted. He added, however, that asking how a commissioner's neighborhood residents felt lacked a specificity because it wouldn't be known who were expressing those opinions or how many had been asked.
Metro on 07/10/2019