HANCEVILLE, Ala. – The Hanceville City Council at its meeting on Thursday held a public hearing and vote on Ordinance 2024-5, which proposed amending the zoning ordinance to allow tattoo and body piercing facilities within city limits. The council also made appointments to the zoning board and planning commission, along with addressing other City business.
The meeting began with a public hearing on the proposed ordinance. This issue had sparked considerable conversation in previous meetings, and both supporters and opponents were in anticipation of the council’s decision.
Brittani Armstrong Coker, a local business owner and longtime resident of Hanceville, spoke first. Passion filled her words as she began to share about her life and her dedication to her community, as well as focusing on her sister, Kourtney Quick, the challenger to the City’s current zoning ordinance.
“My big sister is trying to change the city ordinance for the betterment of our community. Not to be detrimental to your church. Not to infringe on your religious rights. Not to corrupt your children. And not to take away from the small-town charm of Hanceville,” Coker said. “She is trying to show my nieces and nephews that you can achieve anything that you want to, as long as you work hard enough, and you remain honest to yourself and your community.”
Coker highlighted Quick’s dedication to the community, emphasizing her support through charity work, including drives for toys, food, school supplies and even covering medical and funeral expenses for families in need.
“She has purchased refrigerators and stoves for single mothers. She has helped cover costs for headstones and medical expenses for families that couldn’t afford it otherwise. And she has never once asked for recognition on anything, even though she deserves it,” Coker added.
Coker, never lacking conviction or passion in her tone, concluded with some final powerful statements.
“The simple fact is that the City of Hanceville desperately needs more tax revenue rotating in our community and a more welcoming and diversified atmosphere so that all members of our community can feel welcomed and loved in our small town. We’re not living in the past; tattoos are no longer a taboo form of self-expression,” she said. “If you look on the wall behind you, council, it says ‘a positive and progressive community.’ Can you honestly say if this doesn’t pass that we are living up to that mantra? We need to have positive growth in this town, and Kourtney is the answer to that.”
With Coker’s conclusion, another community member addressed the council related to some final questions about the ordinance and future business growth, with the hearing coming to a close.
After the hearing concluded, the council moved on to new business before circling back to vote on Ordinance 2024-5. Mayor Jimmy Sawyer called for the vote, and Councilman John Stam voiced the only dissent.
“I am voting no but I want to express my appreciation for what your family has done as far as community involvement. I think that is very honorable of y’all,” Stam said. “The reason I am voting no is because, as I stated before, there are a lot of older people in my generation that expressed interest in it, via image or whatever, it’s more a generation thing. I have had a lot of people express they didn’t want it. “I thank y’all for y’all’s involvement. But that’s the reason. I am sort of on the fence, but with all of the sort of people I hang around with, generational people that support me, I am going to vote no.”
Following Stam’s comments, the rest of the council, excluding Kenneth Cornelius, who was absent, voted yes, effectively amending the zoning ordinance that barred tattoo shops from operating in the city limits of Hanceville.
Quick, the prospective tattoo shop owner and steward of the ordinance change later wrote on her Facebook page, “We did it! Your kindness and support throughout this process has meant everything to me. I will never be able to repay it, but I promise I will try. Milk and Honey Tattoo coming soon.”
In other business, the council:
- Voted unanimously to approve Ordinance No. 2024-1 (Property Annexation/Zoning The Broadway Group / KME Development)
- Approved the purchase of a 2013 Chevrolet truck from Cullman Jefferson Gas for $12,300
- Voted and approved the appointment of Jonathan Black for a three-year term on the Zoning Board of Adjustments (Place 1)
- Voted and approved the appointment of Robert Powell for a six-year term on the Planning Commission (Place 8)
The next Hanceville City Council meeting will be held Thursday, Sept. 26, at Hanceville City Hall. The work session will begin at 5 p.m. with the meeting following at 5:30. The public is invited to attend.
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